Paul Jamieson, SunFest executive director since 1996, in the lobby of the SunFest offices on Clematis Street. (Bruce R. Bennett / The Post)

Paul Jamieson loves talking about SunFest – “It’s truly a national, world-class music festival in our back yard,” he says, “the best of South Florida all rolled into one.”

He loves talking about this year’s lineup – which includes alternative giants the Flaming Lips and Weezer, country legends the Charlie Daniels Band, R&B greats Patti LaBelle and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, plus ZZ Top, REO Speedwagon, Sean Kingston, Ben Harper, Rise Against, NAS and more.

He loves talking about the almost 3,000 volunteers that sell tickets, tidy up and keep the annual festival moving – “People in my business think that volunteers are a curse of the devil, but 99 percent of what happens at SunFest is run by volunteers,” he says.

What Paul Jamieson doesn’t like talking about is Paul Jamieson, which is why he’s not having a good time right now.

“At least you’re not doing that fake shot of me pretending to read a newspaper,” he jokes to a photographer, posing in front of a wall of posters downstairs from his office, where he and a full-time staff of seven work 12 months to shape five days into the party of the year.

Those who know him best say he’s able to do that because he keeps the focus on the festival. But if he’s not going to say anything nice about himself, they’re happy to do it for him.

“One of his strengths is that he respects other people, and treats people fairly,” says Dan Goode, the current event manager, who started as an intern when Jamieson started as executive director. “He always puts SunFest first.”

On staff since 1990, Jamieson has been SunFest’s executive director since 1996, and has helped turn what began as a small arts fair into a five-day festival that draws almost 300,000 people each year.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is that it’s not about us. It’s not about the board, it’s not about me. It’s about Joe and Josephine Ticketbuyer. They’re the most important people. … We build it for them,” he says.

Melissa Sullivan, SunFest’s marketing manager, says the proof of Jamieson’s management skills is in the longevity of the festival and the length of his tenure. “It’s been going on for 28 years. A lot of things go out of business in that time,” she says.

Jamieson, 53, comes not from a music background but from the world of parks and recreation. He worked in that field in his native Illinois, which taught him “not to take anything for granted,” a lesson he’d need to remember in his future SunFest position.

He says he’d always wanted to get into special events. That chance came when he came to interview for a job as an event manager in Fort Lauderdale. He got offered the job on the spot – one that, coincidentally, had been vacated by eventual SunFest executive director Sue Twyford. He eventually came to SunFest as assistant director, and took over the reins in 1996.

“Sue wanted to start having babies and spend time with her family, and it was a blessing that she had that time,” he says of the late Twyford, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 2003. “She took SunFest from adolescence to maturity. She was a great visionary. I think that what I’ve done is to steer the ship.”

Part of Jamieson’s job, Goode says, is being able to stay even-keeled in midst of “having to deal with so many different people, so many different things. The night that Big and Rich played in 2007, there was a bad storm coming, and Paul pulled everyone together and got through it. He’s always under that kind of pressure, but he thrives on that kind of situation.”

The SunFest ship that Jamieson inherited was headed through changing waters, dealing with “construction on the waterfront for 10 straight years,” for instance, as well as the fact that it wasn’t the only game in town anymore.

“When it first started, where else was there to go but the Palm Beach Auditorium?” said Jamieson. “There weren’t all these other things, like the (Hard Rock) Casino and the Cruzan Amphitheatre, presenting national acts of a high caliber. When the amphitheater opened, I thought ‘That’s the end of SunFest.’ But we keep growing and growing.

“We have to step it up. We have to be cooler and hipper.”

Jamieson acknowledges that SunFest has stepped up and away from its origins as a small local festival, and has become a more expensive proposition. But that’s progress, he says.

“People say ‘In my first SunFest I had my cooler and my dog, and (flutist) Herbie Mann played and gas cost a dollar,’ ” Jamieson says.

Herbie who?

“Exactly. What you get for the price is an unbelievable value. You can’t go to a regular concert and see one band for $20, let alone a whole day of acts,” Jamieson says. “Oddly enough, now that the economy is so bad, people are starting to see what a value it is.”

And for that one week, SunFest creates an opportunity for the rest of downtown to shine as well, which makes the city and business owners happy. “SunFest does a great job bringing people downtown and showing off the city, particularly this year with our new waterfront,” says Mayor Lois Frankel.

“The exposure it gives us is great, to people from Stuart, Fort Lauderdale or St. Lucie that discover something a little special, and hopefully we stay on their radar,” says Cleve Mash, who owns Dr. Feelgood’s, Monarchy, Lost Weekend and Reef Road, all in the 200 block of Clematis Street near SunFest.

In 2009, SunFest drew approximately 275,000 visitors over its five days, which is about average, says Sullivan. A not-for-profit, it operates with a $4 million budget, generated from admissions, sponsorships, fund-raisers like its Sip and Savor wine events and the Coconuts Ball, as well as grants from the state and county.

The result is a well-respected, well-attended festival. “We’re not the New York Yankees,” Jamieson says, “but we’re in the major leagues.”

~ leslie_streeter@pbpost.com

SUNFEST:

Wednesday-Sunday,

downtown West Palm Beach.

For more information: sunfest.com