July 19, 2015

I am back in Vermont after a wonderful trip to North Carolina.  After a fabulous week of teaching and performing at Swannanoa Gathering Traditional Song Week, where I had some great singing sessions with Fiona Ritchie, Cathy Jordan of Dervish, Julee Glaub, Brian Peters, Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky, and Len Graham ,to name just a few of the instructors,  I visited Chapel Hill and got together with my old music pals-Jack Herrick, Clay Buckner and Chris Frank of the Red Clay Ramblers, Tim Stambaugh, Taz Halloween, and even Eleanor Ellis from Maryland.  Oh what fun!  The summer is flying by.  Waiting to see if our outdoor show here in Vermont will get canceled due to rain-again!  Thanks to Fiona Ritchie for running our interview on Thistle and Shamrock again recently.  If you would like to order a cd, please catch me now while I'm home.  I'm planning a visit to Nova Scotia soon. Still collecting songs from the Maritimes!  Gypsy Reel has some nice shows coming up, so check the schedule.  I'll keep you posted!  Meanwhile, our Irish session at The Killarney Irish Pub in Ludlow VT continues every Thursday at 6:30pm, even when I'm away, and I am teaching mandolin, tenor banjo and guitar-live and on Skype-and it's almost time to register for the Fall classes at Connecticut Academy of Irish Music ctirishmusic.com  (Sundays beginning Sept. 20-will let you know the dates of my classes, which are in the works now).  Happy Summer!
On a more serious note, this spring I lost two of my dear music pals.  John L. Currie died April 22.  He graciously hosted me as Musician In Residence in Montreat, NC for many years, and we loved playing and singing together.  He was a treasure trove of old timey songs, a brilliant doctor and lawyer, and a real character, who will be sorely missed.  Wish we had done more recordings.
On June 4, Victor Paul passed.  Vic was the producer of the cds Christmas in Vermont and You Are My Flower-Songs of the Original Carter Family, in which I was an enthusiastic participant-both were his idea.  Vic was a gentle soul, a wonderful artist, with tons of patience; he liked to get things right.  I will miss working with him.  We didn't get much of a chance to gig our Carter Family songs.
I hope to be a part of a memorial for John L in Montreat, and for Vic here in Vermont.  It was an honor to know them and work with them.

23 comments