Ahh, that time of year when the tribe gathers in Lyons to conduct strange rituals in tents and stay up all night playing songs. Yup. Song school. This is my third year at Song School, and unfortunately my time at grownup camp this year has been cut short by the demands of my grownup job, which sucks but is the nature of grownup life sometimes (the cruel irony of having a day job is that I have money, but no time- if I quit, I’ll have time, but no money).
A bit of songwriting at Song School
Still, it’s fun to connect with some people I have known, get to know some new people, learn some things about being a songwriter and celebrate the creative life. The main benefit of Song School is really having a sense of camaraderie with similar artistic people- yes, we all feel inadequate sometimes, yes we all worry about what we are doing more than is warranted. Yes, this can make you a bit crazy. There is a certain relief in knowing you are not alone in a pursuit that the civilian world doesn’t really understand.
It’s also great to see Planet Bluegrass, the home of song school, looking so great. The folks there have done an amazing job putting it all back together better than it was originally. Several of us have commented that last August we had no idea what was coming only three weeks after song school. Still, my town has a long way to go, but the signs of healing are welcome. And music festivals and song school are a big part of that.
After the festival I’ll put some more attention to the record that is in progress. We got all the base tracks done this summer, so in the fall we’ll work on extra instrumentation and then vocals. I’m hoping to be done by the end of October, with a release in November or December. But then I hope a lot of things.
Upcoming Gigs:
Wednesday August 20 I’m playing the opening set of a two act night at Oskar Blues. They are starting a new ‘Lyons Local’ night and I am pinch-hitting for a friend who had to drop out. It should be a really great night and my first ‘official’ gig at Oskar Blues. I’ll play a 45 minute set at 7:30 or so.
Sunday August 24 I’m at The Stone Cup from 10am-12pm. I’ll be outside in all but the WORST of weather. Their food is great and the coffee is better. Enjoy you Sunday on “Lyons’ Front Porch’ and I’ll sing you some songs.
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