Crack o’ dawn I split Bethlehem for Avalon, NJ and a Young Audiences solo gig down the shore. Two and a half hours on the road. Still pretty humid and hot, I made it close to the gig in time. Through various dead ends, locked doors, phone machines, I finally found out that I was to play in the Avalon school/library/town hall and I should set up in the gym area. “Are you the folksinger?” Yes, I am.
The young rec staff helped me set up, and I needed the small PA for this one. I got all the stuff together and plugged in and was ready to play at 11 am, nick o’ time, as families, kids, daycares, grandparents filed in. A good turnout for a kids show down on the Jersey beach – some rich family traditions that are part of my deep family traditions on Long Beach Island. This will be a good situation, for sure.
I did the good stuff, engaged with kids and parents and grandparents, and we danced and played and sang. There were some friends from the LV in the audience as well, and that was a very pleasant surprise. Again, it is wonderful to look out onto this vista of kids moving, singing, playing along with my music, under the loving eyes of the older generations, and though it seems to be somewhat distracted from the “point” of the song, the kids and adults are quite engaged on several levels, musically, familially, intellectually, rhythmically. Yes, we connect on many levels, and that seems to be the what I try to do on a meta-level. Community engagement. Not just kids music.
Off for another 4 hour drive to CT for an evening with friends and a farmers market on Friday.