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Legend Valley is the venue of the people in that
it is owned and operated by a brother that rolls with the scene! Legend Valley
is being reborn from footprints of the past, and with kind support from friends,
family and all of you, the Valley will continue to jam and be the number one
concert venue in central Ohio!
In the early 1970’s, Clifford and Helen Jinks,
then owners of the farm, started doing small get togethers. Evening
gatherings on the farm became a place for friends and family to come together
to jam; and through Cliffs love of music, a true grassroots music venue was
born.
Helen made a special trip back to the farm a few
years ago. She recalled her best memories were those days spent on the front
porch of the farmhouse, playing cards and listening to live music that filled
the valley. She smiled as she carousel through a handful of the earliest
pictures of the venue -- the Van Slam in 1974.
In April of 1978, Helen and Cliff signed a lease
with George Biddle and Gary Kutch, who planned to step up the talent and bring
in big name acts. Biddle and Kutch named the venue Legend Valley. They started
doing shows in 1978 with Charlie Daniels, Earl Scruggs and Pure Prairie League.
Some of the early shows, which were called Dixie Jams, included Allman
Brothers, Ricky Scaggs and many more.
On July 25, 1982, Legend Valley brought Alabama,
Hank Williams Jr., Juice Newton and A Touch of Grass. Later that year in
August, Legend Valley hosted Willie Nelson, Marshall Tucker Band, Leon Russell,
Ricky Scaggs and the Wright Brothers. One thing that made Legend Valley stand
out from other venues was that they allowed and encouraged coolers and picnic
baskets to be brought in the valley. During the following 7 or 8 years of
Legend Valley hosting shows, there was a true who’s who of music royalty, such
as Journey, Foghat, Bryan Adams, Scorpions, Quiet Riot, Fast Way, Kick Axe,
Adrenelen and many, many others.
In the mid 80’s the venue changed hands and was
named Buckeye Lake Music Center (BLMC). The days of bringing in your coolers
and picnic baskets came to an abrupt halt! Saturday June 28th of 1986, with
promotional assistance from Sunshine Promotions and QFM 96, BLMC invited their
first show, ZZ Top, to the valley. Later in the year on Saturday September 6th,
BLMC and local radio station 92X brought AC/DC’s WhoMadeWho tour, which
included Quiet Riot and Loudness. On August 30th of the same year, BLMC,
country radio station K95 and Sunshine Promotions welcomed Hank Williams Jr.,
Sawyer Brown and Earl Thomas Conley. The late 1980’s cultivated such acts as
Bon Jovi, Cinderella, and Def Leppard just to name a few.
In 1988, the venue would host what was by far one
of the best and largest stops on the Grateful Dead tour. Special thanks would
have to go out to Helen Meredith, as well as Will and Rachel Powell, for
allowing their farmland to be inundated by a sea of parked cars. From 1988 to
1996, most of the big acts were declaring BLMC one of their favorite scenes.
The Dead, Buffett, Lollapalloza, WOMAD and many others, were hosted here in the
valley. After the last Buffet show in 1996, BLMC said they were done! That is
where I came into the picture…..
My friends and I were spending each Memorial and
Labor Day weekend with a band called Ekoostik Hookah. After a few short years
of Hookahville at other local venues, we were sitting around a campfire at the
Songbird amphitheater when someone said, “Hey Steve, you should try to get
Hookahville to come to the farm”. After a few meetings with Hookah’s manager,
it seemed things were a go ahead. I went to the township to renew the Camping
license for the farm in 1996. Unfortunately, I was told that the books from
1975, with my camping variance, were lost--and nowhere to be found. Without a
camping license, and BLMC still in control of the parking lots, my hands were
tied!
After a few quiet years without shows, BLMC was
again ready and determined to try to bring Hookahville to the lake. Somehow,
BLMC was able to get a camping license granted for the farm. In 1999, the first
Hookahville was brought to BLMC. Hookah’s management and staff took over and
did the best production--start to finish--that the venue had ever seen.
However, BLMC management could not sit back and watch without being involved.
The BLMC involvement created tensions that eventually drove away Hookahville.
After the BLMC management lost the Hookahville
shows and then later promoted a 24-hour all weekend Rave on our farm,
I was not willing to accept the direction they were headed-- so I
told them they were done!
In 2003, I was able to get the camping license put
in my name, Steve Trickle. All I had left to do was somehow get the lease to the
parking lot that was being leased by BLMC.
I was snowboarding in Big Sky Montana and had just rode the tran to the top of Loan Peake.
I wanted to get a picture of myself and asked some guy to take the photo for me. He asked
where I was from and when I told him said that his Dad owned the parking lot...tell me thats not meant to be...
I gave him my phone number and told him to let his Dad know if BLMC did not renew their
lease at the end of February to give me a call. One day in February my phone rang, it was the
guy's Dad that owned the lot!
Now I had the camping license and the parking lot. All that was left to do was name the venue.
I renamed the place "Legend Valley" and with alot of help from family and friends, I have been
able to put this magical venue back on the map!
Legend Valley President
Steve Trickle
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