artists, deep thinkers, poets, masters of
their instruments. Music has the ability to
make you move and stop you in your
tracks, to change your mood, make you
smile, cry, think. The goal is the same: Put
on a great show. Every night. Play like it
could be your last show.
It’s easy to sit back and armchair quar-
terback on social media about the risks of
holding festivals and rock concerts amid
the pandemic, but this is what people do
for a living. Few people buy albums or CDs
or even download music anymore. It’s all
about streaming and grabbing viewers on
social media now. Touring and merch sales
are about the only way musicians have to
make money these days. Music is meant to
be performed in front of people, a shared
experience. With everybody on the bus
vaccinated and ready to go, we headed to
Louisville for the first of a 49-show run.
The crowd of mostly older millennials
and GenXers were ready for a rock show.
They knew all the words to the hits in the
set — especially Candlebox’s mega-hit
from the ’90s, “Far Behind” — and were
into the band’s new songs too. It felt good.
Then came the mayflies, in massive
swarms.
The next stop on the tour was a festival
along the Mississippi River in Iowa. I was
up early, and as soon as we pulled in you
could see mayflies dancing in the air all
around us. As the day wore on, the flies
intensified, and by nightfall any kind of
light revealed hundreds upon hundreds of
them, dancing in their own way like the
crowd of unmasked fans below them. Also
there were Confederate flags everywhere.
Boats tied together on the river flew
Trump flags in the warm summer breeze.
I was asleep when we crossed the river
and made our way to St. Louis, the third
stop on the tour and my last with the band.
A great crowd: Close your eyes and you can
easily picture yourself at Woodstock ’94.
But it’s 2021 and Kevin Martin and com-
pany are still here.Jay Westcott is a photographer in Arlington.Martin holds out the mike for fans to sing along at the show in Louisville.
12 NOVEMBER 28, 2021 THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE 13