Winslow’s biggest weekend of the year came and went Sept. 25–26, as the 27th annual Standin’ on the Corner Festival filled Eagle Pavilion and the surrounding downtown blocks with two days of live music contributing to a new air around the city where tourists could be seen pouring out of the downtown restaurants and shops.
This year’s event carried extra weight. It doubled as the signature event for Winslow’s yearlong celebration of the Route 66 Centennial and the road-trippers showed up. Organizers with the Standin’ on the Corner Foundation said visitors came from as far away as Argentina, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, in addition to the usual steady stream of Arizona and New Mexico regulars.
The music ran from late afternoon Friday until 11 p.m. both nights. Those performing included local blues legend Tommy Dukes, High 90’s, the Josh Roy Band, Sol 66 Dance Academy, Pure Prophet, the Chris Kane Trio, Ninth and Ash, before the night’s centerpiece, an Eagles tribute set from One of These Nights, which sent “Take It Easy” out over the same streets Glenn Frey and Jackson Browne put on the map in 1972. High 90’s closed out both evenings.
Off the stage, the weekend had its usual small-town rhythm: horseshoe and cornhole tournaments, a beer garden, mini golf for the kids and raffles throughout. The vendor row stretched to roughly two dozen booths, ranging from local artists and crafters to a full food court of a dozen trucks and stands, including hometown favorites like steak sandwiches and homemade lemonade.
