Annual fall music festival opens in park on Friday
Sunday, September 21, 2008
By CHRIS WELCH
Times Entertainment Writer chris.welch@htimes.com
For the last several weeks, hurricanes and bad weather have been ruining a lot of parties around the country. Organizers of the 16th annual Big Spring Jam are hoping the next big blow-hard, to be named Josephine, doesn’t crash Huntsville’s biggest outdoor party.
Huntsville’s three-day music festival opens Friday on three stages in Big Spring International Park with headliners like Chris Cagle, Kenny Rogers, John Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Joe Nichols and Blake Shelton. Other acts during the three-day event include T-Pain – the festival’s first headlining hip-hopper, Styx, Kansas, Edwin McCain, The Guess Who, MercyMe, Buckcherry, Hinder and Shinedown.
Last year, weather was perfect and a near-record crowd of 230,000 showed up (the record is 240,000 set in 2003). The year before, rain and tornadoes nearby washed out a Saturday-night lineup that included Joan Jett and Bo Bice.
“I don’t worry about the weather,” Jam promoter Donn Jennings said. “Whatever happens, happens. Period. I’ll start watching the weather around the middle of the week to see what it looks like.
“Today (temperature 77) was great. We’ve had a lot of Jams like this. We’ve had some very cold. The year we had Frankie Valli he packed too warm and had to get some sweatshirts. And, we’ve had years when it’s been brutally hot. But most years, we have a hint of fall and hopefully not a lot of rain.”
Jennings said the Jam has gotten its first band cancellation. Avenged Sevenfold, scheduled to perform Friday night at 8:45 on the WZYP Stage, had to cancel all its U.S. fall shows because lead singer M. Shadows has throat problems, according to the band’s Web site.
“I feel as if I’m letting so many people down, especially the fans we were supposed to see this month, but after a little rest it’ll be back to the usual craziness everyone expects of A7X. All of us are so excited about going out with Buckcherry in November. Our fans will love them as well as Shinedown and Saving,” Shadows said on the band’s site.
Jennings has replaced Sevenfold with Twelve Stones. He will move Shinedown – originally scheduled to perform on the WZYP Stage at 7:15 during Friday’s Rock Night – to the 8:45 slot. 12 Stones opens at 6 followed by Saving Abel at 7:15, Shinedown and Buckcherry at 10:15.
“We moved Shinedown because they’ve got the No. 1 song in the country,” Jennings said. “Avenged Sevenfold was part of our four-band package, so they’ll still be head-banging with the other three.”
Two slots previously unfilled have been announced. The Zac Brown Band is playing Sunday night at 5:30 on the WDRM/Crestwood Stage and the Presidents of the United States of America are playing at 9 p.m. on the WZYP Stage before T-Pain.
Parking should be improved this year. The Jam is using Lot K (in front of the Clinton Avenue post office) and the James Williams Aquatic Center lot that in past years hosted stages. The old Heart of Huntsville mall site used last year won’t be used this year. For more information on parking, to go bigspringjam.org or parkinghuntsville.com.
