River and Blues Festival

STORY BY AMY PASSARETTI PHOTO BY COREY ARWOOD

After five years of the region missing out on one of its largest music festivals, Wetumpka announced

River and Blues is back in action. The one-day free event in July draws up to 8,000 attendees from around the Southeast for the soulful blues rumblings offered from a variety of musical groups. The festival returned this year after a four-year hiatus.

“When we first announced it was coming back, everyone was like, 'Oh my gosh, I’m so glad it’s coming back. We missed it,’” City of Wetumpka director of special events Valencia Johnson said.

River and Blues is funded 100 percent by local business sponsors and local fundraising efforts, and in 2018, the city struggled to secure the needed money.

“We had to put it on a shelf for a little bit,” Johnson said. “We planned to bring it back in 2020, but then, of course, COVID.”

Thankfully, the city was able to bring back the community favorite this year by committing to finding a way to raise the funds.

“And we were successful,” Johnson said.

The event this year features music, vendors, food and a good time to be had by all ages. Musical groups Bon Bon Vivant and Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha Chas made the trip from New Orleans to take the River Region stage.

Williams, the headliner, has performed at past River and Blues concerts and always gets the crowd on its feet. The group, jamming since 1985, comprises Williams’ cousin, nephew and brother, rocking the bass, accordion and guitar, respectively, as well as one of the best rubber board players around.

Nathan Dennis, Allen and Djuan Williams and Clifford Alexander make up the five-piece band hailing from South Louisiana.

Bon Bon Vivant is also a five-piece family band from New Orleans, experimenting with high-energy dance music and dark, sensual melodies. The name is derived from the term meaning a person who enjoys a sociable and luxurious lifestyle.

Also featured were local jazz, Americana band Lo-Fi Loungers out of Montgomery, and Mobile-based Jukebox Brass Band, which puts a contemporary twist on the brass band sound.

Nathanial Williams and the Zydeco Cha Chas headlined this year's River and Blues concert in downtown Wetumpka

Aside from the musical element, the event spotlights local artisans and their 100 percent handmade wares for sale, which Johnson said is part of what makes River and Blues special.

A committee of community members brainstormed the first event nearly eight years when Thad Hankins saw a Zydeco band perform at a Montgomery show. He wanted to bring the concept to Wetumpka, and others rallied around the idea.

“2012 was the first event, and to say we were surprised at the magnitude was an understatement. Over 10,000 people showed up. At the time, we didn’t realize what a hole we were missing in Wetumpka,” Tiffany Robinson, one of the original event founders, told TPI in 2017.

The event is held in downtown Wetumpka on a Saturday evening. Guests bring chairs and coolers to enjoy the festivities.