The devil isn’t the only one who went down to Georgia.
(Happily, we don’t frequent the same places!)
Having had a gig-filled summer, we were looking forward to “time out” in December in Atlanta, GA to record our long-awaited CD.
(Stay tuned to hear how that went.}
Summer in Michigan evokes their state motto "Catch us between the snow and mosquitos"...(actually it's "If you seek a pleasant peninsula" and they both really are!) Highlights included, once again, doing the Gospel “service” at Bluegrass in the Park in Atlanta, MI. What a great event put on under the leadership of “Doc” and Luann Bungard. Ya cain’t beat free, and a variety of opportunities abound for pickin’ and singin’ or just enjoyin’. www.bluegrassinthepark.com should tell you all about it. For our part an appreciative, if somewhat sleepy,audience joined us for an hour of our particular strain of gospel music. (And when we say “strain,” well, that’s the audience’s problem!)
Northwoods Gallery, also in Atlanta, MI, started hosting music again and we partook. Played an open mic and then a concert for John’s usual intelligent, appreciative audience. Performers love this place—it’s a sweet venue…
More folks need to support such things. (Meaning, spend money there!)
Music on the River in Mecosta, MI is “on again” and the park fills up for another free concert sponsored by the good townfolk of Mecosta. This year it didn’t rain and we got to watch the kids running and shrieking joyfully around the playground (and we without our water pistols!) as the adults enjoyed the show. The best part of the Mecosta stop, though, was the time we spent visiting with Ray and Alice. Ray is a country (and rock) music pro and host of one of the last—and best—remaining local broadcast radio shows; so he and Whitt always have a lot of tales to swap. After the concert, we spent a fun evening sitting around Ray and Alice’s with Polly and Mark trading tunes and jamming.
We played many new places and made lots of new friends--we won’t burden you with a detailed account. An overview of our recent (and future) route can be clearly seen at our website. (The 2009 list is still posted under the new 2010 schedule.)
Fall would not be the same without the Kendallville Apple Festival and the Kewanna Fall Festival, both in Indiana, the heart of the heartland. Whitt claims the best part of his boyhood was spent outside Terre Haute, so he’s part Hoosier anyway. This year for Kendallville he set to music a James Whitcomb Riley poem, The Raggedy Man. Go to www.kendallvilleapplefestival.org and check out this growing event.
Must mention the West Texas Bluegrass & Traditional Music Assn., www.westtexasbluegrasstraditionalmusicassociation.com ‘cause not only did they feed us like kings, they were one of the best, quickest audiences ever! Most significant to MWT insiders, they were excellent "bawkers"! (It’s extra fun for performers when a crowd really gets it, and this bunch had definitely caught something!) Great event with several rooms of jamming and a several good local acts before the touring act, guess whom…Of course, we’re talkin’ Lubbock, TX here—home of Buddy Holly, Mac Davis—well, you get the idea. There’s a vital live music scene there, and we hope to be back!
We’re in Atlanta, GA at the moment, Judy recovering from what the doctor called a “nasty (is there any other kind?) virus” going ‘round that morphs into brochial asthma, which brings us to the excuse for no new CD…yup {cough, cough} sorry…
We will try again in the spring after a couple of months warming up our voices (and bones!) in Florida.
We “lost” both our laptops this year (may they rest in pieces); so, still no photos to share--(no still photos, either)—and another reason we can’t record or put our new live DVD together. Surgeons were able to save the hard drives, so all is not lost! We are keeping their brains alive in special little boxes, waiting for a fresh host body to which to upload them to resurrection, that our data will once again flow like honey in the desert! (I will not calm down!)
In the meantime, entertain yourselves briefly with the current mangling of our name:
