Ohio Valley residents enjoy a good festival. Beer? Great food? Live music? They are in.The St. Clairsville Parks and Recreation Departments knows this fact, and is planning to add to the early fall festival lineup with its first of what hopes to be an annual event, slated for Saturday, September 10.The Rhythm & Brews FallFest is set for 4-10:30 p.m. At the amphitheater behind the J.B. Martin Recreation Center in downtown St. Clairsville.It's another in a series of new and expanded events put on by the city's recreation department since current rec director Eric Gay took office.“That was one of the biggest thigns for me and it was something I said when I took the job, that I wanted to offer more things there than just sporting events for little kids,” Gay said. “That is our biggest thing and what we're ultimately here for, but I want to use our facilities for a mulitude of things and this will be more of an adult-themed event.“Our amphitheater and that area, I felt like was kind of underudsed, so we've been working to do more things there.”There are three bands that will take the amphitheater stage on Sept. 10, starting off with MSM from 4:30-6 p.m.MSM will be followed by Taylor Jo and the Copper Creek Band from 6:30-8 p.m., with Jukebox closing the festival with a two-hour set from 8:30-10:30.There's a sound for everyone with that lineup. MSM plays a bevy of hits from the 80s and 90s. Taylor Jo and Cooper Creek offer its take on modern country music while Jukebox plays all of today's popular hits.“We hope we have something for every music lover out there,” Gay said.Food trucks will be descending upon the park area to offer up their delicious items, while Hightower Brewing Company from nearby Rayland will be serving its large assortment of craft brews.Those looking to enjoy wine instead of beer will be happy to hear that Vino di Piccin from Lansing will also be in house.Wine and craft beer not your style? No problem. Rhythm and Brews FallFest has you covered as well.“We'll have three options serving alcohol, from craft beer and wine, to a stand with more traditional domestic options,” said Gay with a laugh, noting he's one of those who enjoys the classics when it comes to beer.Route 40 Lumberjaxe will be bringing its mobile axe-throwing setup for additional entertainment.As said, the best part, is aside from food and drinks, entrance to the festival and access to enjoy the musical lineup is free.“This couldn't have happened if it wasn't for Belmont Savings Bank and Luca Magistro and Allstate Insurance,” Gay said. “They have sponsored the entire event.”Further ExpansionThe city itself and rec department in particular has a potential gold mine with the amphitheater and surrounding grounds.Gay has come to realize this more the longer he's served in his current condition.He's talked with previous festival goers and heard about their positive experiences.Moreso, in talking with bands that have played on the amphitheater stage, he's come to realize the facility has the potential for so much more.“I've talked to a lot of these bands that come and play here,” Gay said. “I listen to music, I love music, but I know nothing about it, but they all talk about what a great venue it is to perform.”The city's recent community days festival featured about 3,500-4,000 attendees, which is a decent-sized number that can certainly be expanded, given the right draw.Gay things he knows what that draw is.The city has great response to the free concerts, both at the amphitheater and the acoustic nights on the bike trail. Now, he's hoping to take the next step and offer full-scale concerts too.While not intentional, the recent announcement that Generations Restaurant & Pub was ceasing its musical events might work out nicely given that St. Clairsville is looking to host larger events.That's not to say St. C. will be the new local stop for the Clarks to play each year, as Generations served in the past. But bands of that size and popularity are definitely on the docket.“We don't have anything set in stone yet as far as an event, but we're going to have real concerts down there,” Gay said. “Not necessarily the Clarks, but along those lines, we want to get bigger bands in here.”Gay noted that—and he's guilty of it to by his own admission—he's had to leave his hometown of St. Clairsville in the past every time he wanted to go out and do something.But why not St. Clairsville? Why can't this town offer some bigger events as well?“Wheeling does its thing and Oglebay has a bunch of stuff, but there's no reason we shouldn't be able to do things like that here and not have people have to drive elsewhere to have a good time.”It will be interesting to see what, and who, is tabbed to play that first show, along with the response. But you can be sure that Gay is working to make St. Clairsville more of an entertainment destination.
