Residents pack riverfronts for celebrations

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Hugh E. Bir plays a song Sunday night at the New Albany Amphitheater. Bir's band, Hugh E. Bir and the Concrete Canyon Cowboys, opened the show. Staff photo by Jerod Clapp
Identity Crisis opens the show Sunday at the Jeffersonville RiverStage. They opened for the lead act, the Louisville Crashers as part of the Jeffersonville Independence Celebration. Staff photo by Jerod Clapp
The crowd at the New Albany Amphitheater filled the seats for Sammy Kershaw and Aaron Tippin. Staff photo by Jerod Clapp
Matt Rogers from New Albany feeds his niece, Sally Rogers, on Sunday at the Jeffersonville Independence Celebration. Staff photo by Jerod Clapp

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July 4, 2011

Musical weekends highlight holiday in New Albany, Jeffersonville

By JEROD CLAPP Jerod.Clapp@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Mon Jul 04, 2011, 07:58 PM EDT

> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Jeffersonville and New Albany residents didn’t seem to mind saving the gas and staying at home for the holiday weekend, but a few out-of-towners came to see what the locals were checking out Sunday night.

New Albany’s Independence Day show at the Amphitheater and Jeffersonville’s Independence Celebration featured live music acts, including The Louisville Crashers in Jeffersonville and country stars Joe Diffie, Sammy Kershaw and Aaron Tippin in New Albany.

Matt Dennison, president of the New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety and a member of the city’s riverfront committee, said he and Shelle England, riverfront committee chairwoman, spent a lot of volunteer hours putting together the free show at the New Albany Amphitheater.

“This is our big event,” Dennison said. “We felt like we had put on some good events before, but we worked to make this the big daddy of them all.”

Dennison said he thought this year’s crowd was bigger than any he’s seen at the waterfront.

England said it was exciting for her because the amphitheater hadn’t seen big names like Diffie, Kershaw and Tippin before.

“This was very different for us,” England said. “It involved bigger talent than we have dealt with for a while.”

Dennison said he was glad they were able to organize an event to entertain people from the area without charging them anything. He said little to no taxpayer money was used to fund the event.

After the music acts, the New Albany show ended with a fireworks display.

But locals weren’t the only ones who got in on the entertainment. Mike Pfaffenberger and Kelli Reinhart drove from Seymour to see the show.

Pfaffenberger said New Albany was just far enough away from home for the trip to feel like a getaway, but close enough to save money.

“I’ve never been [to the amphitheater] before,” Pfaffenberger said. “It’s very nice here, I’m actually surprised at how nice it is.”

He said while country music wasn’t really his favorite, he and Reinhart still had a good time.

Though thunder rolled, the fireworks show wasn’t deterred by threats of rain.

At the Jeffersonville show, the audience got more of a taste of classic rock music. Identity Crisis opened up the show, followed by the lead act, the Louisville Crashers.

Matt Rogers, a New Albany resident, was at the show in Jeffersonville and said he was having a good time.

“They’ve got great things out here for kids and adults to do,” Rogers said. “It’s great to be out here to support the city of Jeffersonville.”

Brian McEwen was at the Jeffersonville show with his wife, Angi. Brian said he’s enjoyed the shows at the Jeffersonville Riverstage before and wanted to see how the weekend celebration stacked up.

“We come down every time they have something,” McEwen said. “They usually have good musical acts you know and it seems like there are more and more people here every time.”

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