Nov. 13, 2013
For five days last week, Dede & the Dreamers, John Driscoll, DarleneYa, Joe Reilly, Seth and May, Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys, Sam Cooper, Strawberry Heritage, Bill Chesney, Micah Ling, & Michael Erlewine gathered together in friendship for community and the sake of music.
The original intentions of the tour were to promote the collective and all of our advocacy outreach, the artists, and the music. As it turns out, we gleaned much more than what we set out for. As musicians, we live the majority of our lives in and out of our homes and in and out of the homes of our many friends, community supporters or musicians spread throughout the country. The bonding that takes place when you spend so much time with other people is priceless. Add to that spending multiple hours connecting through learning each others songs and material and each performance every night...now that's the sort of friendship that you just can't quite get from a store! (Well, that is to say, it's a very special kind of amistad)
We performed at some of our favorite venues in the state: the Ark, Founders Brewing Company, Kalamazoo First Congregation Unitarian Church, the Avenue Cafe, and Milliken Auditorium. John "Juanito" Driscoll and "Johnny Boy" Hanson both had birthdays while on tour! Rachael Davis, who now lives in Nashville, was mystically transported to Grand Rapids for that particular night for a show, and made it out to Nashville to sing some of her quintessential sweet harmonies! We sold out of Ray's Polish Fire and Earthwork Farm Maple Syrup! All sorts of turkeys were in the rain! Personally, I had some of the most happiest times of my life that I can remember while on this tour, and the clarity, motivation, inspiration and deep passion for life, love and friendship have never been felt stronger from my being.
A big thanks and heartfelt appreciation to all the artists and music community members who came out to the shows and continue to support our music and passion for life through community!
