A night at the Market

On the eve of the 8th Annual Mill Creek Festival and Street Fair, Central Market got the party started early with their “Friday Nights at the Market” event featuring a grilled salmon dinner and the Big River Blues band.

According to Store Director, Jim Huffman, the store’s goal is to offer a fun event for the community where people can come to a BBQ and “have a plate and listen to some music.”

Huffman told me that Central Market would probably serve over 500 dinners that night because of the popularity of that meal. “They always line up for salmon,” he said.

Huffman wasn’t kidding when he told me that. By 5 p.m., the tables were full and a line had already formed around the market.

I’m not surprised by the community’s response. The BBQ salmon was moist and delicious; the corn on the cob was sweet and the rice pilaf, tasty.

But it also could have been the music that was provided to compliment the meal.

The southern and soulful blues band, Big River Blues, entertained the audience for over two hours with their soothing, deep, spiritual yet fun and energetic music.

And the audience responded favorably. They looked relaxed and like they were enjoying the music played by band members: Peter Brooks (lead vocals, guitar); Bruce Shileika (lead vocal, drums); David Gordon (harmonica, vocals); Terry Clements (bass, vocals); Jack Hart (rhythm guitar, vocals) and Kevin Hughes (keyboard, vocals).

Perhaps that’s because “music is a way of life” for Big River Blues according to band spokesman, Peter Brooks. I could see the contentment on the band members’ faces as they performed. It’s obvious that it feels good to these guys to be up there playing what they love for the audience.

With a combination like Central Market providing a tasty salmon BBQ and Big River Blues feeling so passionate about performing music, it’s no wonder this event was a hit with the audience.