On the Road: Midwest

Time for an update. I'm on a national tour, and many things have happened since I last wrote here. Life continues to be good!

On June 19 I travelled from Crofton, Nebraska, just south of the South Dakota border near Yankton, S.D., where I was working on a CD project I'm producing for an artist who lives there, to Lincoln, the capitol of Nebraska. That evening I met up with some of my finest support musicians, Jay Kelly (fiddle, guitar), Wayne Longtin (bass), and Terry Durr (drums) to do a concert at CGS Music Hall in Lincoln. Although I had not done any shows with Jay, Wayne, and Terry since last summer, we fit together like we'd been playing together constantly. I was able to do anything and everything I wanted to do with them---no problem. We ranged from ancient folk tunes to Gershwin to Bob Wills music to Duke Ellington to country classics to... Well, you get the picture. It was a GREAT evening!! I love my job!! Crowd was enthusiastic. Sound and lights were fine. Saw many familiar faces in the audience and many that were new to me as well. I played the CGS venue successfully last summer too. I think this will be a regular stop on the summer tour.

In the audience at Lincoln were my dear friends Bernice and Janet Jeffries of Crete, Nebraska, widow and daughter, respectively, of my late dear friend Don Jeffries who passed away unexpectedly not very long ago. The next day, June 20, was Father's Day in the United States. I had arranged to do a small Father's Day concert in memory of Don that day at the Benne Museum in Crete. Janet Jeffries, who is director of the museum, had arranged it. What I didn't tell Janet until Saturday night in Lincoln was that I'd asked the band---Jay, Wayne, Terry---to come along and play also! They kindly agreed to do that. Janet was surprised and pleased. The show went very well indeed. Janet's own group, the Kramer Sisters, opened with their sweet close harmonies and good instrumental work. Then I did about an hour of whatever I felt like doing with my band. Good music, good crowd, good sound. Lovely day. Don would have enjoyed it. Maybe he did.

After the Benne Museum show I spent a few quiet, peaceful days off, staying in a country cabin my friend Ted Beauvais is kind enough to let me use from time to time, by a beautiful lake near Crete. I read, hiked, played my music, thought my thoughts, and enjoyed my solitude. Such times are important to me.

Following the quiet lakeside interlude came a very busy and joyful time at Saunders County Fairgrounds in Wahoo, Nebraska! There, on June 24 through 27, I played the 13th Annual Wahoo Country Music Show---one of my favorites of all the festivals I play annually. Produced by my longtime friend Sharon Kenaston and her crew of good folks, it is quite simply fabulous fun and one of the best festivals anywhere. How I wish some of the less well done festivals, like the Florida Folk Festival, could learn from a genius like Sharon Kenaston. It is nothing less than daunting to attempt to describe this grand event.

My personal performance highlights included a really cool early morning all-acoustic set I did, supported by Jay Kelly (guitar, fiddle) and John Jackson (bass), in which I was able to do some nice fingerpicking guitar material and other laid-back material; and a terrific swing set on the main stage on Saturday, in which I was supported by famed pedal steel wizard Curt Shoemaker "The Shoe"; rock-solid drummer Jeanna Stevenson, sizzling bassist Mark Wilson, and Jay Kelly on fiddle. Damn, friends, I'm here to tell you we took no prisoners on that set!! MAJOR, MAJOR FUN.

Of course I enjoyed all of the other playing I did too! Played lead guitar and mandolin with Terry Smith; mandolin with the Johannsen Sisters; guitar and mandolin with Bill Craven; Dobro with Ervin Pickhinke and with Clarence Hayden; guitar with Jay Kelly; and played with others as well. Jammed until WAY late at night, night after night. Danced with a few ladies. Visited with zillions of friends. Lived, loved, laughed, and was happy. That's how life should be, I think!!

Performers I particularly enjoyed hearing and seeing when I was not on stage at Wahoo included Tex and Mary Schutz; Call of the West (western-oriented songs and instrumentals); smooth-voiced Oklahoman Les Gilliam; equally smooth Jerry Stevenson from Missouri; east Texan Margie LeBlanc (Cajun-flavored country); Tommy Buller with his great Telecaster-driven outlaw country sound; a late-night set by a young band from the Lincoln, Nebraska, area. Of course the Kenaston Family Band is always great. Jerry Neeman did a beautiful set playing horns. I always love the Johannsen sisters. Seamless harmonies!! It was heartwarming to see old Smokey Smith still standing up and doing good country music, at well beyond eighty years of age. It is always encouraging to see, at the other end of the age range, young ones like Cory Jeter, Chelsea Beck, Bailey Wilton, Alexa Whipple---all fine kids from various parts of the USA doing super country and folk music.

It was a WONDERFUL week. I'm already booked for it next year. See you there???

The July 4 holiday is coming up, and I have things to do both on July 2 and on July 4 itself, in Iowa. More about those shows and whatever else, next time!!

Thanks for reading the blog!!