Well hello there!
Was this the best summer EVER?!?!
No rest for the wicked! Straight after our return from Europe, we headed south to the Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley. We got to spend time under the tall pine trees, picking and enjoying the dry Northern California weather. We couldn’t get too comfortable though, right after our last set at 5pm, we jumped in the car and drove 9 hours straight to Weiser, ID for a few days of pure happiness! Songs, tunes, jokes, friends, cocktails, garage sales, we did it all and had a blast!
Weiser couldn’t last too long because other adventures awaited us! You see, that’s the thing with touring, never enough time in one place, but always something awesome to look forward to! In this case, we all went to Alaska, Nome to be more precise, where the Caleb Klauder Country Band was performing for the Midnight Sun Folk Festival. Some of us did the Polar Bear Swim AKA jumping in the Bering Sea! Great weekend, new friends, expensive food ($13 for a pound of bacon, what, what?) and midnight sun peaking through the clouds.
While Reeb and Caleb flew back down to the lower 48 to attend VoiceWorks in lovely Port Townsend, WA, Sammy and I stayed in the North to visit friends, Anchorage, Homer (McDonald’s Spit, you rock!)! Then we met back at Fiddle Tunes and saw a lot of I-5 since we drove down to Portland to play theWaterfront Blues Festival with Jesse Lege, Joel Savoy and the Cajun Country Revival, then back up to play the Cajun dance at Fiddle Tunes.
The weekend after Reeb and her family welcomed us to their family ranch to celebrate the 2nd annual Farmer Social in Central Washington. Tunes, songs, dances, horse shoes, everything was there for a great time. Thanks to the Willms,the weekend, although too short, was a big success!
The next weekend brought us in the beautiful Columbia Gorge for the Bluegrass festival in Stevenson. We got to play a concert and a dance with awesome caller Caroline Oakley.
The following was epic! Our friends The Cactus Blossoms came into town and played a few shows in town. I celebrated my birthday. Had my friend Weebee in town. And to top off the week, Pickathon happened! What a week. Foghorn played the annual crazy, steep, beautiful square dance at the Main Stage, Cajun Country Revival rocked and the Cactus Blossoms charmed everyone. Take a look at those videos!
The Cactus Blossoms at Pickathon’s Pump House Sessions – Traveler’s Paradise
Then Cajun Country Revival did a little tour of the Northwest (Port Townsend, Vashon Island, Seattle and Conway) and we all played the kick off of the Subdued Stringband Jamboree in Bellingham, awesome night!! Thanks to Laurel and John for their hospitality!
We left early the next day and headed to Medical Lake, near Spokane to perform at the Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival. We played a few sets and joined forces on Saturday night with Dirk Powell! Here he is on the front cover of the festival program! GO Dirk!
We drove back to Seattle on Sunday to catch a 6am flight to Saskatoon to be met by stellar Ken, our driver and new friend who took us to the Northern Lights Old Tyme & Bluegrass Camp and Festival. What a great week! We taught really cool people and played for the best dancers and darn, we even got to see the northern lights bust a move! Thanks to everyone for showing us a good time in Northern Saskatchewan. Awesome to hang out with amazing bluegrass band Town Mountain, check ’em out when you have a minute!
We are heading to the NimbleFingers Bluegrass and Old Time Workshops in Sorrento this weekend. Should be a blast, they promised more dancing this year, we can roll with that!
Then don’t miss the first (hopefully annual) Blackberry Bluegrass Festival on Sauvie Island on September 1st. Caleb’s country band will be playing as well as Foghorn.
The following week will take us to Flagstaff, Arizona (Pickin’ in the Pines) and Silver City, New Mexico (Pickamania) and gigs in Phoenix, Tucson and Bisbee in between. We’ll tell you all about it later!
Happy harvests, enjoy the cool breeze turning warm summer nights into “Gee! I need a sweater”, and see you down the road!
Nadine