2008 Woodie Awards
Reliving the Mississippi River Festival
Matthew Schroyer
Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: A&E
When Rich Dalton and his band, The Classics, play for a sellout crowd Thursday in the Meridian Ballroom of the Morris University Center, they will bring years of experience in the business of rock to the stage.
They will also attempt to recreate the ambiance of the fabled Mississippi River Festival, the historic SIUE outdoor concert series that attracted tens of thousands with rock and classical music. That festival, which ran from 1969 to 1980, entertained concertgoers with music straight from the mouths and instruments of world-famous acts such as Judy Collins, Joan Baez, The Who, Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne.
Following in the historic footsteps to recreate the experience is a tough act to follow. But Dalton isn't sweating it - he lived it.
Dalton, who was an SIUE student from 1969 to 1972, had been to the festival from its beginnings. He was also the first production manager of WSIE, the commercial, student and faculty operated radio station, when the station first powered on in 1969. The job allowed him to interview some of the notable musicians that came to play.
"He is known as a wild and crazy guy," Dalton said of Keith Moon, infamous wildman and drummer for the Brit-rock ensemble, The Who. "But he was very kind, and very nice to me. I was 21, but he sat with me for a while and let me have an interview."
Dalton suspects one of the reasons why Moon was so calm that evening was because he had vented his frustration out on his drum set on stage, but that energy made them one of the best groups of all time. And their style was a perfect marriage for the outdoor MRF.
"They had some of the greatest arena rock songs ever. They are one of the majors," Dalton said.
The Classics will take on songs by The Who and other acts that played at the MRF as part of the SIUE Alumni Association's "Flashback to the MRF," starting 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the Meridian Ballroom of the Morris University Center. Tickets for Friday sold out within hours after being made available on the Alumni Association Web site.
They will also attempt to recreate the ambiance of the fabled Mississippi River Festival, the historic SIUE outdoor concert series that attracted tens of thousands with rock and classical music. That festival, which ran from 1969 to 1980, entertained concertgoers with music straight from the mouths and instruments of world-famous acts such as Judy Collins, Joan Baez, The Who, Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne.
Following in the historic footsteps to recreate the experience is a tough act to follow. But Dalton isn't sweating it - he lived it.
Dalton, who was an SIUE student from 1969 to 1972, had been to the festival from its beginnings. He was also the first production manager of WSIE, the commercial, student and faculty operated radio station, when the station first powered on in 1969. The job allowed him to interview some of the notable musicians that came to play.
"He is known as a wild and crazy guy," Dalton said of Keith Moon, infamous wildman and drummer for the Brit-rock ensemble, The Who. "But he was very kind, and very nice to me. I was 21, but he sat with me for a while and let me have an interview."
Dalton suspects one of the reasons why Moon was so calm that evening was because he had vented his frustration out on his drum set on stage, but that energy made them one of the best groups of all time. And their style was a perfect marriage for the outdoor MRF.
"They had some of the greatest arena rock songs ever. They are one of the majors," Dalton said.
The Classics will take on songs by The Who and other acts that played at the MRF as part of the SIUE Alumni Association's "Flashback to the MRF," starting 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the Meridian Ballroom of the Morris University Center. Tickets for Friday sold out within hours after being made available on the Alumni Association Web site.
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James Schroyer
posted 9/26/07 @ 7:12 AM CST
Great story! I used to frequent the River Festival, saw lots of great performers there, good job Matt!!
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