Committee stunned by entertainer s death
Committee explores options for festival entertainer
Staff reporter
It was the one word to describe the reaction of the community when it heard the news of Chris LeDoux's death. Devastated.
One group of people probably the most devastated was the Chingawassa Days festival committee.
The country music superstar was scheduled to perform June 4 in Marion during the festival in his comeback tour.
In 2000, LeDoux had a liver transplant and as late as January was battling bile duct cancer. LeDoux died Tuesday at a Wyoming hospital with family and friends nearby.
Marion was to be his first stop during a whirlwind tour throughout the Midwest this summer.
The committee is saddened by the entertainer's death but now are faced with the daunting task of finding another entertainer of LeDoux's caliber and who is available June 4.
Committee members met Friday evening to discuss options regarding the main attraction.
Contact continues with the producer of the Saturday night main attraction, Patti Donahoe Fadden.
"We had a home-run lined up here (with LeDoux)," said Mike Powers, committee chairman and co-chairman of the Saturday evening entertainment committee.
The public's interest had been phenomenal with Marion Chamber of Commerce taking more calls than ever from people wanting tickets, he added.
"Contacts were being made to the chamber in volumes we (as a committee) had never seen before," he said.
The group had just received the official "OK" to begin advertising and promoting the show a few days before LeDoux's death.
Buttons with LeDoux's name were being printed, extra security workers were being organized — all in anticipation of the largest crowd to date at the Saturday night performance.
Traditionally, the committee had booked classic rock and roll acts. Two previous country acts had performed at the festival — Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Kentucky HeadHunters.
This show was going to be different, Powers said.
The producer had suggested LeDoux to the group because LeDoux was a close, personal friend of hers and she wanted him to have the opportunity to perform in Marion.
But now, the group is stepping back, taking a deep breath, and trying to come up with another act with the same broad appeal as LeDoux.
"We're looking for another up-tempo country act with a good stage show that rock and roll fans can enjoy," Powers said.
He sees the rotation of country and classic rock acts as a way to appeal to a broader audience.
"Not everybody likes country music and not everybody likes rock and roll," Powers explained, "but in order to bring a class act of either kind and for the festival to sustain, both types of acts need to be supported."
A goal for this year's festival was to achieve sufficient financial success to put on a special festival in 2006 — the 10th anniversary of Chingawassa Days.
"Previously to deciding on Chris, we were very close to signing a contract with Kansas," Powers explained. Unfortunately, the group decided to do a European tour this summer and the committee decided to look at country acts.
The committee typically begins discussing big-name acts in October and negotiating a contract around the first of the year. This late date will be a challenge for any seasoned producer.
Nothing is being ruled out at this point. Everything will be contingent on availability and price but the committee's leader is optimistic there will be a silver lining through all this.
"This festival is good for Marion," Powers said, "and hopefully something positive will come from this."
