05/06/04 - BAYFEST, CENTENNIAL PARK, SARNIA, ON

Press Review:
Few people were lined up Thursday at Centennial Park to buy tickets for Sarnia Bayfest. That's because about 70% of the festival's tickets were pre-sold through the Internet, a toll-free number and ticket outlets.

"Usually about 30% are walk-up sales if it doesn't sell out," Bayfest organizer Michele Stokley said.

"Judging from the Thursday show last year, the same thing happened."

About 14,000 music fans were at Centennial Park on Thursday as Colin James and Bryan Adams kicked off Bayfest, the city's three-day music festival.

Organizers said they expect 60,000-plus fans will attend the shows.

Not everyone had their tickets in advance.

Aaron Falconer, 23, of Sarnia paid for his admission at the gate.

"I wasn't sure I was going to come," he said. "It was last-minute."

Falconer attended the opening-night concert with his parents, who won tickets to the show. This is his fourth year to attend the festival, which was started in 1999 to promote Stokley's restaurant, Stoke's Bay Grill & Bar, and to bring traffic to the park. "It's usually a pretty good time," Falconer said.

Andrea Dirks, 16, of Mooretown, Ontario, wanted to see the talent at Bayfest so much she bought a ticket twice. The second time around she bought it at the gate.

"I was pretty excited Bryan Adams was coming," she said. That's evident after her first ticket was taken by her friend's little sister, and she had to pay an extra $5 for buying on site.

"I was worried about how much extra it would cost, but it's not that big of a deal," she said.

Bayfest continues today with a concert by ZZ Top and Saturday with shows from Finger Eleven and The Tragically Hip.

Setlist:
There Will Never Be Another Tonight
18 Til I Die
Kids Wanna Rock
Let's Make A Night To Remember
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
House Arrest
Summer Of 69
It's Only Love
Everything I Do
Back To You
Cuts Like A Knife
When You're Gone
Heaven
Somebody
The Only Things That Looks Good On Me Is You
Cloud #9
Run To You
This Time
The Best Of Me
Straight From The Heart
Depend On Me

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Thanks to Sherry for the setlist