This was a gig I was looking forward to, with Dina, Ed, Kris and myself as a genuine band on a real stage with a real sound system. We worked up an hour and a half set earlier on Wednesday and it was time to put it in action.
This festival is a nationally recognized automobile showcase, with vintage cars of all ages, makes and styles. The festival provides music at the bandshell with a lot of the Lehigh Valley bands, and we were asked to play on the Friday afternoon. There wasn’t a large crowd but we did well. With bass, guitars and mandolin, we have a unique sound, and as it turned out a particularly satisfying one. Ed, Kris and I have some good material, and, with Dina’s material, the set has a fullness, regardless the lack of drums.
We all came away feeling good about this one, and we felt that we became a band. The mandolin filled in the high register and provided the ‘chop’ rhythm that makes it a valuable bluegrass instrument. Ed’s leads are creative and intelligent, Kris’s bass gives us a solid bottom and Dina’s guitar and vocals give us another dimension as well.
The sound on stage and out front was great and the weather perfect, though hot. A great day in the park.