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Adams County’s mask wearing ordinance will be lifted effective May 1, just in time for concerts on the Natchez bluff that are sure to attract a lot of attendees.

The inaugural Mississippi Mudbug Festival is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 15.

The festival will include live music, C&M Crawfish with a variety of other food and beverage vendors. Gates will open at 1 p.m. with music beginning at 3 p.m.

The lineup includes a medley of country, southern rock and zydeco music brought by Riley Green, Drivin N Cryin, Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience, Southern Avenue and The B3.

Tickets are on sale now at ardenland.net.

Soon after, country music star Hank Williams Jr. will perform July 4 on the bluff.

Tickets to the Hank Williams Jr. show go on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday, April 23. Gates will open at 1 p.m., with music beginning at 3 p.m. Support acts will be announced at a later date.

Both of these concerts are produced by Ardenland, the same company that brought us the unforgettable lineup for the 2019 Natchez Balloon Festival and the Bishop Gunn Crawfish Boil.

Something both of those events had in common, besides setting the stage near the scenic backdrop of the Mississippi River, was the crowds.

We, like most people, could not be more excited to welcome such talented and well-known musicians to Natchez. Finally seeing things happen again after COVID-19 shutdowns literally brings music to our ears.

Still, that doesn’t mean we should throw caution to the wind. Mask mandate or no mask mandate, we should all do our part to keep our city safe.

Haven’t had the vaccine yet? Wear a mask and practice social distancing when around people you wouldn’t otherwise see everyday. A variant strain of COVID has already reached Adams County.

The last thing we want is to relive 2020 all over again by going into another lockdown.