Organizers declare New Madrid’s Music on the Mississippi a success

The Marshall Tucker Band performs during Music on the Mississippi on Aug. 31 in New Madrid.

Jill Bock/Standard Democrat

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Organizers are already planning on how to make Music on the Mississippi bigger and better.

An estimated 3,000 people filled Main Street Saturday afternoon for the food truck rally then crossed the Mississippi River levee to listen to performances by local entertainers, Ol’ Rivertown and Double Take, and headliner, The Marshall Tucker Band.

New Madrid Mayor Nick White said he has received lots of positive remarks about the first-ever event conducted Aug. 31 along the banks of the Mississippi River in Cottonwood Park.

“Everybody said they loved it,” White said. “I thought it was a home run.”

White said as the evening came to a conclusion, he and other committee members behind Music on the Mississippi were talking about next year’s event

“We know things now that we wouldn’t have known before. We already are talking about changes to make to make next year even better,” White said.

Weather did play a factor, organizers agreed. By midafternoon, temperatures reached in the 90s. According to New Madrid Police Chief Joey Higgerson, ambulance personnel who were on site treated about 15 to 20 people for heat-related problems. None of them were serious, he added.

A brief rain also dispersed a few in the crowd, but brought lower temperatures just as the Marshall Tucker Band began to play.

Higgerson estimated about 2,000 people remained through the entire concert.

“Overall, I think it went great,” Higgerson said. “All the concertgoers very positive. There were absolutely zero problems. It was just a really, really good atmosphere.”

City Administrator Aaron Griffin said the event was not only a local and regional draw, bringing visitors from Poplar Bluff, Cape Girardeau and St. Louis but also brought visitors from neighboring states and as far away as Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Griffin said everyone attending seemed to have fun. He offered his thanks to the citizens who supported the event, to the bands, to the food truck vendors and especially to the sponsors.

White said financially, the event did well. He said sponsorships covered the costs of bringing in the Marshall Tucker Band and helped cover other event costs. Any funds remaining will be used for next year’s event.

White admitted the committee is already talking about next year’s headliner.

“They don’t let you book artists this far out. Usually it is about six months before the event,” he said. “But we definitely want to go bigger and maybe even make it an all-day event.”