The 31st annual MusicFest came to a close last night after three days of all-star performances and square-wide activities for the whole family.
The festival kicked off Thursday night, with performances from Sheila E, Morris Day & the Time, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Dazz & Brie and High Strangeness at the Murphy Arts District.
“George Clinton was one of the most different shows I’ve been to,” said Matt Benson, a local musician who attended Musicfest.
Friday brought the festival to the Union County Courthouse square, with attractions like a Ferris wheel, mechanical bull and zip line opening up that evening.
At MAD, Lita Ford took the MAD Amphitheater stage, followed by Bret Michaels and Sammy Hagar & the Circle.
“I was really impressed with Sammy Hagar & the Circle,” Benson said, adding that seeing Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, on stage was a cool experience.
Benson toted an acoustic guitar at MusicFest on Saturday as he prepared to play a set with bandmate Emily Cole. He said the two played downtown last year as well.
Bruce Murray, of Shadow Hill, another local band, also attended the Sammy Hagar concert and had plans to see Toby Keith on Saturday evening. He said he had a blast over the festival weekend.
“Everything that’s went on here has been awesome,” Murray said.
Shadow Hill had a set downtown Saturday, which Murray was gearing up for.
“We are hyped. We’re fixing to rock,” Murray said before the show.
Crowds gathered at the downtown stage, sponsored by PJ’s Coffee. Throughout the morning Saturday, students from the El Dorado School District played band and orchestral music.
“They were very talented for being so young,” said Camden Sanford, a student at El Dorado High School.
Sanford said he was downtown Saturday to volunteer and watch the EHS band, as well as try some of the fair food.
David Stipp-Bethune said he was also there to see the school performances and that he’s had a great time.
“I just enjoy the local square having lots of activity,” Stipp-Bethune said.
At the LANXESS Kid’s World, children were variously getting their faces and hair painted, having balloon animal hats made and enjoying the several bouncy castles that were set up.
Mark Day, a LANXESS employee volunteering at the activity center, said they had about 20 people from LANXESS helping out.
“I think MusicFest is a great thing El Dorado puts on, and it gets better every year,” Day said.
Aiden Johnston, from Minden, Louisiana, was in agreement. Johnston came to the festival with musician friends from Ruston, Louisiana — Monty Russell and Kevin Gordon — who played sets at the Griffin Restaurant.
“It’s pretty good. I like it this year,” Johnston said of MusicFest. He added that he really like the atmosphere of El Dorado.
Brock Mendenhall, an employee at the Griffin Restaurant, said he would spend the day Saturday serving customers at the restaurant. He said he was able to attend the 2 Chainz concert Friday night at the Griffin Music Hall.
“He had a lot of energy. Everyone was loving it,” Mendenhall said. “I hope he enjoyed himself here as much as we enjoyed having him.”
Mendenhall said he got the opportunity to meet 2 Chainz. He said the 6 foot 5 rapper towered over fans.
Jalexia Hill said she also saw 2 Chainz last night, noting she enjoyed the concert even more than she would have Cardi B, who was originally slated to be Friday’s late night performance, but pulled out of the planned show after the birth of her daughter this summer.
Hill was downtown Saturday volunteering at Kid’s World with her Campfire group. She said that MusicFest had been “cold, but fun.”
Downtown on Saturday, crowds gathered to watch the America’s Got Talent Flight Crew perform. Ian Henry, a member of the jump rope troupe, said it was his first time visiting El Dorado, adding that members of the troupe hailed from all over the country, including Connecticut, Texas, Maryland, Ohio, New York and Idaho.
“It’s beautiful here. I love it,” Henry said. “It’s a really cute town and everyone’s really nice.”
He added that he hoped to meet more locals before the crew left town.
Niki Smith had a booth on the square where she was promoting her books. She authored “Nightingale,” “The Last Dance” and “Secret” mystery novels.
Smith said she attended MusicFest both Friday and Saturday. She said she’d seen lots of people, including several from out of town.
The weekend closed with performances from Jimmie Allen, Carly Pearce, Justin Moore and Toby Keith at the MAD Amphitheater. Mary Heather & the Sinner took the stage at the Griffin Restaurant afterwards, followed by Gucci Mane at the First Financial Music Hall at the Griffin.
El Dorado mayoral candidate Bill Luther said he had plans to attend the Toby Keith concert Saturday night and was enjoying the daytime activities.
“It’s fantastic,” Luther said. “Everybody has been raving about the jump rope team.”
Bob Tarren, chief marketing officer at MAD, said the weekend was a great success. He said he spoke with a lot of attendees at Friday night’s concerts who said they were not from El Dorado.
“That’s good for El Dorado because we’ve been trying to produce programming that will attract people from out of town,” Tarren said.
He said that when it rained during Sammy Hagar & the Circle’s set Friday night, hardly anyone left, and Hagar noticed. He said Hagar noted that other people in other cities wouldn’t have stuck around during the rain.
Tarren added that Toby Keith’s performance Saturday night was gearing up to be another big hit.
“It’s going to be a great night,” Tarren said Saturday afternoon.
Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].