Published: September 02, 2009 07:11 pm         

MARK BENNETT: An atmosphere of pure joy and the blues

TERRE HAUTE — The last sliver of sun disappears on Wabash Avenue, as the downtown lights take over on Saturday night.

Scents of grilled food drift through the air. Excited teenagers text friends to find them in the crowd. An electric guitar wails as drums pop, a bass thumps and a sax growls. A sixtysomething couple dances in the street. Thousands of other folks recline in lawnchairs, tapping their Sketchers and flip-flops on the pavement, eyes blissfully closed.

Sundown on Day 2 of the Blues at the Crossroads Festival.

It is, arguably, Terre Haute’s best moment of the year.

Sure, the blues fest has plenty of competition in that category. Some would lobby for tipoff time at the Wabash Valley Pizza Hut Classic championship game to hold that title, or demolition derby night at the Vigo County Fair, or the Street Fair, or the ISU Homecoming Parade, or a variety of other annual events. All are valid candidates.

But when it comes to an atmosphere of pure joy that appeals to rich and poor, old and young, guys and girls, city and country, and any race or faith, the Blues at the Crossroads is hard to beat.

“When people talk to me about downtown, it’s one of the things mentioned most often,” said Andrew Conner, executive director of Downtown Terre Haute Inc.

The secret to its success is no secret.

“It’s really the music,” Conner said. “[Festival organizer] Connie [Wrin] and her people have done a great job of getting the kind of music people won’t hear at any other time of the year.”

When the weather cooperates, Blues at the Crossroads can draw six-figure crowds. Rain (and the threat of rain that never fell) led to smaller turnouts in 2007 and 2008.

But if the dark clouds stay away, this year’s festival could be as big as ever. Thirteen blues acts will perform throughout the event Friday, Sept. 11, and Saturday, Sept. 12.

As a musical genre, the blues thrives on adversity, from songs about going broke to songs about broken hearts. Likewise, Blues at the Crossroads has survived some adversity, aside from stormy weather. The inaugural festival happened four days after terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001. The festival committee considered canceling, but decided the community needed a respite from those painful images. Four-thousand people attended. The 2005 blues fest came less than two weeks after Hurricane Katrina.

Of course, this year’s adversity is supplied by the recession. But in a time of tight wages and job insecurity, the festival offers an inexpensive chance to have some fun. All-day admission (available only at the gate) costs $10 for adults, while kids under age 16 get in free. They’ll see and hear four bands next Friday night, from 7:15 p.m. to 1:45 a.m. Another nine acts will perform Saturday, from noon to 1:30 a.m. The diverse collection of performers includes Governor Davis and the Blues Ambassadors, the W.T. Feaster Band, Duke Tumatoe and the Power Trio, the Guy Forsyth Band and the Clayton Miller Band.

It’s a bargain, and a great chance to hear regional- and national-caliber artists play an appealing, but often overlooked style of music.

“I’m just happy it is what it is,” said Wrin, who directs the festival. “I’m just happy people have fun, and that people can afford it.”

Wrin, a graduate of Terre Haute South Vigo High School and IUPUI, knows the famous Crossroads of America festival site well. She also operates The Verve nightclub at 677 Wabash Ave. She’s overseen a growth in the Blues at the Crossroads Festival from a one-day event to a two-day affair now run by a nonprofit organization.

In years past, she’s endured bad dreams, filled with images of relentless rain and no fans. But even during the less-than-ideal weather in 2007 and 2008, people showed up. Now, after nine years, the blues fest has etched itself into the local consciousness. Bands start calling almost a year in advance for spots in the Terre Haute lineup. Local folks mark it on their calendars.

“I feel like we’ve reached that level,” Wrin said. “I haven’t had those [bad] dreams yet this year. When I talk about that, people are like, ‘Are you kidding? This is the event.’”



Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.