Well, it’s October. And in Natchez, that means the weather is finally cooling down, the pilgrims have landed, and balloon festival weekend is close at hand!!

But there’s something else happening too! The second annual Music at the Mounds will  take place Oct. 29 – 30 at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.

Last year, Village director Lance Harris and I put our heads together to come up with a new event. There had been a previous Music at the Mounds back in 1994, and we thought a revamping of it would be perfect. Lance handled the official stuff while I organized the music and promotional side of things. Music at the Mounds was a success in spite of a torrential rain that forced it to relocate to the very generous folks at Trinity Episcopal Day School. Their gym and facilities saved the day. Thanks again.

This year, we’ve expanded the festival into a two-day event. We’re going to have art booths, face painting, plenty of food, and of course, lots of great music.

We’ll kick things off Saturday morning. The Oct. 29 schedule will include:

11 a.m. – noon — Concordia Parish Talented Program Students

Noon – 1 p.m. — Ben Lewis

1-2 p.m. — Mojo Mudd

2-3:30 p.m. — Cary Hudson

3:30 – 5 p.m. — George McConnell

5 – 6:30 p.m. — Papa Mali

6:30 – 8:30 p.m. — Alvin Youngblood Hart’s Muscle Theory

The Sunday, Oct. 30  line up will include:

Noon – 1 p.m. — Honeyboy & Boots

1- 2 p.m. — Monster

2 – 3 p.m. — Company

3 – 4 p.m. — Gunboat

4 – 5 p.m. — YZ Ealey

5 – 7 p.m.  Brint Anderson Trio

I wanna say a huge thanks to everyone that’s helped out in any way. We couldn’t do this without you. I’m very excited and proud of this festival. It’s the Natchez tricentennial and it’s the Grand Village Park’s 40th anniversary. That makes this year’s Music at the Mounds even more special. I really hope you come out. Admission is only $5. Beer will be sold on the premises. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome. This IS a family friendly event, so bring the kids and let them run around outside while you kick back and enjoy some tunes. Dogs are welcome too, but they need to be on a leash.

We still need art/craft vendors!! Only $25 per day! To sign up, contact the Grand Village at: 601-446-6502

Rain or shine, it’s gonna be a great time.

Go to “Music at the Mounds, Natchez MS” on Facebook for more details. Thanks, y’all! Happy birthday, Natchez!
Brandon McCRanie is an organizer of Music at the Mounds.