Opening act: A group of 'old school rockers'

Friday's big show for the Clovis Music Festival is an appearance by Southern rockers .38 Special. The opening act is a band of six Clovis area guys, one who says being in a band "is therapy for us."

Rouzter, pronounced "rooster," is lead vocalist Tres Morgan, lead guitarist Greg Zurzolo, guitarist Jeff Christiansen, bass player Jim O'Neil, drummer Mikey Bowman and keyboardist Steve Hansen.

Morgan says there's no exciting story to tell about how the band got its name.

"Mikey always wanted a band named 'Rooster,'" Morgan said.

Most of the band's members are veterans of the Clovis music scene. Zurzolo, O'Neil and Bowman were in the band Junkyard Rhino. Morgan said those three musicians have been playing together for about 30 years.

Morgan said it was during the pandemic "when everything got locked down" that those three band mates asked Morgan to come sing with them.

"I said I would if I could bring Jeff," referring to Christiansen, Morgan's guitar playing friend.

How does Morgan describe Rouzter?

"We're a group of 'old school' rockers, having some fun, blowing off steam," Morgan said.

Rouzter covers music from Tom Petty, Grand Funk, Audioslave, Metallica, Gin Blossoms, Bad Company and more.

"Pretty much the gamut of rock music," Morgan said.

What are Morgan's thoughts about opening for .38 Special?

"We're stoked," Morgan said. "They're obviously a legendary band."

Morgan, an area professional photographer and member of the Clovis Curry County Chamber Of Commerce, is also on the Clovis Music Festival committee. He gave insight into bringing .38 Special to town for the first music festival since 2019.

Morgan says .38 Special was supposed to appear at the 2020 music festival but then things were shut down with the COVID pandemic. 2021 was a bust because of too many regulations surrounding public events, according to Morgan.

"We've been trying to get them here for a long time," Morgan said. "This is something that's been about 5 years in the making."