The hill side.

I was pleased to be asked to add a short set to the festivities at the rejuvenated Berks Fiddle Fest, post-Covid. It’s been moved from Topton’s community park to the old Doe Mountain ski slopes, now a resort, Bear Creek Mountain. I think the festival has lost some of its charm, as nice as the new digs are.

I was asked to do a thirty minute set in between the various fiddle contests. I followed the 13 – 18 age category. The slope area formed a nice amphitheater, and there was a nice crowd out in front of me, though the sun was pretty brutal today. I set up my guitar and did a quick sound check and launched into Don’t Call Me Early. During the song, I asked for a choral response and got absolutely nothing. That kind of gave me the information I needed for this challenge.

I followed with Blue Mule, and during my introduction I asked for the people’s favorite tall tale, and, again, I got nothing back. I rolled into the song. glad to do a bluegrassy type of tune. I then did Branching Out, again asking for a call and response during the refrain. Nada. I gave up and just sang my own response.

Next was Giants, and finally got the audience to give me back “They’re Big, They’re Bad” and the spooky noises. I got a little vindication on this one. I got the “one more song” nudge from behind the stage and finished with Lessons From Pete, mentioning that getting kids to sing along, dance along was the whole point of what I try to do with kids (and these adults), trying to create a deeper community connection.

The stage.

I played well (only one repeated verse) and thought I did a good job. It was pretty hot and felt drained after just a half hour.

As nice as the new venue is, the festival has lost the communal nature, and I experienced that with my inability to get folks to chip in. In some messaging later on from some of my friends who go to this festival to hang out and jam, the feeling was mutual. No trees to play under, escape the sun. One friend said he played under a ski lift, not exactly the idyllic setting one would hope for, for a fiddle festival.

Still, it was nice that the three fiddle sessions on stage brought out folks who were willing to get up in front of people and try their best: some excellent players, some beginners but all willing to take a chance in front of strangers. Good for them; too bad for the audience, though. So it goes.

My friends at the Bethlehem Food Coop asked me to play for a block party on the North Side at Friendship Park, a small city park. I was signed up for a two hour set from 4 to 6 pm, and I was glad that it wasn’t terribly hot. I set up on the macadam under a pop-up tent with jump ropes and hula hoops spread out in front of me, with various community vendors spread out (Food Coop, Bicycle advocacy, etc.) and the mayor was on hand as well as various public servants.

I started out playing tunes with my handy dandy amp, mike and guitar. Gradually, folks drifted by and kids started to pick up instruments, and join in. Grandmothers, dads, moms, etc. joined in, played with the hula hoops and generally mixed it up with me. Doing my thang….

In these small, one-on-one situations, I’ve been breaking down a song and giving the kids a break on their rhythm instrument, and it’s been working out nicely. The kids sense that this is their time to shine and have been nailing the improvisations. A nice way to share the stage and create some magic with the kids (and the pride of the on-looking grandparent, too). It also stretches my material during the long set.

Folks appreciate having a sound track for the event, and watching kids and families having some fun making music. Adults I know in the community stop by and say hello. I even got to give a hug to my friend Gail who’s been estranged due to a political kerfuffle with her wife. I felt good that we were able to share that moment together. And that’s what a community block party is all about.

This was a scorcher today at Musikfest. I signed up for a half hour freebee set at this tented stage with beer on one end and MF merchandise on the other, with a few tables of folks escaping from the sun on a Monday afternoon. I’m not sure why I sign up for this gig, but I came away with a CD sale and six sets of Martin strings.

I did a good set of my songs: Don’t Call Me Early, Here Comes the Sun, Giants, Giant, Legends, Lessons from Pete, We Are Welcomed, and a couple more. The nice thing about this gig were to two extra Martins on stage that I got to bang on: the new SE-13 model and a D-28, a big body Martin that I rarely get to play. I still prefer my good ole 000-15 Mahogany though.

My left hand stood up under the conditions so I’m pretty glad that worked out today. Still, I was wrung out in the heat and humidity.

Tomorrow I play for pay at Stadtplatz with Kris Kehr.

These society gigs are always quite curious. I knew that this was going to be quite the posh setting when Matt sent me a photo of his back yard overlooking a North Cove in Old Saybrook. I had picked this one up from one of my farmers’ market gigs in Madison so I figured that this would be fancy date.

Still, I low-balled my pay scale in spite of the long commute from PA, but I need the work and I’m always curious as to what these gigs entail. Still, it was a well-paid gig for me.

Matt signed me up for the first three hours (2 – 5 pm) of a six hour party, with another musician coming in after me. I made the trip on a Saturday morning in good time and got there to set up before the party got started. Lots of prep going on, valet parking, food servers, etc. I had a pop-up tent for me, looking out over the cove, a fan and some shade. I settled in for a three-hour set. I made small talk with a fellow from Nashville who was a friend of Matt’s and a player himself. I felt at home.

My view from the pop-up tent.

It was in the 90’s but I didn’t really suffer too much. Lots of older women were checking up to see if I had enough water to drink, and though I didn’t get “applause” through out the gig, I could tell folks enjoyed the music, several of whom thanked me for my set.

The food was pretty amazing: clams, oysters, mussels, etc. and, apparently I missed the lobster late on. Lots of folks hanging out, swimming in the pool, chatting, socializing. I simply provided a sound track and I’m fine with that.

I played pretty much through the three hours, and my voice was a little gruff towards the end. But, my repertoire made it through, mixing my bag of folk, oldies, country, etc. My Nashville friend complimented my songs, singing and guitar work – that was appreciated.

I packed up my stuff as the next fellow came in, chatted with some folks, got my car back from the valets and headed back to PA with my fee (and a nice tip). It was a twelve hour gig, all in all, and, as always, worth the trip to CT and back.

Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market in the morning – only a ten minute commute for this one.

Father Folk Stage

It was a miracle that I even got to play a set at this delightful private folk festival, nestled in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, near Mohnton, Pa. I’ve done sets here over many summers, and it always is a highlight of my summer. It’s a festival put on by friends, with camping, a great stage and sound system and folk gathering in a glade down a dirt road and behind some cornfields. It’s by word of mouth, and that presented me with a large problem in finding it this year. More on this later. 

From 2021

I got there nick ‘o time at 6 pm, made it to the sound tent where they said there was no problem and I would go on in about 15 minutes for a 45 minute set. Phew.

I was certainly warmed up from the four hours of gigs already today, but this audience was the one I really wanted to play for: intelligent folkies ready for music. I plugged in and launched with Don’t Call Me Early, July, encouraging the glade to sing along, which, after some hesitation, they did. It was important for this space to hear itself sing, especially with the philosophy behind the festival itself.

The rope swing in the glen.

My strings were starting to thud, but being plugged in gave me the juice to play hard and clean. I really nailed the set with Pay BoDiddley, Giants, Giant, Rosie, Lessons from Pete and got some nice comments from folks as I headed back up the hill.

I tried desperately to find the GPS of the site, combing through old emails and the web site, but that information is strictly held, so I departed Allentown thinking I would be able to remember some of land marks and exits along the way. I set my device on Knauer, PA. I made to the area with about 45 minutes to spare, but found nothing even remotely familiar. I even asked a young girl working at the local “Wawa” and she pointed off in one direction. I was driving off into oblivion around 6 pm and I pulled over to set my GPS to “Go Home”, writing off playing at this festival, disappointed in my not making the gig.

I pulled back on the road and not 200 yards down the road, I spied the turtle logo on a sign. Eureka! There it was, the familiar dirt road heading into the corn field! Amazing. I actually found the gig (or it found me…) Rather mystic.

The good folks at Christ Lutheran in Hellertown have asked me to play for their first summer service for several years now, usually a salute to the graduating seniors in the congregation and for the kids. Only three kids today.

I picked out songs from three of my gospel buddies: Bruce Cockburn, Pete Seeger and John Gorka, adding on Simple Gifts at the end.

I had prepared Creation Dream as an instrumental prelude, but the pastor began with his notes, prayers, etc. When he introduced Turn, Turn, Turn and walked towards the side door, I called out that I hadn’t done the prelude, that I was going to do it, and I said flippantly, “Go ahead back to your office, I’ll do my song.” There were chuckles, and I kinda surprised myself. It was okay with Pastor Phil. I did a decent job on the song on my new SE Martin.

I then quickly went into Turn, Turn, Turn and played it strong and the congregation stepped up as well. For the Offertory, I brought out John’s Good Noise and delivered a solid gospelesque version of the song, getting the congregation to clap along on the last choruses. It sounded great, and served up some energy. I finished with Simple Gifts with the audience singing along, and then as an instrumental as folks headed out.

I hung around for a bit as some elder folks came up to say hello, share their remembrances of my past gigs, and some common friends. I headed down to the buffet in the basement, talked with Pastor Phil and some other parishioners. It was a very nice gig.

I’ve been doing a couple sets for my friend Jeanine Villano-George every Labor Day  Weekend (‘cept for last year, of course) as a freebee just for the opportunity to play for this interesting cross-section of people: kids, families, old folks, wanderers, etc. Some how, I seem to find the material to entertain the folks and get them invovled. Always a challenge. This year, I had Thursday and Monday in the afternoon – Thursday was relatively light and Monday pretty busy.

Things were on a budget this year with the stage not so far off the ground, but not a big deal. The 4-H display was pretty skimpy but that’s all a function of the strange year it’s been.

Diving into Americana

I put up this image for the Thursday gig on FB, saying that I was diving into Americana. It raised a ruckus and I had to add that no guitars were harmed in this performance. I like the fact that I will take on these gigs that few other folkies will do.

Giants and Thundertubes

I’m always open to doing adult material but will definitely lean on doing the family stuff if there are kids in the audience and that was the case for both days. My obligation is to entertain the kids and the adults always get a kick out of those interactions.

Jelly in the Dish

Barnyard Dance, We Gave Names to the Animals, Giants (of course), I Like Peanut Butter, The Cat Came Back, I Wanna Be a Dog, etc. This weekend I tried Jelly in the Dish with the scarves as my final piece and it worked quite well, especially when the kids started off with the scarves, and, bit by bit, I was able to put the scarves in the hands of most of the adults so that the piece became a unifying spectacle. I brought up a young girl to lead the folks with the scarves on Monday.

I received some good feedback from folks who work the fair: Jeanine, Sam, the sound man, the security guard, the 4-H lady, and, I hear tell, the woman who works the rest room. They all say I’m the most entertaining of the acts, which is gratifying though I still feel I’m just winging it. A lot comes from my commentary that I pepper my “show” with, and folks appreciate the spontenaity of the situation.

I gave away my Peanut Butter and Playground CD’s to the families, sold a few Troubadour CD’s on Sunday, and did alright on tips for both days. The best payoff is the responce I get from this really diverse audience.

Bill, Dave,, Rachel, Ben and Frank on the outdoor stage.

I was invited to be part of a musical celebration of my friend Bill Schachter’s life on Thursday. Held on the large outdoor stage in the parking lot of Touchstone Theater, I was joined on stage with Bill Hall, Rachel Schachter, Ben Wright and Frank Pappalardo, complete with good sound and lights. Ben was in charge and based the format on a Dave’s Night Out round robin.

Tables and chairs were set out with pizza, ice cream and surprisingly good weather for a summer night. Carol, Bill’s wife was in good and boisterous spirits and was the designated heckler for the evening, often chiming in with wonderful asides. Rachel and Bill did some wonderful songs and I added (We Are Welcomed, Branching Out, Giants (Bill S’s favorite one of mine) and Shoo That Fly.

Rachel’s voice!

Folks remenisced about Bill’s quirky songwriting and Rachel, Ben and Frank talked about their times playing his music and his songs. It was quite moving.

We were invaded by some nasty flies as the sun set, and all of us were dealing with singing and playing while we dealt with this plague. So, when I played Shoo That Fly, the audience gladly stepped it up with the singing and the shooing. Funny how these moments literally come out of the ether for me.

We finished up with David Mallett’s Garden Song, which was a touchstone for Carol and Bill’s relationship so many years ago. Bill wrote some great verses to it as he wooed his future bride.

A motley crew.

Ramona just stopped up to the apartment as I’m writing this and said that she hadn’t seen me smile so much in a long time. There ya go.

This is a freebee gig that I sign up to do, just to have a little more presence at Musikfest. It’s a 30-minute set in a large tent under the Hill-to-Hill bridge in the thick of the festival – Lagerplatz. Yes, beer.

On one end is a big trailer of beer and rows of taps of Yuengling and on the other end is MF merch so there’s stuff going on both ends. In the middle is the stage and tables and chairs with chatter and noise going on. It’s up to me to try to gain some semblance of a show while everything is going on. It’s a bar gig.

My friend Nick was on sound and he did a great job to get as much umph out of my Martin, but there’s only so much a solo guitarist can do. Still, I managed to chat, play strong and engage as best I could. Giants is always a good tune to do early in the set. Don’t Call Me Early, July, Giants, Giant, Rosie, Pay Bo Diddley, Lessons from Pete. It was good, but I found myself exhausted after only a half hour set, especially with my voice.

I treated myself to some Rita’s on the way home. I sold a couple of CD’s, ran into Tommy Crist from the old R&R band Pickens, and chatted with a couple of other fans. It wasn’t as hot as the last couple of days, but still I was drenched.

Off to TV-39 tomorrow morning for my big Kids’ Jam on television – no kids. It will present its own challenges.