Published: September 03, 2007 11:44 pm      

Meridian gets rocked

Four bands crank out Southern Rock for thousands of fans

One would be hard pressed to remember when Meridian was rocked so hard and so long as it was Monday during Rock at the Lake.

A crowd estimated at more than 5,000 people, young and old, filled the Mayor’s Point section of the upper Bonita Lakes Recreation Area beginning at 3 p.m. when the gates opened. The four bands, Absence of Concern, a Jackson band featuring Meridianite Adam Box ripping the skins, opened on the Jagermeister Mobile Stage, a 44-foot trailer that opened into a fully self-contained stage measuring 34 feet wide, 16 feet deep and 20 feet high.

As the crowd began to swell, Kirsten Davies, with her hard driving vocals backed up by equally hard driving sonic sound, began to whip the crowd into shape. Black Stone Cherry, fresh off their debut album, lathered up the screaming



fans as they cranked out an intense, bluesy riff that are equal parts Guns N Roses and Alice In Chains on “Lonely Train,” to finish their set.

A surprise visit by American Idol runner-up, Bo Bice, who at the invitation of Hartley Peavey made the event, just further took the mash of people in front of the stage to a higher level with his cover of “Sweet Home Alabama,” in which the crowd joined in.

Molly Hatchet, the headliners who for almost 30 years now have defined Southern Rock, took the crowd over the top as they opened with “Whisky Man,” taking the fans on a ride through three decades of some of the best rock ever to grace the radio waves.

The venue for the evening, set up on the boat ramp of Mayor’s Point, took advantage of the natural surroundings of the trees making the entire setup into a huge amphitheater. Children as small as toddlers and adults well into their twilight years for one evening the same age as they rocked, and ate by the lake.

Jeffery Miller, 25, of Jasper County said he traveled to Meridian to hear Molly Hatchet and Black Stone Cherry perform. He may have put the entire evening and event into perspective when he said, “Southern Rock never really ages. Sure the guys with Molly Hatchet may look a little past their younger days but they can still crank it out. You know you are on to something when 18-year olds today are riding around listening to Lynard Skynard, Allman Brothers and Hatchet. Just driving around flirtin’ with disaster.”

The concert was presented on the The Jägermeister Mobile Stage showcaseing the latest audio innovations from Peavey Electronics and has been featured at Ozzfest 2007.

Sponsors for the event were Peavey Electronics, radio stations 106.9 The Buzz and V 93, Chunky River Harley Davidson, Hoopers Stereo and Video, T & D Furniture and Appliances, Magnolia Beverage and Comcast Cable.