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minkinsmusic · 4 years

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Day 1 …. I have accepted a challenge (from Edward Benjamin Blau II Esquire) to post seven albums that I love – one album per day. He’s changed the rules a bit, though… so here is how this will go:

These will be records that had an effect on me, not necessarily because I love them, but because they represent something in my life. So yes, posting albums WITH EXPLANATION as a way to connect with my Facebook friends. Your comments would be nice as well. Each day I will ask a friend to take up the challenge. This is number one. Let’s unleash the love and memories …

U2 was coming to Cleveland’s old Municipal Stadium October 6th, 1987 touring behind the record shown below. A great album that pushed the band into the next hemisphere of popularity and importance. We had just moved to Akron in July and there was no way I could spend hours standing in line at the Chapel Hill Sears Ticketmaster location. When I arrived about 30 minutes before they went on sale the line was 50 yds long in the parking lot. Wearing a shirt & tie, I made a sign out of cardboard that I needed two tickets and hoped someone buying 2 (limit 4 or 6) would help me out. Somehow I got someone’s attention near the front of the line and I offered to buy one of their tickets if they bought me two. We ended up in the first row of upper box seats on a blistering cold night with winds howling off Lake Erie. What a show.

The Hitchcock twist to this tale was the night I came home from work prior to heading up to the concert. My wife Ellie had been to the doctor that day and we found out we were going to have a baby. October 6, 1987.

Day 2 …

Ah, the memories overwhelm me. There’s not a lot to do growing up in Canton, Ohio when you’re 16 with a driver’s license. What’s crazy is that the best thing happening was driving north on Cleveland Avenue to a little po-dunk one stoplight rural community (mid 70’s) called Uniontown. It was there we found salvation … classmates Sally & Red were part of the handful of friends making the journey to Boulder Junction. This old lumber built structure made dulcimer/wood instruments and would host musicians on the weekends. Performing on a tiny stage on a monthly rotation were the likes of Alex Bevan, Charlie Wiener, Jim Ballard, and the man with the booming voice John Bassette. With no liquor license (only natural fruit juices were sold) we had no problem attending. Closing your eyes and listening to their records can literally take you back to that heavenly space.

Ah, but the Hitchcock twist to the tale. As one of the major instigators of planning the Senior Cut Day Party, I took a flyer and wrote a letter to John Bassette pretty much describing the above and wondering if he would come perform. Never heard back from him. On the afternoon of this epic day, Steve Red Michel was playing guitar on the sound system we set up in the shelter. A large African American man shows up with a guitar. OMG he showed up. He played several songs then disappeared. Like an angel …. Thanks Alex B for inspiring me to tell this story. 💖 RIP John Richard Bassette 22/29/1941 to 11/9/2006. 💖

Day 3 …

It was only in January that I took an extended weekend roadtrip to Memphis. I’ve been to Music City several times for AmericanaFest, but had never driven the extra three hours to see the historical landmarks of Staxx, Sun, Graceland, and the Lorraine Motel. Breaking up the trip with overnights in Nashville each way equated to finding some good live music. Brandi Carlile was playing the historic Ryman Auditorium and had sold out all 6 nights! The secondary market prices for good tickets were pretty steep, but I kept my eye on the listings. Finally, I found 2 single tickets on the main floor aisle Row Q and S for $40/each.

After trucking down the highway, checking into our hotel, and having dinner. It was off to the Ryman. Brilliant singer/songwriter Natalie Hemby (part of The Highwomen) opened and I kept my eye on some empty seats in front of me. As soon as her set ended, I grabbed Ellie and waltzed her down to the 9th row where four spots were unattended. Needless to say, this is where we remained.

Brandi Carlile put on a show that was Springsteen-esque. Besides Hemby, The War & The Treaty and Sheryl Crow were guest performers. The Grammy Award artist and producer of several albums by other songwriters just blew the audience way leaving it all on stage. I bought this record when I came home.

The Hitchcock twist to the tale is that this would be the last big show I’ll see for the foreseeable future … January 16, 2020.

Nirvana (full-band instrumental) Hold Out Your Hand Raise Hell Lovesick Blues (Hank Williams) The Story The Eye A Case of You (Joni Mitchell) The Mother Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (Aretha Franklin) (with The War and Treaty) If She Ever Leaves Me (The Highwomen) Crowded Table Redesigning Women (The Highwomen) Redemption Day (with Sheryl Crow) Pride and Joy Encore: Mainstream Kid The Joke Cannonball Party of One

Day 4 ….

This album marks my very first assignment with Lost Highway Records on March 14, 2002. I mailed in a postcard from a Lyle Lovett CD asking fans to be part of the LH street team. After some time passed, I was contacted by the label to assist in the Cleveland market. Those that attended this show remember it was the “migraine” concert in which Adam’s performed without a spotlight on him. I worked dozens of shows (while still running the optical office), including assignments in Columbus, and was later promoted to “Captain” status. Artists included the likes of Adams, Lovett, Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello, Kim Richey, Tift Merrit, The Jayhawks, Ryan Bingham, and John Eddie to the Mercury/UMG label promoting singer/songwriters eventually falling into a category now referred as Americana. When I started writing my music column, I penned a letter to label founder Luke Lewis thanking him for the opportunity to represent LH and moving on. Besides connecting with some of these artists, I met lots of great people along the way …

The Hitchcock twist to this story is a great book by Thomas O’Keefe titled “Waiting to Derail: Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown, Alt-Country’s Brilliant Wreck” that came out on June 26, 2018. Adam’s demise quickly followed with a postponement of released material. The other twist is I chose this album on 04/20/2020 …

Day 5 ….

