The Festival also is a family friendly event as there was a craft center and other activities to keep the kids busy. Once again the proceeds of an expected $30,000 will be donated to the Boys Hope, Girls Hope foundation and the Phoenix Day Child and Family Learning Centers.
This year’s setup looked about the same as last year’s with plenty of food and drink booths on the perimeter of the field. There was the artist’s colony section with some nifty stuff and the obligatory tacky items and, of course, tee shirts were available. I’m glad the organizers haven’t gone overboard with the booths, enough is enough with that sort of attraction .With the heat of Saturday I was thankful for the suds available at the Sierra Nevada beer booth. I also was glad I lathered down with sun block as the sun was shining in all of its Arizona glory.
The music at The McDowell Mountain Music Festival just keeps getting better. Last year was good with well known acts like Bruce Hornsby and Solomon Burke performing along with good but lesser known acts. This year was an improvement as Friday’s lineup included the multi platinum Black Crowes as the featured act of a day that included Traveler, The Pistoleros, Tishamingo, Son Volt, and Buckwheat Zydeco.