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Organizers pleased with music festival turnout

Staff photo: Kevin Wilson

Clint Black performs “Shoes You’re Wearing” during the Clovis Music Festival on Saturday night.

Staff Writer

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Nearly 2,000 people watched performances during the 2016 Clovis Music Festival, organizers said, and almost 800 tickets were sold for Saturday’s Clint Black concert at Marshall Auditorium.

“We were really happy about that turnout,” Clovis / Curry County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ernie Kos said, “considering it was the high school football homecoming (weekend).”

Kos said 392 tickets were sold for Friday’s American Bandstand concert, not including the 400 given to sponsors as part of their vendor packages.

Black’s Saturday performance produced 789 tickets sold, plus 400 sponsor tickets, meaning few of the 1,400 seats at Marshall were empty.

Kos said there was a line around the building as the “Killin’ Time” singer prepared for the show.

“We’re definitely celebrating the music festival overall,” Kos said. “I’ve been doing this for over 20 years, and this is the most positive feedback I’ve received.”

Kos said the festival drew Clovis locals and rock and roll fans from England and nationwide.

The annual festival honors rock producer Norman Petty who helped launched the careers of Buddy Holly, Buddy Knox and more in the 1950s and ‘60s.

“The festival is one thing we have that nobody else has,” she said.

Organizers said the 2016 festival was a marked improvement, especially in attendance, from a year earlier. Barely 1,300 people came out to watch Tejano star Michael Salgado and rocker Lou Gramm from the band Foreigner during last year’s festival.

Kos said the festival committee is already gearing up to discuss next year’s plans.

With Randy Petty stepping down as the committee’s chairman after nine years, Kos said one of the first items of business is finding his replacement.

“Randy will still be involved,” Kos said, “just not as the chairman. We’ll probably know within the next 30 days who that will be.”

Petty said his last festival as the chairman ended on a high note.

He said Clint Black was received “tremendously, and very much so.”

“Specifically for Black,” Petty said, “I received good feedback from folks who’d call me or email me. And out in the audience area shortly after the show, I heard lots of good compliments.

“I talked to folks who said they weren’t huge country music fans. They came just because they like the music festival, but they were glad they came.”