Two live music events took center stage this weekend in Marshall County, drawing residents and visitors alike to the region.
The 27th annual Hot August Blues Festival kicked off Thursday, as organizers brought back an old favorite in the free show on the lawn of the Kenlake State Resort Park Lodge. The festival, which used to be held Friday through Sunday, had once incorporated a free night on Friday to kick off performances. As the festival shifted throughout the years, organizers had scaled back to only a Friday-Saturday event and had dropped the popular Friday night free show on the lawn.
The event changed hands this year, and organizers again extended the tradition to three days, running from Thursday through Sunday. Performances were held in the amphitheater at the park on the final two days, and included performances from Lew Jetton and 61 South, Big Mike Griffin and Alonzo Pennington, among others.
Kenlake wasn’t the only draw to the region on Saturday. The third annual Onstage and DJ’s Homecoming Concert filled the Kenneth Shadowen Performing Arts Center at Marshall County High School in Draffenville.
Danny Joe Hawes (DJ), reunited fellow performers that collaborated for a variety show based in Benton from 1990-95. Ticket sales from the event, which drew more than 500 concertgoers to the PAC, benefited the Marshall County Children’s Art Center in Benton and its associated programs.
