You Shoulda Been There!
Today, August 15, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of the beginning of Woodstock (August 15, 1969), the festival of music that is said to define a generation. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of a similarly iconic music festival that began before Woodstock, continued beyond it for many years, and brought the joy of music to many people in a relaxed, open atmosphere.
The Mississippi River Festival (MRF)was an adventurous, risky, and highly creative project of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE)which celebrated its own 50th anniversary in 2007. Located east of the Mississippi River across from St. Louis, the University in 1969 entered into a partnership with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to perform a series of concerts in a natural amphitheater site on the northern portion of the campus. The University constructed a large, elaborate canvas tent under the long-term supervision of Skip Manley, who had years of experience as a circus tent manager. The tent was equipped with a stage, seats, an acoustic shell, and an excellent sound system. Extensive additional seating was available on the lawn which fronted into the tent. The Festival began in 1969 and was operated by the University until 1977. With increasing costs and financial losses, the University contracted the MRF to a private show business management firm to lease the site and operate the festival. Unfortunately, this arrangement proved unsuccessful and the MRF ceased operation after the 1980 season.
Although the MRF began as a venture with the St Louis Symphony, the Festival from the beginning was designed to feature the musical and performing arts in all their diversity. Under the direction of its conductor Walter Susskind, the Orchestra together with distinguished soloists such as Van Cliburn and Andre Watts performed many times during the MRF's early years. The orchestral concerts tend to be expensive to produce and they did not draw as well as concerts for other music. Thus, over the years, the St. Louis Symphony gradually reduced its participation in the MRF with other forms of music assuming greater prominence.
Historians Stephen Kerber and Amanda Bahr-Eviola had access to an extensive archive of photographs and other documentation of the MRF taken over the years by, among other sources, university photographer Charles Cox. Kerber and Bahr-Eviola wrote this commemorative account "The Mississippi River Festival" (2006) as part of the 50 year anniversary of SIUE in 2007.Plans are also underway for the construction of a commemorative marker at the site of the MRF later this year. This book is part of the "Images of America" series of Arcadia Press. Images of America renders an invaluable service in documenting the local history of places and activities in the United States which generally do not make their way into larger, more formal histories.
This book includes about 200 photographs and accompanying text covering the history of the MRF. The book is in three chapters, the first of which covers the planning stages and opening years of the Festival, 1967 -- 1970, while the third chapter covers the sad years of the Festival's demise, 1978-1980. By far the longest section of the book is devoted to the glory years of the MRF between 1971 -- 1977. Most of the book is devoted to photographs of the many performers who graced the tent of the MRF during these years. The photos capture the intensity of artists at work. John Chapin and Judy Collins each performed under the MRF tent five times over the years, an accomplishment matched by no other popular artists. Their appearances receive extensive coverage in the book. A performance by the Who in 1971 resulted in the largest attendance for a concert in the MRF history. This concert, of course, is covered. Other performers include, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Denver, Chicago, Sarah Vaughn, Helen Reddy, Joan Baez, the Jefferson Starship, Yes, and many more. The photos are accompanied by texts which offer information on the works performed and on the response of the audience. The book also captures something of the ambience of the MRF with the large audience stretched over the lawn on long summer nights, and the colorful staff of employees and students who helped run the Festival and make it a success.
I never attended the MRF but was able to get a sense of it through this book. The book captures something of the joy and emotion of music which are timeless. It also preserves a specific place and a specific mood in the United States both of which are unlikely to return the way they once were. The place and the feeling were those of the Mississippi River Festival of the Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville during the era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
