Richard “Rick” Zeigler owned one of the largest record shops in Indianapolis. Now, as the music coordinator for the Muncie Three Trails Music Series, he’s responsible for curating a list of artists meticulously selected for the Muncie community to enjoy at no cost.
The eleventh year of the series started off with the headlining performance by Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band on June 30.
“That [first concert] was probably one of the four or five largest audiences we’ve had in our 11 years,” Zeigler said. “I always like to try to get a big audience for the first concert because that helps publicize the remaining concerts.”
The purpose of the annual series is intended to help “improve Muncie’s quality of place” which, according to Zeigler, includes great concerts and musical experiences.
“The second purpose is to help promote Muncie’s existing attractions. The three trails: Cardinal Greenway, White River Greenway, Muncie Arts and Culture Trail,” he said. “Our motto for the series is ‘Explore the Trails, Enjoy the Music.’”
Joshua Peyton of Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band has worked with Zeigler in the past and says it doesn’t surprise him he couldn’t stay away from music after selling his record store.
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is based in Brown County, Indiana, but they travel all over to perform. They play over 200 shows a year, and since the band’s creation, they’ve been to 38 countries.
Peyton said he was surprised at how “fired up” the crowd was for their show.
“It was awesome. The vibe is always determined by the people. It was a really wonderful crowd,” he said.
Peyton says the remaining acts in the series will be good shows: Doc Peterson’s Club Band with The Sensational Barnes Brothers and the Ball State University Jazz Ensemble with SYBARITE5.
“I’m glad it’s happening. It’s really cool that Muncie has a place to see free music,” Peyton said. “The arts is increasingly hard to come by. It’s hard to be accessible to people and a free show like that is incredible.”
When Zeigler begins reaching out to artists, he strives for a variety of music that will not only appeal to people but also introduce them to new styles of music.
“We span the gamut in terms of genres, you know, bluegrass, blues, rock, country, gospel, New Orleans, everything,” he said. A good proportion of our attendees, I would say at least a third, basically come to all the concerts, regardless of genre, because they know it’s going to be good.”
With two shows remaining in the lineup, Zeigler said the Barnes Brothers are a soul/gospel group who performed in the series about three years ago and he recalls it being a “fantastic” show.
Wrapping up the 2024 series, SYBARITE5 is a chamber group, a small collection of classical musicians. He describes them as a “very unique chamber music experience,” playing original songs in addition to music by artists such as Radiohead and John Coltrane.
Opening for the final performance, the Ball State Jazz Ensemble is led by Ball State’s Director of Jazz Studies, Mark Buselli.
With the school year starting in the midst of the series, members of the jazz ensemble have a quick turnaround time with auditions and preparation, but Buselli enjoys the process as this is their fifth year being included.
“We always look forward to the three trails concert because it’s our first concert of the year,” Buselli said. “This concert comes up so fast, it makes the students really jump on the ball here, as far as, we got to get ready for this because it’s right around the corner.”
Since preparation for the concert happens after classes begin and auditions are completed, Buselli said the mystery is something he anticipates each school year.
“I always look forward to seeing how the new band performs, what kind of band I’m going to have, who the vocalist is going to be. In the past, we’ve always had some great vocalists, and this year [will be] no different,” he said.
With Ball State University being the 2024 presenting sponsor of the series, the lineup for next year will expand. Zeigler, already selecting and booking acts for 2025, said there will still be the initial four shows in Canan Commons with an additional three shows at the Brown Family Amphitheater early in the academic year.
“If we can get more people from the community to go up and attend events at Ball State and more people at Ball State to attend events in the community, that’s a plus for both,” Zeigler said. “One of the reasons why President Mearns reached out to me to do this was because one of the mottos of Ball State is ‘Better Together.’”
Contact Ella Howell via email at ella.howell@bsu.edu.
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