PERU — Looking back, Chris Badami remembered the first time he appreciated a Cole Porter song. It was the John Williams orchestration of “Anything Goes” that played during the opening of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” He didn’t realize it was a Porter tune at the time.
He and his partner Kati Roberts said that’s the case with plenty of Porter’s compositions. Some people will list off their favorite Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra songs, just for the couple to inform them Porter wrote it.
For the past 31 years, Porter’s hometown of Peru has reminded residents of the songwriter’s continuous impact and legacy. It started with a special exhibit in the Miami County Museum paired with live performances of Porter’s songs. Now, it’s a four-day festival. The town is back to celebrating its hometown hero this weekend.
The Cole Porter Festival kicked off Thursday evening with live music in various restaurants across downtown Peru. The bulk of festivities will be held throughout Friday and Saturday.
Badami and Roberts were busy Thursday morning setting up festival tents at the intersection of West Fifth and North Broadway streets. They pointed around the street, envisioning the festival stage with the Miami County Courthouse as a backdrop, the beer and champagne garden, children’s tent and vendors booths that would soon materialize in downtown Peru.
A nearby mural hearkened back to the Porter family’s legacy in the town. Roberts, who is one of Porter’s distant cousins, explained Cole Porter’s father once ran a drug store in downtown Peru.
She and Badami started volunteering with the festival in 2021. During their first year volunteering, they helped create Cole’s Cover Tune Contest, where bands compete to see who can best repurpose Porter’s songs in different genres. The contest is returning Saturday.
In 2022, the couple took over as lead festival organizers. Roberts said they make a good creative team — she has a background in theme park design and production, and Badami has a background in music composition and film production.
Roberts said one of the main goals she and Badami have focused on has been keeping the festival accessible. Keeping with that goal, a strong majority of the festival’s 18 events are free to attend. Roberts said there are three ticketed events.
The $20 Elizabeth Doyle songwriting workshop, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, is among the festival’s ticketed events. Roberts highlighted the event — now in its third year — as an important tribute to Porter’s prolific songwriting ability. He published more than 1,500 songs.
Cole’s Roaring 20’s Cabaret is a new ticketed event coming to the festival this year. Hosted at Legend’s Cocktail Lounge, 69 N. Broadway St., the ‘20s-themed cocktail party will include a Charleston dance contest, live music and a costume contest.
“Hopefully, cosplay will be in abundance this weekend,” Roberts said.
Other than highlighting downtown Peru and keeping the festival accessible, Roberts and Badami said they hope the festival really does help keep Porter’s legacy alive.
The majority of festivities will be held in the Miami County Museum, 51 N. Broadway St.
Walking inside the museum, Badami flipped on colorful lights that were aimed at Porter’s 1955 Fleetwood Cadillac and a piano the musician once played. Local and regional musicians, including Peru High School teacher Dr. Jason Gornto, will perform on the piano throughout the weekend.
Badami said Porter played an iconic role in the evolution of music.
“There’s lots of weird things that you’ll hear, like the way he did lyrics, kind of rapid fire comparisons, list songs — where he lists a lot of things — and his cadence,” Badami said of Porter’s lyrical influence. He compared the style to today’s rap and hip hop.
Porter’s tunes are still being played in commercials and movies, Badami added. Yale University still uses the fight song Porter wrote for the school.
Notably, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett released a duet album of Porter cover songs in 2021. Titled “Love For Sale,” the album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammy Awards. It won Best Engineered Album in the Non-Classical category and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
“He’s just inspiring for Peru. He’s inspiring as a success story — somebody who was born here and became incredibly famous and did a lot of great work,” Badami said.
The organizer said that’s why the festival booked more than 13 musicians to perform on the main stage.
“That’s what we try to feature so many bands. … People getting into the arts and music in Peru understanding that there’s a shot. You can come from here and make it. Even if you stay here, you can play great music and get paid for it,” Badami said.
Source: Kokomo Tribune