by Mike Hudgins
As the last few hours of Saturday afternoon faded into evening, the old stage at the Rocky Mountain Grange was heating up.
That night, just a little south of Hamilton, it belonged to the blues.
Blue Shadows opened the second annual Equinox Blues Festival before Moneypenny took over, with an open jam keeping the music going into the night.
The festival was the idea of Wade Holmes, a Grange member, harmonica player and blues fan who hopes the September event will become something people in Hamilton look forward to each year.
“I love the blues and I want to make it a thing that people look forward to every year,” Holmes said. “The Grange is a great venue and promoting it for music in Hamilton adds to the community.”
Holmes worked with Rocky Mountain Grange President Kasi Crocker to incorporate the festival into something bigger.
Saturday’s festival also kicked off the sixth season of Live at the Grange, a concert series running through March that brings a variety of local musicians to the hall while supporting local organizations and causes along the way.
For Crocker, that combination of music and community goes back to the beginning of the series. Live at the Grange started in 2020 as a way to bring people together while also providing opportunities for musicians who had been unable to perform during COVID.
“We started this series back in 2020, just as a way to get people back together after COVID,” Crocker said. “But also, to put musicians back to work who had been out of work all during COVID.”
At the same time, organizers saw an opportunity to support local nonprofits. Each event benefits a different organization or community project while the musicians are paid for their performances.
Saturday’s festival benefited Rocky Mountain Grange #116 itself, helping provide funding for the season ahead. Crocker said that includes paying musicians as well as covering expenses such as advertising and supplies. Local business sponsors also help support the series.
From there, the benefits spread to organizations around the valley.
The series continues on Oct. 30 with DJ Sketchy House and a Halloween party and costume contest, along with a food drive for area food banks. Sky Moose takes the stage Nov. 13 in support of the Hamilton Ice Rink and Hamilton Downtown Foundation.
Black Stripes follows Dec. 11, benefiting the West Fork Volunteer Fire Department. After the new year, The Skurfs perform Jan. 8 to benefit O’Hara Commons, followed by Pack Strings Feb. 12, with proceeds going toward Rocky Mountain Grange #116’s ADA project.
Poor Henry closes out the season March 12 with the Grange’s annual membership drive. The band has become something of a tradition there and is the one act Crocker said returns to the series every year.
This season alone moves from blues to a Halloween DJ event, funk, rock, what Crocker described as “ski surf punk,” and bluegrass.
“We really like just giving people all sorts of different varieties of music coming in there,” Crocker said.
There is one thing the performers tend to have in common. “They provide good dance music,” she said.
That fits a venue Crocker likes to say has “the best dance floor in town.”
Live at the Grange events typically begin with a potluck at 6 p.m., with music running from 7 to 10 p.m. People are welcome to bring a dish, but Crocker said they don’t have to. Beer, wine and nonalcoholic beverages are available, and admission is a suggested $15 donation. Kids are free.
The series has also developed a reputation among musicians. Crocker said organizers sought out bands during the first few seasons, often finding performers through friends and word of mouth. These days, the relationship sometimes works the other way around.
“We’ve gotten on a few, somehow, email lists that musicians will now contact us looking for gigs,” Crocker said.
Bands seem to enjoy the venue as much as the audience does.
“We do have just an amazing stage, and they love it, and the sound is good in there,” Crocker said.
Crocker doesn’t see the possibilities running out anytime soon.
“There’s still more bands to represent, more nonprofits yet to go,” she said.
Live at the Grange has also helped introduce more people to the Grange itself, an agricultural-based civic organization with charity as one of its central tenets. Bringing people through the doors for live music provides another way to carry that mission into the community.
“We want to be able to not only get people together,” Crocker said, “but for a good purpose.”
If Saturday night was any indication, there will be plenty more music coming from the old Grange stage before the blues return next September.
Leave a Reply