If country singer Jamie Lee Thurston thought he could escape the summer heat of his Nashville home by picking up a gig in the Adirondacks this weekend, he was mistaken. The temperature in Lake George this Saturday pushed up into the 90s and brilliant sunshine had most of his audience seeking shade under a large tent.
Thurston was the last act of Day 1, dubbed “It’s a Free Country Day,” of the two-day, June 30 and July 1, American Music Festival. The festival, launched in 2014, returns to the Lake George Festival Commons after a one-year break.
“We may be few,” Thurston said, surveying his audience, “but we are many.” The crowd at the Festival Commons numbered about 50, but hundreds more were listening to the music while standing waist deep in Lake George across the street. Throughout the show, people wandered onto the Commons clad in bathing suits and wrapped in beach towels, which prompted Thurston to improvise a quick song — “Thanks for coming from the beach/sitting on a little towel…”
Thurston performed his own music including tracks from his May 2018 release, The Window. He paid tribute to Waylon Jennings with “Lonesome, On’ry and Mean,” and Charlie Daniels with “Long-haired Country Boy,” noting that the Charlie Daniels Band would be appearing on the Festival Commons Stage in July. Thurston switched to acoustic for “King of the Road,” and the audience joined in on the chorus.
Related: Charlie Daniels Band is coming to Lake George
He closed the show with a rousing “15 Minutes” — I gave up smoking, women, and drinking last night/and it was the worst fifteen minutes of my life — a song co-written by Thurston and recorded by Rodney Atkins.
The American Music Festival continues Sunday, July 1 with Raisinhead, Girls Guns and Glory and Amy Helm. The festival is held on the Festival Commons in Wood Park, 17 West Brook Road, Lake George. Gates open at noon, the music begins at 1 p.m. Amy Helm and her band take the stage at 4 p.m. Admission is free. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs for seating. Pop-up canopies are allowed to provide shade.
