BY KIM LANGEN
It was hot and sunny, and the steaming bands who came to town last Saturday put on an outstanding show.
It was the Kick-Off To Summer festival, hosted by KCEC (Killarney Community Events Committee), and organizer Liana Smith said the turnout was fantastic.
“It was one of the best attended concerts that we have had,” she said. “We sold over 2,300 tickets. We were very happy with the turnout.”
The show opened at 4 p.m. with two emerging local bands, The Racket, followed by Junction Three.
They were both tight, rocking, and gave great performances, with loads of energy, and a cool demeanor. It was great to hear new, raw, homegrown talent, and the crowd was thrilled with both bands.
Big names on the big stage were JoJo Mason, from Regina, bonded with his absolutely incredible sidemen and drummer, and country artist Jess Moskaluke and band. Fireworks went off a little early, toward the end of the show, just as Moskaluke was belting out her perfected Shania Twain renditions. She just rolled with the vibe.
Terrific band Doc Walker, from Westbourne, also gave a great show, along with the entertaining Clubbing Fraggles, from Brandon, with their good party rock covers and lively front man chat.
It was a night to remember, and one day later, all hail broke loose, as the town was hit by a massive summer storm on Sunday night that shredded Killarney.
See more from the storm, and more from the show below.
JOJO AND JESS – Clad in blue plaid, JoJo Mason (above) and his band belt out a banger before headliner Jess Moskaluke (below) took to the stage to close out an amazing Kick-Off To Summer on Saturday at the Killarney Ag Grounds.
LOCAL ROCK BANDS KICK THINGS OFF – Killarney’s two new rock bands: The Racket (above) and Junction Three (below) opened up the show at the Kick-Off To Summer concert. Both bands will be playing again at the Killarney Lakeside Festival from August 21 to 23 at the Killarney Ag Grounds.
DOC WALKER AND CLUBBING FRAGGLES – Doc Walker (above) was the first of the big name country bands to hit the stage on Saturday, after Clubbing Fraggles (below) rounded out the rock sets.
FAMILY FRIENDLY – Children six and under got in for free at Kick-Off To Summer, and plenty of families made it out to check out the bands and the festivities throughout the afternoon and evening.
COUNTRY GIRLS – Jess Moskaluke (above) sings out her first number-one hit, ‘Country Girls,’ at Killarney’s Kick-Off To Summer concert on Saturday night. Moskaluke closed out the concert, with fireworks starting (below) as she was wrapping up the amazing line-up of music at the event.
Just 24 hours later devastating hailstorm hits town…
HAILSTORM AFTERMATH – Kids on Young Street in Killarney (above) rushed outside after Sunday’s hail storm wrapped up shortly after 6 p.m., to gather up ice. The damage was apparent right away throughout town, as whipping winds, and larger than golf-ball-sized hail toppled trees (below) and pummelled vehicles, shingles, siding, and more. There were also power outages for over 6,000 Manitoba Hydro customers on Sunday night and early Monday morning, as severe thunderstorms rolled through southern and western Manitoba.
