This past Saturday, the 2015 Champaign Music Festival kicked off promptly at 6 p.m. with local artist Brandon T. Washington belting out some great solo guitar and vocals to a sparse crowd that began to fill in more toward the end of his set. In between songs, Washington regaled the crowd with a variety of stories: the inspiration behind his songs, his membership in past local bands, and even how he’s working on his Master’s degree. As his time on stage neared conclusion, he put down his guitar performed his final song acapella. An excellent finish to a superb opening act.
After a brief intermission to change out equipment, local trio Curb Service took the stage to further amp up the crowd with their guitar, bass, and drum combination. In addition to an intensely energetic score from their instruments, DJ Larry E. Gates II mixed in a little keyboard, a pinch of record-scratching, and dash of electronically mixed background to round out the band’s sound in a way that got the crowd’s hands up and swaying in the air. For their last song, Curb Service had a bouncing and strutting Washington join them on stage for a performance that left the crowd screaming for more.
Unfortunately, by the end of Curb Service’s performance the skies had started to darken, and as setup for the next act began the rain started coming down. A few drops at first followed by a light drizzle didn’t faze the crowd, which continued to grow in anticipation of Toad the Wet Sprocket’s upcoming set.
However, as the band took the stage the drizzle turned to downpour with flashes of lightning that caused the show to grind to a halt. Lead singer and guitarist Glen Phillips had the honor of announcing to the disappointed and wet crowd that they were pausing the show for safety reasons shortly after 8 p.m., and they would be back once the all clear was given. Sadly, this was not to be; Park District officials thanked the crowd (which continued to grow despite the long pause and the poor weather) for their patience and worked to keep everyone informed but finally called the night to an early end not long after 10 p.m. due to continued lightning in the area.
Park District Management ultimately had no choice but to cancel the remaining performances. Concert-goers who stayed did receive a consolation prize for sticking around, though. Phillips returned to visit with the crowd at ground-level and was joined by Smash Mouth members Sean Hurwitz (guitar) and Jason Sutter (drums). All three were true gentlemen and spent about an hour mingling with fans, signing autographs, and taking part in an uncountable amount of selfies. Some lucky crowd members even received guitar picks, t-shirts, and copies of the set lists that were ultimately unable to be played.
The night may have ended early, but it was fun while it lasted and fans were truly appreciative of the efforts made to keep the show going and the opportunity to meet with the artists they came to see.
Photos by Scott Wells, words by Stephen Kemp.