This is a bit of landmark year for us. We celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, 20 years in this house, and ten years of house concerts. We decided to honor our run of house concerts, and so we will be having a special 10th anniversary show on Friday, October 19, 2018 with Jason Ringenberg, Fats Kaplin and Kristi Rose, and an opening set by the Taxi Boys.
We often say that our first house concert was Kane Welch Kaplin in September of 2008. Ernie's cancer had returned for the first time and we were terrified we might not have a 25th anniversary, much less a 30th. We decided we needed to celebrate the now, and for us, that's something we do with music. However, the reason we felt the need to have music in our house for this, is really because of what was, in reality, our very first house concert. It was in May 0f 2008 and we were really struggling with life. My father had Alzheimer's and was close to dying, although we didn't realize it at the time. My mother was in a wheelchair and not doing great, the boys were little, and Ernie had surgery scheduled. My friend Kenny Draznik wrote and said that he and some friends, Paul Budin, and Pat Daily, wanted to come down and just play a little music for us. It was the most incredible gift anybody could have given us. A few other friends came and we potlucked and laughed and laughed and laughed. It was extraordinarily healing.
Here's a clip...with Jeff Evans sitting in on the drums. This is really what made us realize we needed live music in our home...and the value of sharing it with friends.
So, put Friday, October 19, 2018 on your calendar. Owen has said he and the band will do one song of my choice. It's probably no surprise that I have chosen Left in the Dark.
Hope to see you.