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NATCHEZ — The inaugural Mudbug Music Festival, which took place last week on the Natchez bluff, was a roaring success, organizers said.

Ardenland entertainment company’s owner Arden Barnett said the festival sold approximately 3,500 tickets starting at $30 each.

The festival featured live music from Riley Green, Drivin N’ Cryin, Southern Avenue, Terrance Simien and The Zydeco Experience and The B3.

Vendors, like C&M Crawfish and a variety of others, offered food and beverages.

“Besides having a great event itself, we had amazing weather,” Barnett said. “The sun shined and the temperature was great and the gnats stayed away. It was like something from the twilight zone for a May afternoon in Natchez. It was a brilliant day and everything went smoothly. We’re always looking for things we can improve behind the scenes.”

Barnett said the Mudbug Music Festival was a great warm up for the “significantly larger” concert scheduled to take place at the same venue on July 4 featuring country artist Hank Williams Jr.

Barnett said the crowd is projected to be double the size of the Mudbug festival. The fence line would take up the entirety of the green space in bluff park, he said.

The Mudbug Music Festival was also received well by sponsors.

“On our end, it was fantastic and we owe that to Ardenland and their amazing team,” said Stratton W. Hall of Church Hill Creative, who handled the sponsorships. “We were very pleased and can’t wait for Hank.”

Sponsors are still needed for the concert in July, Barnett said, adding they receive a wide range of perks such as VIP tickets and private parking.

“Overall, this was a spectacular event,” he said. “We had amazing devotion from sponsors, which is key to events like this. We also had support from the community, support from Mayor and Board of Aldermen and the whole City of Natchez. We ended up with close to 15 sponsors ranging in price levels and we’re looking for sponsors for the Hank Jr. show.”

For sponsorship information, contact Stratton W. Hall at stratton@churchhillcreative.org or call 601-334-2642.