I am now listing upcoming concerts on a separate page called Concerts.
Things have moved along and I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
October
Back on October 1st, I was part of the First Sunday at the Packing House in Willington Connecticut. It was their fall open house. Artists had their studios open. There was a poetry reading. I performed two full sets. It was a great opportunity to stretch out a little bit. The following Friday, October 6 I was a co-host at the Vanilla Bean Open Mic for the first time. I’m learning how to set up and run their PA system from Faith, the regular host. This will be a regular event for me on the first Friday of each month with the exception of January because it is too close to the holidays. The featured performer on December 1 will be Lisa Marie Ellingsen, a songwriter, and guitarist from the Northampton area. The following evening, October 7 I was the featured performer at the Pioneer Valley Song & Story Swap in Amherst. This was a make-up for the concert I had to cancel when my sister Barbara passed away in March. It was nice to do an extended set with folks listening and singing along. They were very generous too when they passed the hat and they purchased a few CDs.
Farmington Valley Acoustic Music Festival
On Saturday, October 21 The Farmington Valley Acoustic Music Festival was held at Winding Trails Nature Center in Farmington CT. I entered the song contest there and was one of the runner-ups. There were some excellent songwriters performing two songs each. The end of the contest was a little confusing. While the judges went to deliberate, I went to grab some lunch. But another act showed up, performed and was declared the winner. The musicians I talked to didn’t really seem to be bothered and I was thrilled to come in second or third. It was a few audience members and family supporters of other performers wondering about the walk-on “ringers.” But it was a really nice little festival at a beautiful location. Concerts were held in a few different buildings and in a natural amphitheater at the park. There were a few workshops about legal issues, marketing, and home recording. I got to meet some folks I had met online and made some new friends.
The Halloween Storm
A few nights before Halloween a big storm hit New England. It was nowhere as bad as the October surprise in 2011 but the rain and wind knocked out power for a big portion of our area. I was without power for a day or so. I continued doing some work on my laptop. Then I used my cell phone as a modem to mail files to my clients. I recharged my computer down at town hall because they have a generator. There was only one outlet above a water fountain.
Here in Hampden, I am also the moderator of one of the town’s Facebook pages, The Hampden Occasional.
People started getting antsy, “How long can food last in a refrigerator without power?”
I replied, “Less if you keep opening the door.”
“When will the power come back on?”
I said, “Before Puerto Rico’s. Count your blessings.”
Meanwhile, I had my own issues. I was getting ready to fly to Denver on Halloween. I did some packing in the dark by wearing a headlamp. In the morning I made coffee with a propane torch and my Aeropress coffeemaker. The power eventually came on in time for me to bring Marty, my Bassett to his dog sitter in East Longmeadow.