Fortune Williams Music Festival comes to Staunton

Those students not leaving Harrisonburg for fall break can still be entertained without leaving the Valley by attending a music festival on Friday and Saturday in Staunton, Virginia. Sponsored by the Harrisonburg Auto Mall, the First Annual Fortune Williams Music Festival boasts several large name performers, including the initiators behind the festival, Jimmy Fortune and Robin and Linda Williams.

Fortune was approached by persons in Staunton who were interested in having a music festival and wanted him to be involved. Fortune, friend of the Williams, got in touch with the two, as well as Dr. Joe Dockery, chiropractor and director of Queen City Acoustic.

"I've known them for years," said Dockery. "We got together, talked about it, and decided to give it a try. I've had experience the last five years as a promoter and they have it as performers. We perceived it to be really big and wanted it to be really big. Plus, I was ready to go for something larger. It was a good fit."

The festival will feature Fortune, the Williams, Nancy Griffith, and Ricky Skaggs. Additionally, local and regional acts will be performing throughout both days. The featured performers will play on the large stage, whereas the others play on what is called the small-stage. While all tickets for featured performers cost $25-$35, the local and regional acts are free. After each evening's featured performance, there will be "pub gigs" at local restaurants with no cover charge, featuring more "small-stage" performers.

There will also be food vendors, a magician, and the usual concert materials; T-shirts, CDs, and tapes.

Dockery is expecting quite a crowd, as evidenced from his current ticket sales. "We have about 1100 tickets sold for Nancy Griffith and about 900 for Ricky Skaggs," said Dockery. "The sales come from everywhere. We have them coming from as far as Louisiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Maine, North and South Carolina, and Georgia."

Despite excellent sales, Dockery still doesn't know exactly how many people to expect for the festival. "You never know until the weekend when people show up for the show," he said. He is also optimistic about people showing up on the spur of the movement, especially for the free shows. He urged all of Harrisonburg to, "grab buddies, come on down, and have a good time this weekend."