More Good Times in Sunny Florida

I love coffeehouses. I love to play music in coffeehouses. One I never want to miss playing when I'm at home in Florida is Mother's Musical Bakery in Sarasota. Operated by Dennis and Jennifer Brock at 6517 Superior Avenue in Sarasota, it is just about perfect. Dennis is an intense, talented singer/guitarist/songwriter himself. Jennifer is a serene, pretty, youthful woman who prepares delectable natural food and serves up coffee to the customers. Their kids help out with gusto. Audiences are quiet and attentive. No big crowds, but people who are there to listen.

Last Friday evening I played Mother's once more. Dennis Brock opened the evening. He's good. Carl Wade (guitar) and Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle)---you've read about these two fathful friends and good musicians before in this blog---then accompanied me on a fairly lengthy ramble through many genres of music played on many instruments as I brought back some pieces I had not done in a while (in some cases, a long while) and tried out some new ones. It was a good night.

When we were all through, Dennis and Jennifer's daughter and a friend of hers (girls maybe ten years old or slightly older) got up to sing a song they'd been practicing. They were a bit nervous but they did a good job. It was a highlight of the evening for me!

I'll play Mother's as often as I can. If you are in Sarasota, Florida, don't fail to seek it out.

This afternoon (Sunday) I played a competely different type of event, and it was fun too. This show was Pete Gallagher's Florida Music Festival on Treasure Island (along the Gulf Coast here). Pete is a fabulous Florida character--singer, songwriter, guitarist, poet, radio personality, on and on. The festival was set up away out on a huge white "sugar sand" beach behind the Belmar Resort. The staging, lighting, and sound were all top-drawer. Pete put together a band to back me. The harmonica player and the bass player were excellent, and the bass player sang good harmony. Pete himself played solid rhythm guitar, and that meant a lot to me. We are old friends who go back a long way. I had not had the opportunity to play onstage with Pete Gallagher for many years.

Our music was very warmly received, and I sold a good number of CDs. Food and drinks were offered free to performers in a VIP tent. The Gulf of Mexico was gorgeous, as it is always. A brisk breeze accompanied vigorous waves lapping the shore. I took a long walk along the waterline and picked up a few shells, a perfect one of which will go to a young friend who lives a long, long way from the water. All good, friends. All good.

Meet you here next entry!