I'll be the first to admit my acquaintance with the City of Roses Music Festival, known for the first time this year as the River City Music Festival, has been rather limited and brief.

In my time here as the resident "arts and fun" guy, I've only seen two of the festivals first-hand, 2005 and 2006. As a musician and music lover, I'd seen a few of them here and there before I came to work at this esteemed newspaper, but my perspective was much different -- that of a teenage/early 20s musician. Not the same, folks.

That said, in my limited experience with the River-City-of-Roses Festival, I've never seen the kind of support from the Cape Girardeau city government that I see this year.

For the first time since I've been here in Cape Girardeau, Mayor Jay Knudtson is actually going to open the festival weekend Sept. 7, giving his official blessing in a way similar to Libertyfest, and presenting a scholarship to a young music student.

Cape Girardeau's little anti-establishment rock 'n' roll festival has turned into an event the institution can love, too.

I gave Knudtson a call Wednesday just to get his take on what his endorsement means and why he's doing it in the first place.

"This is not all about Jay Knudtson being behind something," Knudtson said. "I think when citizens know the mayor and the city is behind the festival it gives the event a real credibility."

Of course, Knudtson isn't one to pretend he doesn't dig rock 'n' roll. The guy's known for riding choppers, isn't he? What's more rock 'n' roll than that?

Knudtson's tastes tend toward the classics, he says: the Grateful Dead, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. You could do a lot worse.

Granted, Knudtson is a politician, a class of people known for saying what they think people want to hear. But in my conversations with the mayor about the arts and their role in Cape Girardeau, the discussion inevitably turns toward music. Music, Knudtson says, is one of the pillars of Cape Girardeau's cultural climate, especially when it comes to downtown, where bands fill the bars every weekend. And I believe he's saying what he feels, not what I want to hear.

Knudtson's been a regular at the City of Roses, now River City, festival, just to enjoy the music. This year after his mayoral duties are finished, Knudtson's going to let his imaginary hair down and join the crowd, like he says he usually does.

"I'll give all the support I can from the office of the mayor and enjoy some good rock 'n' roll on my own time," Knudtson said.

Personally, it makes me happy to see the mayor's not just paying lip service. By attaching himself to the festival and endorsing it, he's putting the city's stamp of approval on this event. That doesn't come lightly.

In the past two years, I've never really seen this kind of support from the powers that be. Instead, they seemed to just let the festival go on, not criticizing it, but not really saying it's a good thing, either. Think of Switzerland.

Why? Could it be the name change?

The new moniker, which ties into the city's marketing plan, might have something to do with the support. But I think the new name is actually only part of a bigger reason: The powers that be see this year's incarnation of the good old festival as something more legitimate, more in-the-mainstream than they have recent years.

A lot of people are putting a lot of work into this festival to keep its short tradition alive, and to remind people that music is alive and well here in Cape Girardeau.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182