Music

The ongoing drought may be choking the life out of most growing things, but it may be a boon for Saturday's Music at McClellan.

“I just got an e-mail that says for Saturday there's no rain in sight. One person's crisis is another's opportunity, I guess,” says Pete Conroy, chairman of the Music at McClellan committee.

Good weather is a must for the four-concert Music at McClellan series, now in its fourth year. The show, anchored by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, is held outdoors and, really, who wants to sit out in the rain? (That includes symphony musicians. Even though the stage is covered, their instruments react badly to dampness and humidity.)

Organizers of Music at McClellan hope the good weather combines with the music to draw a healthy crowd on Saturday. That's not a guarantee. As of last week, only about $1,000 in tickets had been sold, according to organizers. That's 50 of the $20 tickets or about 17 of the $60 “anytime” tickets (four tickets to any show in any combination).

Organizers say they're confident that ticket sales will increase before Saturday, but the event may be suffering from “fourth-year syndrome,” Conroy says.

“The thought is that it's lost its newness and it's become a tradition — which is great — but the mystery is gone,” Conroy says. “I think that the longer you do something, the more people know what to expect and sometimes that causes them to wait to buy their tickets.”

General rule of thumb with such events is that “the longer you exist, the more pre-sales go down and gate sales increase,” he says.

Last year, each Music at McClellan show attracted about 800, Conroy says, and he'd be happy with similar crowds this year.

“We're always hoping for more, but we'd happy for the same,” he says.

No stars of major note are scheduled at this year's Music at McClellan — unless you count Darth Vader — which may be influencing ticket sales. The only guest artists in the series are two Broadway actors — Susan Egan and Sal Viviano — who are scheduled to perform during the Bravo Broadway concert on June 9. In years past, such acts as Three Dog Night, the Coasters and the Miracles performed. The decision to not have big-name guest artists this year was a financial one to save money.

The lack of big names probably has slowed early ticket sales, acknowledges Tom Potts, a Music at McClellan committee member. But sales also may be affected because publicity for the event is running behind last year's, he says, so the word is just now getting out.

“We have a direct-mail piece that just got out last week, and last year it got out about three weeks before (the event),” Potts says.

To try to attract people, there will be local musical acts performing before and after most concerts. Multi-instrumentalist Jim Marsh of Distant Cousins will perform with other local musicians before the shows on Saturday and again on June 9 and June 16. The Jaxpan Steel Drum Band is set to perform before the concerts on Saturday and June 2. Hodepodge Orchestra is scheduled before the shows on June 9 and 16.

Tad of Jazz, a six-member outfit that plays Duke Ellington-style jazz, will play after the concerts on June 2 and 9, from about 10 p.m. until midnight.

Folks are still encouraged to bring food, drinks, lawn chairs and blankets (even candelabra) to all the concerts and to make an elegant evening of it. If toting food doesn't sound good to you, food and drink vendors will be on site. too.

Jugglers, activities for the kids and other events also will be held prior to each concert, starting about 6 p.m.

Music at McClellan