Sep. 8--HOLDEN, W.Va. -- As conservative pundit Sean Hannity continued to attack the Obama administration on one stage, hundreds if not thousands of people at a Labor Day rally here shifted their attention to the main stage, where country rocker Hank Williams Jr.'s band was getting ready to play.

For all the talk that Monday's Friends of America Rally marked a new day for the conservative movement, a lot of people seemed to have come to this small Mingo County community just to hear some good music.

Organizers estimated about 75,000 people attended the free Labor Day concert at a reclaimed mountaintop removal site. The turnout was less than the 100,000 people organizers had expected. Some of the blame might have been due to morning rain and daylong cloud cover.

In addition to Williams and Hannity, hard rocker Ted Nugent performed and gave speeches. Country singer John Rich also played.

The event was organized primarily by the coal industry and Massey Energy Co., and was designed to rally support for U.S. jobs, which conservatives say President Barack Obama's environmental policies will send overseas.

Massey chairman and CEO Don Blankenship acknowledged the event cost him some money.

"I want to thank everyone for inviting me here today," Blankenship told the crowd. "It only cost me a million dollars or so."

Blankenship then blamed greed and "make-believe science" for the loss of American jobs.

The coal industry in particular fears that a proposed system to cap the emission of greenhouse gases in U.S. will raise national energy prices, hurt families and manufacturers and send American jobs to China and India.

Though environmentalists have spent the summer protesting Massey coal operations, there did not appear to be anybody protesting Monday's event.

The mood appeared largely jovial, a gathering of likeminded friends mostly from southern West Virginia and southeastern Kentucky.

State Police Sgt. J. Powers said the number of total incidents at the rally was "very minimal," though there had been a few arrests. Alcohol was not permitted at the rally.

One radio station was there selling T-shirts to commemorate the event. One shirt declared the event "Peace Love Rock 'N Coal: Coalstock 2009." Another said "Family Tradition" and featured an outline of father and son miners.

Area high school students also were on hand to raise money for their proms, football teams and bands.

But the commercial vendors who had come prepared to sell to 100,000 people saw lower than anticipated sales by mid-afternoon.