Holly musical kicks off Clovis Musical Festival

Kicking off the Clovis Music Festival, the story of Buddy Holly’s three-year rise to fame will be seen on a Clovis stage for the first time tonight.

And the show promises to be high energy, according to Gerald Dolter, director of “Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story.”

Cast with Texas Tech students and a couple of professional actors, the show has been performed 20 times this summer as part of the Lubbock Moonlight Musicals, said Dolter, a Texas Tech University professor.

Dolter said the cast is excited to perform in Clovis.

“It’s almost like a crowning achievement for us. We hope for a strong tie between Lubbock and Clovis,” he said. “It’s only right that we should have this show in his hometown and getting to do a show in Clovis is just the icing on the cake.”

A fully staged show, Dolter said the cast performs all music.

East Texan Andy Smith, who plays the part of Buddy Holly, learned guitar for the role, he said and bares a striking resemblance to the rock and roll legend.

“He’s very good. He’s really studied (Buddy). It’s really hard to tell the difference between the two of them,” he said.

“Andy’s one of the best that I’ve ever run into.”

Dolter said his group has been performing in the Wells Fargo outdoor amphitheater and tonight will be the first time they will perform the show on an indoor stage.

“Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story” opened in London in 1989 and has been performed more than 17,000 times worldwide, according to www.buddythemusical.com.

Dolter said John Banister, musical director from the London company, has worked closely with his group in producing the musical for Lubbock audiences.

A Lubbock native, Holly recorded in Clovis’ Norman Petty Studio.

He was killed Feb. 3, 1959, in an Iowa plane crash that also killed fellow rockers Ritchie Valens and J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson.

The musical follows Holly’s story in the three years before his death, from the garage band days to the end of his life.

“I think we do it pretty well. We’re from Lubbock, so we certainly have the accent down,” Dolter said with a laugh.

“It’s a high energy show and they (the cast) bring youth to it ... Boy we give it to them.”

Clovis Music Festival schedule

Wednesday

7 p.m.— “Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story,” Marshall Auditorium, $20 general admission

Thursday

8 a.m.-5 p.m. — Norman and Vi Petty Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum tours, $5 admission

10 a.m. — tour of the Norman Petty Studio

2 p.m. — tour of the Norman Petty Studio

7 p.m. — Blackwater Band, Kevin Montgomery, Johnny Rogers and Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, Curry County Events Center, $20 general admission

Friday

8 a.m.-5 p.m. — Norman and Vi Petty Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum tours, $5 admission

9 a.m. — “Kids Rock” rock ‘n’ roll assembly, Mesa Elementary School

9 a.m. — Rockin’ Motorcycle Rally, High Plains Harley-Davidson

10 a.m. — tour of the Norman Petty Studio

Noon — Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Norman Petty Studios Symposium, Business Enterprise Center, $5 admission, includes admission to the rock and roll museum

2 p.m. — tour of the Norman Petty Studio

7 p.m. — Will Banister and the Mulberry Band, Brian Hyland, The Coasters and Bobby Vee, Curry County Events Center, $20 general admission

Saturday

8 a.m.-3 p.m. — Norman and Vi Petty Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum tours, $5 admission

8 a.m. — Desert Cruzers 13th annual run to Hillcrest Car Show, Hillcrest Park

9 a.m. — Rockin’ Motorcycle Rally, High Plains Harley-Davidson

10 a.m. — tour of the Norman Petty Studio

Noon-2 p.m. — Back to the ‘50s at Foxy’s Celebration, Foxy’s Drive-in

2 p.m. — tour of the Norman Petty Studio

7 p.m. — Kevin Montgomery and Johnny Rogers, The Originators of Rock and Roll featuring Johnny Rogers as Buddy Holly, Bobby Brooks as Little Richard, Darrel Crowy as Jerry Lee Lewis and Donny Edwards as Elvis backed by the Killer Vees, Curry County Events Center, $20 admission

Sept. 12

8 a.m. — Rockin’ Motorcycle Rally, High Plains Harley-Davidson

10 a.m. — Rockin’ Gospel Sing-a-long, Norman and Vi Petty Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum

Tickets and information: www.clovismusicfestival.net and Clovis and Curry County Chamber of Commerce at 763-3435.