The fireworks started at about 20 minutes after nine on an evening at Hope Municipal Airport that had been devoted to country-rock, southern rock, gospel and at least one original from the three bands that took to the stage at Hope Municipal Airport.
Night Hawk Band got going at 6:00 p.m. with sure-footed renditions of songs like “I Saw the Light,” “Where Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Flies.” At 7:00, the Road Dog Revival, a new band that is only months old began their set, which leaned heavily on Southern rock. After a few sound issues, it became clear, this band boasts a charismatic lead singer with deft control of a tenor that keened on verses and soared on choruses and a convincing lead guitarist who contributed many testifying solos to their covers of “Bury My Bones,” “Mama Rock Me,” and, perhaps their best performance of all, “Simple Kind of Man.” They also favored us with an infectious original named “Eleven Years Old,” that evoked memories of a southern boyhood.
Hope’s own South Down Main, fronted by local legend Jeff Smith of the sheers and the singing, closed things out with an hour of solidly in the pocket playing as the sun fell and the dark rose behind them. Crowd pleasing rockers like “Hurt So Good,” “Keep Your Hands to Yourself,” and “Pink Houses” rivalled the original recordings for attitude and bite while the slow ones like “Cast No Stones” and "Zombie" rolled more irresistibly forward because of Smith’s heavy treads toward the meaning of the lyrics.
After his set, Hope Advertising and Tourism Promotion Commission President Sharon Caldwell and Parks Superintendent Summer Chambers thoughtfully warned everyone to get their kids in sight because the lights were about to be switched off. About twenty minutes of a booming light show cannoned to the upper reaches thanks to a crew led by Hope Mayor Don Still.
But it had been a great evening of togetherness for Hope citizens, amid the food trucks, bouncy castles and slides, wall-climbing, lemonade drinking, sunshining and sparks flying. See if our pictures caught that.
