Zodiac Park north of Mason is the last of a vanishing breed, rural Black baseball and softball parks. Such parks used to be found in Black communities across the South in the days when every community had a baseball or softball team. Although Zodiac Park remains, the team for which it is named, the Zodiac A’s, disbanded a few years ago due to old age of the members and the lack of other teams to schedule games against. More recently the park has been used for car shows, blues shows, a gospel event, and back-to-school DJ events. Early problems with power curtailed the success of live music events at Zodiac, but the current management has built a large permanent stage in the outfield, and a smaller stage that I have yet to see used near the snack bar.
On July 5, Zodiac was the scene of the most successful blues event at that location yet, featuring a whole day of live music, with almost everyone performing with bands, and only a couple of track performers. The issues with sound and power have been solved, and the new stage can handle entire bands and microphone set-ups with no problem. With it being a Sunday, the day was kicked off with Mason’s resident gospel quartet, the Holy Nightingales. They are a local favorite, and play in a style that resembles Southern soul with gospel lyrics. After a brief performance by a Memphis rapper, they were followed by Scooter King and the Soul Connection Band, who performed a great mix of traditional blues and soul.
Of course L. J. Echols was the man everyone came to see, but after a beautiful and hot afternoon, the skies suddenly darkened and it began to rain shortly before he came to the stage. Nevertheless, the rain ended as he began his show, and he gave the audience their money’s worth and then some. His band is first rate, and it was my first time seeing him live in person.
Behind the audience up on the hill were a number of food trucks, including one that belonged to my homeboy Danny Peterson, Fadarro’s, which sells gourmet popcorn. Peterson has been a drummer and bass player in the Southern soul and gospel scene for many years, and he knew a lot of Echols’s musicians. Although by the end of the day I was tired, it was a great way to close out the Fourth-of-July weekend.