Little River Fest rocks on: Entertainers refuse to let weather conditions stop them from performing at 8th Annual event

The Usual Suspects were one of four groups to provide musical entertainment for the crowd at the 8th Annual Littler River Fest at Hornersville, Mo., on Saturday, April 18.

Staff photos by George Anderson

The festival officially started at 5 p.m., as the Delta Queens went on stage to begin their set. The Delta Queens were the first of four groups to play at the event. Others included The Usual Suspects, "Moaning" Michelle Malone, and Black Oak Arkansas.

Each group played for one to two hours as the crowd browsed the various booths and food carts.

T-shirts and posters with original artwork by Steve Sokoloff are still available by contacting Chris Droke at (573) 344-6640.

Despite the rain, Chris Droke, of Coldwater Productions, said all four of the groups played.

"Everybody played their whole sets," Droke said. "It's such a shame that the rain and [the radar on] everybody's cell phone kept people from turning out, because it really was a nice night. The entertainment was still great and everybody went through their complete sets."

Droke said the turnout for the event was almost a third of what it normally is.

"The people that were there had a really fine time," Droke continued. "You can't blame anyone because when they dial their cell phone up, [the radar] was red and they said 'Hornersville is getting hammered'."

Droke said that even though the event was hampered by scattered showers, he couldn't have asked for a better night.

"It was a really good night as far as temperature," Droke said. "It wasn't hot, it wasn't cold, there were no mosquitos. It was actually a pretty night."

Droke also said he thought the humidity in the air kept the music close to the ground and the sound crew did an excellent job.

Droke also noted that a lot of work had to be done to the area following the January ice storm.

"The ice storm had quite a bit to do with our expenses this year," Droke said.

We had to almost totally rebuild the venue. We had to do a lot of work on the road. We had to totally rebuild the entire fence. The Friday before, we spent $2,500 putting a roof on the west side of the stage."

Although the turnout was lower than expected, Droke said he still plans on having the event next year, and may even do a jet-ski rodeo in conjunction with the Jaycees this summer.

"Coldwater productions would like to thank everyone for turning out," Droke said. "The entertainment was great. The venue is one of the finest venues from St. Louis to Memphis.

"It was a great [event]," Droke continued, "it's just the rain kept a lot of people away."

Commemorative T-shirts and original artwork posters can still be purchased by calling Droke at (573) 344-6640.