Gentlemen of the Road

Salida rolled out the red carpet for the Gentlemen of the Road tour stop.  I must admit that the locals were at the least nervous with the large numbers predicted in our beautiful valley.  When all was said and done, I am very impressed with the production.  The professionalism of Madison House Presents, their attention to detail and general organization is a model for others to strive.

The festival provided travel downtown via well-organized shuttles. Salida’s downtown is always fun and funky, but for the big weekend, they pulled out all the stops. The windows of nearly every shop were elaborately decorated with British flags, top hats and mustaches, evoking the GOTR Victorian aesthetic. Music fans happily floated on tubes down the Arkansas River, straight through the heart of downtown. Downtown festivities included a pop-up rock poster shop, creative wares from lots of different vendors, locals in Victorian costume, homemade pies and diverse food offerings, and a second stage of festival music at the downtown band shell. The whole town pulled together to exhibit its creative hospitality and every festival-goer was impressed.