Festival sources said a tornado touched town Thursday night, felling trees on the stage. But the June 20-21 shows will go on, according to site owner Rob King.

Below is raw copy from my contribution to a story that will run in The Roanoke Times and roanoke.com tomorrow:

About 10 minutes before a tornado touched down in Franklin County’s Snow Creek district, Rob King was outside, working at his outdoor amphitheater, Blue Mountain.

King went back to the site adjoining his home near Martinsville at 6:30 a.m. Friday. He saw his 320-square-foot stage in ruins.

Trees were down everywhere. Two of them — a sycamore at stage right, and a Walnut backstage, had fallen, sending the stage roof crashing down onto the floor, he said.

“I felt sick to my stomach, pretty much,” King said. “Not angered. Just sick.”

A newly added wiring system is destroyed. Poplar trees from which the crew hung house lights are down. The roof was largely undamaged, though the tornado broke its support posts. The stage floor needs work. A tall wooden fence that stands in front of the backstage area is “mangled” but not destroyed, King said.

“Fortunately, our house lights, mounted to the roof system, were still intact,” he said.

Yet Blue Mountain’s upcoming, two-day, Gemini Fest will begin as planned on June 20 – with a rebuilt stage, King said. Crews were already at the 109-acre grounds on Friday, and will continue work at least through the weekend. King said he’ll have to get a crane in to remove the fallen trees.

“We got a whole lot of damage, but we’ve got six weeks before Gemini,” he said. “Everything will be back intact by Gemini. It won’t interfere with our production. We’ve just got a lot of work to get us there.”

King and some friends replaced an older stage three years ago. He said it is worth about $20,000. He added that there are still many trees standing on the site.

“It’s a beautiful place,” King said. “For people who haven’t seen it before, they won’t know any different.”

The six-year-old venue will host Rochester, N.Y.,-based Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, a onetime Bonarroo Festival performer, that Saturday night. Local and regional acts Sol Creech Band, The Seed and Alliens are also scheduled.

King said he didn’t see the tornado, but was told that it also damaged at least two other houses nearby.

On the Web: myspace.com/bluemountain333 | http://www.bluemtnmusic.com/index.html

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