Well, as that beautiful sunset moved through, humidity dropped and the views over Lake Michigan are crystal clear. From my favorite viewing point, my upstairs deck, you can see the beauty of the Sleeping Dunes National Lakeshore - Pyramid Point, South Manitou Island and the deep blue water of Good Harbor bay.
Now that we are home from Merlefest it is truly spring. The snow is all gone (which in itself seems like a miracle after this long, long winter we have had) and flowers have started to pop up. The cherry trees are all in bloom. It is a truly fabulous time to be in northern Michigan - particularly on the Leelanau Peninsula. Shops are getting prepared for that first rush of visitors Memorial Day weekend. Leland will be the starting point for the men's Tour de Leelanau bike race which has been moved to a much earlier date this year. The rain is moving out and the sky cleared tonight in time for a beautiful sunset. The forecast for the holiday weekend looks great!
CHERRY TREES IN BLOOM
SPRING SUNSET
We couldn't have had a better time than the four days we spent at the Merlefest. We had been told to bring clothing for four seasons and that we would use it all. We did! Some really hot, sunny days - we had to be satisfied with our 55 sunblock when a cold beer would have really hit the spot. No beer was allowed due to the location on a college campus, and actually that probably was the reason for the really nice crowd. We had our share of rain during those days, but it didn't slow us or the festival down. I was so impressed by all of the great performances! This was definately our music fix for the summer - maybe more of mine since Dane always has his own music, too. Contemporary bluegrass from Blue Highway and the Alison Brown Quartet, a really energetic show by Marty Stuart & his Fabulous Superlatives, the Wilders "wild" show. The list just goes on and on. The Waybacks, a young group from San Francisco were really talented and put on a great show of "acoustic mayhem". The crowd loved them. Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby with Kentucky Thunder have collaborated on a project that will bring together bluegrass and pop. Hot Buttered Rum, Ruthie Foster, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, John Cowan Band, Jerry Douglas, Laurie Lewis, the Claire Lynch Band…there were just so many and all worth seeing.
the main Watson stage. The setting was beautiful. At night, lights were shining up into the trees for a really charming outdoor environment. This was the reserved seating with lots of general admission spots in the grass behind, playgrounds for the kids and a great sound system!
Many of the entertainers could be found other places when not on the stage performing. This is Jorma Kaukonen from Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna fame conducting a pickin' jam session with fans and dobro player Sally Van Meter.
All of the players that were asked were more than happy to sign Dane's old Kay guitar that he refurbished. Everybody wanted to play it, it is so funky looking. Go figure, with all of the expensive Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild and other fine guitars that they have available to them, almost every guitar player that signed it had to play it, too.
Joe Kyle, Jr. from the Waybacks
Acoustic blues player Kenny Sultan
Seamus Egan and Eamon McElhom from Solas.
After driving the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway out of Asheville, we finally arrived in Wilkesboro, NC on Thursday afternoon. The concerts were beginning, so we were off! Merlefest is held on the campus of Wilkes Community College. It began with a two day event featuring concerts on flatbed trucks and has grown to a four day festival with about 80,000 attendees. The musical lineup is great. In addition to the legendary guitar player, Doc Watson, there are young, energetic newcomers as well as familiar names in blues, bluegrass and celtic music. We decided to try out Merlefest for the first time when we heard that our favorite Celtic group, Solas, was going to be performing a reunion concert with former members Karan Casey and John Doyle. There were 13 stages, some indoors and most outdoors, with continual concerts so there were lots of opportunities to catch our favorites. Amazingly, I think Peter Rowan played with almost every musician there!
Karen Casey and John Doyle performing at the Lounge Stage.
Tim O'Brien with Peter Rowan on the main Watson Stage
guitar player extraordinaire, Mike Dowling, on the Austin Stage in a moment of sunshine between storms.
