My favorite event is Heatstock. Every year on the last week of July in a town called Fostoria, is a mini "Woodstock" for the blues. It costs about $35 for the weekend and this covers roughly a dozen bands, onsite camping, lunch and dinner and all the beer you can drink 24 hrs a day.  

 

As for associations with bands etc. I have been very lucky to have been involved in a minor way with many artists. When I was in my teens I used to hang around Joes pool hall. There I met and began shooting pool with Dan Watson and Peppy Perrine (I think I spelled his last name wrong) of the Seger system. Bob Seger and the Seger System used to live about a mile from where I grow up in Rochester Michigan. They lived on a farm we called the Seger farm on Tienken road. Every now and then I would be invited to join them for a party. They had a pond in back that was a popular skinny dipping place. I grow up rather quickly there. The farm was located about a mile from 2 of my best freinds. Tony and Marty Ciccone. They came from a big italian family. I can't recall all the brothers and sisters names, but there was Mario, Paula, Madonna and a couple others. Tony was the oldest at my age. Marty was a year or two younger, Then came Madonna. Yup, that Madonna.  Madonna was my sisters age (and friend)  so she must have been 2-3 years younger then me. I hate to imply anything bad about my sister (or Madonna) but her and Madonna used to exchange boyfriends. Not as in swapping for the night, but as each were just recently out of a relationship. Soon Madonna was starting to get a bit wild. My sister was big into dance and cheerleading. She got Madonna started at a local dance studio that she attended. About the same time that I moved to Columbus Oh, Madonna moved to New York City. The rest is history. Before I moved, we used to have a light show. It was Clay, Tony, Marty, Tim, Reid, and a few others I can't recall. This was the 60's style light show, with overhead and slide projectors displaying Moire and colored liguids behind the bands. We mainly got jobs doing High school dances and some very small concerts. The biggest name we worked for was Mitch Rider and the Detroit Wheels. I believe the name was Punk Purna Productions that changed after a couple years to Gnu Wave lighting.