The Greenwood Music Fest, despite some minor technical problems, was a big hit, its promoter said.
“It went perfect. Somebody said there were 2,500 people here last night,” said David Elmore, the owner of D&P Concessions, the sponsor of the event.
Kyle Thornhill of Greenwood said he came late Friday night to catch a performance by blues singer Bobby Rush, who recently won his first Grammy at the age of 83 for his album “Porcupine Meat.”
“Even though they had a malfunction — the lights went out for a little while — Bobby Rush put on a fabulous show,” he said.
After the lights went out during Rush’s performance, his fellow musicians stepped in and used penlights and cellphones to keep the music flowing, Thornhill said.
He estimated the lights were out for at least 20 minutes.
“I bet a lot of people left, but if you stayed, it was definitely worth the wait,” Thornhill said.
Cindy Elmore of Carroll County, a cousin of David Elmore’s, said the outage didn’t cause any real problems: “Everybody just chilled out.”
Sitting with Cindy Elmore was her dog, Lucy, who seemed at home as the Miles Flatt Band played.
Vickie Foster of Greenwood said she came out Friday night and returned for more on Saturday.
“We got here last night and stayed ’til midnight. We came back today. I’ve enjoyed it all. ... I like the bands, the music and all of the concession stands. I love it all,” she said.
Loraine Hudson of Greenwood was there Saturday with her daughter, Lauryn, 10 months, and friend Kandis Porter. The cool breeze and partly cloudy skies were perfect, she said.
“It’s peaceful. Everybody’s getting along. The weather’s nice,” she said.
James Sanders of Leland was on hand Friday to see Rush. On Saturday, he brought a friend, Quintus Johnson of Greenville, to see if Rush might provide an encore.
“We were hoping he’d come back tonight,” Sanders said.
•Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
