MEDICINE PARK — You can’t be blue at the 14th Annual Medicine Park Blues Ball.
It’s too good of a time. That’s why you let the music do the talking so you can use your mouth for smiling. Just like it was planned, according to Rodney Whaley, event coordinator.
“This is the biggest event of the year,” he said. “Our audience for this is really laid back, loyal, respectful and they clean up after themselves.”
Whaley said that Friday night’s kick-off performances by Sweet Brenda and Big Mike Griffin was the perfect way to open things up. He said Sweet Brenda “came out so freaking strong” and was the perfect opener for Lawton’s own Griffin.
“Dude, last night was so good,” he said on Saturday. “There was plenty of room for everybody to have their comfortable space.”
That’s an important commodity while remaining wary of COVID-19. The virus had put a damper on the cobblestone community’s earlier festivals this year. Returning to normalcy with an eye on safety has been a key to planning, according to Whaley.
With blue skies overhead and warm but not too hot temperatures on Saturday the main road through town was laden with festival goers.
Seated on a curb in the shade, the Coar family – Olga, Thomas, Andrew and Evelyn — were happy to have made the trip up from Texas to watch T.J. Coar sing with his bandmates in The Midniters.
It was the family’s second time visiting Medicine Park for a festival; T.J.’s band performed at the Rock in the Park Festival in July. Olga Coar said it was an easy decision to return to Medicine Park.
“I love it,” she said.
That’s a feeling shared by the enthusiastic audience.
Seated in the big chair outside Comanche Shirt Co., Lawton’s Mark and Stephanie Newby and their dogs, Sadie and Little One, were all smiles as they anticipated Saturday’s lineup.
“This is our third year (to attend),” Mark Newby said. “I love the mixture of music and atmosphere.”
Stephanie Newby had a favorite scheduled to headline the evening lineup she mentioned while following up her husband’s reference to the music.
“Especially Red (Lawton native Eric “Dirty Red” McDaniel and his bandmates in the Soul Shakers),” she said.
Whaley said there’s something calming about the setting and the blues scene.
“Everybody’s out here to relax,” he said. “It’s like your heart finds the rhythm when you’re by the ocean, it’s the same with music.”
Credit goes to the Medicine Park Public Works Authority, Lawton Economic Development Authority and a host of volunteers in making this annual event something special, Whaley said. Especially this year, his first in the role as event coordinator.
“I’m fortunate to have a long list of people I can call,” he said.
Something new that seems to have caught on is Whaley leading the audience in the “Pledge of Allegiance” before the evening headline act. He said the first night, it offered a sense of unity that struck a chord in his heart.
“In Medicine Park, you have the freedom to enjoy yourself,” he said. “Look what we all have in common right now.”
Written by Scott Rains: scott.rains@swoknews.com.
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September 06, 2020 at 01:00PM
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You can't be blue at the Blues Ball - The Lawton Constitution
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