07:18 AM MST on Sunday, July 2, 2006

By Cathalena E. Burch
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

MARANA — Old Man Monsoon didn't waste any time kicking off the 2006 season.

Less than 24 hours after the summer rainy season officially began, the ominous black clouds rolled in over the Catalina Mountains and the rain poured down over a crowd of more than 8,500 at the Northwest Side Tucson SportsPark attending the daylong KIIM Freedom Festival.

Winds kicked up just after 4 p.m., about the time Phoenix singer-songwriter Erin was to have taken the stage, and the gusts were so powerful they nearly toppled the KIIM 99.5 FM broadcast tent near the stage.

Inside, morning-show personality Shannon Black grabbed a support pole while sidekick Pork Chop (Brett Miller) helped a few radio station employees hold the tent together.

The wind was followed by rain, and Erin, along with country newcomer Jake Owen, took cover backstage. Any hope that the concert would go like clockwork, followed by fireworks just after 10 p.m., were pretty much washed away in a brief but refreshing rainstorm.

The rain, wind and occasional flash of lightning didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the crowd, which had expected blistering sun to beat down 100 degrees of misery.

"I don't like the dirt blowing in my face, but other than that, it's nice and cool," Mark McNeeley said as his 2-year-old son, Wyatt, frolicked on the wet grass.

When the rain started, most people scampered for cover beneath the vendors' tents. For Western Warehouse, which sells all flavors of cowboy fare, business was brisk.

Store manager Linda Lizardi dispatched employees to set up a second tent as music fans browsed her collection of cowboy hats, T-shirts and Western finery.

When thunder crashed in the distance, Lizardi flinched.

"I get scared. I'm a baby when it comes to that," she said of the thunder. She's from the South, she commented, and at home, thunder is usually followed by devastation.

Saturday's storm passed quickly and quietly and did what everyone had hoped: cooled the day to a pleasant 90 or so.

It was perfect weather for Brittani Harmon's bachelorette party with a half-dozen members of her Fourth of July wedding party. The girls toasted the future Mrs. Travis Holt on the deck of the clubhouse, where KIIM set up a VIP area. Harmon, 21, showed off her white silk "Miss Bachelorette" sash signed by Owen and up-and-comer Jason Aldean.

"I'm having a blast," Harmon gushed.

She and her friends took their party to the field a few feet from Aldean when he took the stage just as what was left of the sun started to fade into the blanket of clouds.

Aldean probably boasted as many fans in the audience as headliner Dwight Yoakam, and after seeing him in action, it was easy to understand the attraction. The 29-year-old Macon, Ga., country rocker beams with a confidence that justifies his recent Academy of Country Music nod for best new male vocalist.

Aldean peppered his 45-minute show with his lone hits — the No. 1 hit ballad "Why," his new single "Amarillo Sky" and his debut rocker "Hicktown" — and covers from country rockers Alabama and hard rockers Guns N' Roses. Some day sooner than later, when he accrues more than one record, he'll be able to do a full set of his own songs, like Texan Pat Green did when he followed Aldean.

Freedom Festival was the second daylong concert at SportsPark, the multiuse sports venue off Interstate 10 and West Ina Road. The park's manager, Mark Oliver, said he's hoping concerts will be a regular offering at the park, come rain or shine. Next up: country singer Gary Allan and the duo The Wreckers featuring Sedona singer-songwriter Michelle Branch on July 23.

Review

●Fourth annual KIIM Freedom Festival at Tucson SportsPark on Saturday

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