Lucky number 13: Historic Wallace Blues Fest celebrates 13th year of music

WALLACE — Blues lovers could be found anywhere there was a patch of shade near the main stage at the corner of Sixth and Cedar streets Saturday as the Historical Wallace Blues Festival got underway. Folks brought in mist devices to try and beat the heat and although the temperature was high, the musical lineup couldn’t be cooler.

Things began with the singing of the national anthem, a rendition of ‘Amazing Grace,’ and performances by Johnny McGee and the Sixth Street Melodrama and Theater.

McGee works for Hecla Mining Company at the Lucky Friday mine and was brought on to perform an original song as part of a mining tribute to all the miners “who never grew old.”

The song is called "Tin Man" and McGee said the tune came to him one day while he was working and he worked out the rest later on his five-string banjo.

“I was hurting one day and it felt like all my joints were rusty, so I wished that I could use an oil can on myself and limber up,” McGee said. He was trying his best to deal with the sunny setting and joked that it was more than he was used to. "There’s a reason I work underground,” McGee said.

The music extravaganza kicked off Friday with 18 different venues across Wallace, and event organizer Alex Cook said it was extremely gratifying to see the musical acts playing to packed rooms after the intense planning needed to build up the event when he and other new festival management had stepped in to run the event earlier this year.

“The trolley broke down, but thankfully, we found someone to fix it. The feeling was either we step up and make it happen, or there won’t be a Blues Fest. It was hard, but it’s worth it,” Cook said.

When it came to light that a generator was needed, the community came through with locating one. Saturday morning, when the large blocks used to anchor the main stage were needed, Anna Berger was able to have the cement blocks moved in place to make sure the stage was ready to go.

“For every problem, we had a solution. There was no stage this morning and no power, but we made it work. Behind the scenes, it’s a little chaotic, but folks had a good time, so that’s all that matters. The show must go on, and it’s going on,” Cook said.

The shift from starting things off at different venues before ending the festival in one big party on the street encapsulated this year’s theme that “Wallace is the stage.” Hosting several Friday acts in kid-friendly locations also helped boost the number of families with children in attendance to take a moment and listen to the music.

Carlton Ahern said the festival team were all blown away by the commitment shown by Cook to make sure things were running smoothly throughout the weekend.

”He did a phenomenal job. The Blues Fest wouldn’t have gone off without a hitch, without the monumental efforts that’s made. Alex has the perseverance and passion to make this successful,” Ahern said.

The Grammy-nominated “King of Zydeco” C.J. Chenier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band closed out the two-day festival with aplomb for festival goers.

Witnessing the crowds enjoy themselves and connect to the music made it all worth it to the festival team, and as the weekend wore on, Cook had more people to be thanked for their magical efforts than there is print space to mention, but maintained that "Carlton ‘Cool Breeze’ Ahern was the musical mister wizard, and Jeff Angel and Anna Berger were our angels,” Cook said. “The whole community pitched in and we all saved the show.”

For the Blues Fest crew, running this year’s two-day event was an effective first try before implementing new plans for next year’s musical bash, and they can handle whatever curveballs come their way.

“Next year is already in the works, I can’t announce names at this point, but the good thing is, now that we have a generator, we can have the show anywhere,” Cook said.