Last year, around this time, Kevin Costner & Modern West were scheduled to play at The Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta. I was invited to come out and sing "Let Me Be the One." Minutes before we were supposed to hit the stage, a crazy weather pattern called a microburst whipped up a wind that brought the entire Main Stage down in a matter of seconds. Many people were hurt, and one woman - a fan who had special onstage VIP seating - died.
I had just come back from the catering tent to the right of the stage when the wind knocked me down. I crouched in the fetal position while metal and tarps fell around me. When the air calmed and I opened my eyes, I saw dust and panic. Where there had been an enormous stage and 20,000 fans, there was rubble and chaos. I didn't know where anyone from the band was, including my husband, Park. When I made it to the bus, I saw Park sitting upright with blood dripping down his face. John Coinman had a towel to his head, and Park was dazed. I remember gently pulling his hair back to find the source of the blood and feeling a wave of fear when I saw a four-inch gaping cut on his head. I left the bus and started telling anyone who would listen that we needed an ambulance. Mark Botting, KCMW's tour manager, had been found unconscious with a severe head injury, and somehow, the four of us - Mark, Kevin, Park, and I - made it in one of the first ambulances to leave the scene.
We were so lucky. Park ended up with about 20 staples, and in spite of his concussion, Mark Botting woke up wondering if we all knew where our hotels were. That's a tour manager! The hospital had called in all available nurses to help out, and we were in and out of the hospital pretty quickly. On the way to the hotel sometime after midnight, Kevin and Nick (KCMW's agent) and I went in to an all-night McDonald's and got enough food for an army/rock band. (I think the cashier thought she had entered the Twilight Zone....Kevin Costner ordering $250 worth of Mickey D's...) When we got to the parking lot at the hotel, everyone piled into the lounge on the band bus. Some of us had been on or near the stage when it collapsed. Some had been sleeping on the bus and woke up to the general panic. Everyone had felt a moment of terror.
Eventually, Park and I made our way to our room, though the power was out and the hotel manager had to lead us up the stairs by candlelight. I was afraid to let him fall asleep. But he did, and he woke up, and we came home to Nashville. Tomorrow, we fly back to Camrose.
The whole experience gave me a tiny glimpse into what people suffer when there is a sudden natural disaster. Relative to events like Hurricane Katrina or even the flooding that occurred in Nashville this spring, the scope of the disaster was so small. And yet, because we were right in the middle of it, it was absolutely life-changing. KCMW is a family of like-minded musicians and dreamers that has made me feel so welcome both onstage and on tour. Going through the tragedy of last year's Big Valley Jamboree brought us all even closer together. The past couple of weeks, we've all talked about how excited we are to return to Camrose. We didn't get to play; we didn't get to do what we came for. My heart is so heavy when I think of the family of Donna Moore, the young mother who was killed. Saturday night, we'll take the stage with her in our thoughts. And we'll watch the sky.
Kevin Costner & Modern West Return to Camrose
I had just come back from the catering tent to the right of the stage when the wind knocked me down. I crouched in the fetal position while metal and tarps fell around me. When the air calmed and I opened my eyes, I saw dust and panic. Where there had been an enormous stage and 20,000 fans, there was rubble and chaos. I didn't know where anyone from the band was, including my husband, Park. When I made it to the bus, I saw Park sitting upright with blood dripping down his face. John Coinman had a towel to his head, and Park was dazed. I remember gently pulling his hair back to find the source of the blood and feeling a wave of fear when I saw a four-inch gaping cut on his head. I left the bus and started telling anyone who would listen that we needed an ambulance. Mark Botting, KCMW's tour manager, had been found unconscious with a severe head injury, and somehow, the four of us - Mark, Kevin, Park, and I - made it in one of the first ambulances to leave the scene.
We were so lucky. Park ended up with about 20 staples, and in spite of his concussion, Mark Botting woke up wondering if we all knew where our hotels were. That's a tour manager! The hospital had called in all available nurses to help out, and we were in and out of the hospital pretty quickly. On the way to the hotel sometime after midnight, Kevin and Nick (KCMW's agent) and I went in to an all-night McDonald's and got enough food for an army/rock band. (I think the cashier thought she had entered the Twilight Zone....Kevin Costner ordering $250 worth of Mickey D's...) When we got to the parking lot at the hotel, everyone piled into the lounge on the band bus. Some of us had been on or near the stage when it collapsed. Some had been sleeping on the bus and woke up to the general panic. Everyone had felt a moment of terror.
Eventually, Park and I made our way to our room, though the power was out and the hotel manager had to lead us up the stairs by candlelight. I was afraid to let him fall asleep. But he did, and he woke up, and we came home to Nashville. Tomorrow, we fly back to Camrose.
The whole experience gave me a tiny glimpse into what people suffer when there is a sudden natural disaster. Relative to events like Hurricane Katrina or even the flooding that occurred in Nashville this spring, the scope of the disaster was so small. And yet, because we were right in the middle of it, it was absolutely life-changing. KCMW is a family of like-minded musicians and dreamers that has made me feel so welcome both onstage and on tour. Going through the tragedy of last year's Big Valley Jamboree brought us all even closer together. The past couple of weeks, we've all talked about how excited we are to return to Camrose. We didn't get to play; we didn't get to do what we came for. My heart is so heavy when I think of the family of Donna Moore, the young mother who was killed. Saturday night, we'll take the stage with her in our thoughts. And we'll watch the sky.
Kevin Costner & Modern West Return to Camrose