montgomery freedom fest elders

In spite of a full day of rain, clouds were few and far between by the time Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry took the stage at Freedom Fest in Gladstone.  The country band hammered through nearly every track that had made them relatively infamous to a good size crowd singing right alongside them. 

The Elders were the only others to take the stage, playing their fun array of folk tunes just prior to that.  Thankfully, the organizers kept with the intended schedule, or we might have been there all night waiting on bands to finish up so we could to the fireworks.

The change of venue this year to Happy Rock Park, from the usual location at Oak Grove Park, appeared to work out much better for the increased attendance, offering plenty of parking and space to move about.  If it had been a perfectly sunny and temperate day, it might not have worked out so well.    Fortunately, the culmination of various conditions shined down on the event planners in the end.