Emmylou. That’s all I need to say. One of the most iconic voices in music. She’s on just about everybody’s records lending her gorgeous vocals besides a long and lustrous songbook of her own. Portions of her career with Gram Parsons and her very own Hot Band are Hall of Fame worthy.

I really wanted to see Emmylou in concert and she wasn’t coming to Cleveland anytime soon. I caught wind of a show in Pittsburgh by Calliope – The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society on May 19, 2000 at Carnegie Library Music Hall. Time for a roadtrip.

The space was like walking into a Shakespearean theater. Of course, I had decent seats on the floor of this intimate, old performance space with the small balcony extremely close to the stage. Emmylou was performing with the Spyboy band and ranks in my top twenty concerts. The album shown below is my favorite Emmylou record and gives me chills everytime I hear it.

The Hitchcock twist to this story is that the lead guitarist for Spyboy was the one and only Buddy Miller (wearing the baseball cap). I have become a fan and admirer of both Buddy and his wife Julie’s work; especially due to my wingman I called out with this post.

Day 6 ….

I initially began writing Minkins Music in January 2007 for Mimi’s Magazine, my longest supporter, before retiring the column in December 2019. A story on Griffin W House back in 2008 during the Flying Upside Down tour took me behind the music and the life of the Springfield, Ohio native now residing in Nashville. Not only was the story a shot in the arm for Griffin, but it elevated my game leading to additional avenues to expand my column.

A college degree from Miami of Ohio in 2002 in English Literature and Writing, his thoughts were to enroll in graduate school, but his poetry professor gave him the inspiration to channel his creativity toward being a songwriter rather than following in his footsteps. The passion and determination in House’s songs have since been filled with personal, richly detailed snapshots of his life and Flying Upside Down received my “Best Album of 2008” award. The record hit singles “One Thing”, “Live To Be Free”, “Waiting For The Rain to Come Down”, and “The Guy That Says Goodbye to You is Out of His Mind” first caught my ear from Mike Marrone, program director and DJ extraordinaire of the somewhat deceased “The Loft” channel on SXM.

The Hitchcock twist to this story is that a lot has happened since for House, as well as my own personal story, with the highs and lows along the roller coaster of living life that all of us encounter. But music, and especially writing stories, is the common thread that connects many of us … including those mentioned in this post 💖.

Day 7 …. today is the final official day and I included albums #8 & #9 to weave this story

I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and my sister was a dozen years older than me. Along with children’s records from Disney, Tubby The Tubba, and The Chipmunks, there was a copy of Peter, Paul and Mary sitting out to play on the phonograph. Moving was released on January 15, 1963 and I had just turned four years old. I played songs like “Settle Down”, “Flora”, “Morning Train”, and “A’Soalin” over and over again …. not to mention big hits “This Land Is Your Land” and “Puff”. Along with invisible friend George, they kept me company.

On Feb. 9, 1964, The Beatles made their first live U.S. television appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. More than 70 million Americans gathered around their televisions to watch four young men from Liverpool make history. I had just turned five years old, and we watched Ed Sullivan every Sunday night. The following year Help was released on August 6, 1965 along with a movie on August 25, 1965. Two of the first movies I remember seeing in the theater when I was six years old were Thunderball (Dad’s pick) and Help (Karen’s pick).

In the fall of 1966, the family packed up and moved to Canton. I was seven years old and my sister was long gone to Indiana University. We lived in a townhouse apartment for a couple years before moving into a little bungalow. At some point my sister transferred from IU to Kent State pursuing a fine arts degree. There were so many historical points on the timeline to mention leading up to the release of Tommy by The Who on May 17, 1969. We received two newspapers a day (The Cleveland Dealer and Canton Repository) before cable and 24/7 news reporting. My folks had a record collection made up primarily of Broadway Shows, Classical Music, and comedy records. I still had my kids records and some 45’s purchased at the local department store Giant Tiger. By this time I was ten years old. I remember sitting in our little bedroom turned family room when my sister said you need to listen to this record. I must have played it a zillion times.

The Hitchcock twist to this story is that I’m not sure if my sister remembers or realizes the influence of these three records on my vinyl addiction. I’m sixty-one years young now. 💖

Ah, but does there need to be another Hitchcock twist to tie these all together? My last posting was on December 25, 2019. After twelve years of writing it was time to take a break. I had a difficult time just trying to sit down and write a story about the Nashville/Memphis road trip that took place a few months ago. Thinking about this challenge of not just picking records I love (I have a sixteen cube Ikea unit of vinyl and another six drawers of CDs) but one’s that had either an interesting story or impact on my life. Maybe there’s still a little life in these fingers after all. Stay tuned for the rest of the story …

7 Albums That I Love – 1 Per Day Day 1 .... I have accepted a challenge (from Edward Benjamin Blau II Esquire) to post seven albums that I love - one album per day.

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minkinsmusic · 5 years

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(reprinted from the December 2019 edition of Mimi’s Magazine. The above slideshow features 50 photographs that touch on just a few of the national touring artists who have been part of the journey. There were so many more people to mention that newspaper print space didn’t allow … hence referred to as “the usual suspects”. I plan to keep writing at my own discretion on the home landing platform without having to worry about deadlines and content. So thanks for tagging along on this never ending journey. I have been humbled by your appreciation over the years and especially comments received since this article ran.)

“They say that all good things must end. Call it a night, the party’s over.” —Willie Nelson

In December of 2006, Mitch Allen grilled me for two hours with questions relating to a feature story about my former optical business that would appear in the upcoming edition of Mimi Magazine. He stared at the music memorabilia adorning my office walls, asking me about my passion and involvement at the Rock HOF, 91.3 The Summit, and Lost Highway Records.

Before Mitch left, he asked if I would consider writing a music column for the paper. I told him I had just written something and if he liked it I would keep sending them. Well, that story, “The Best of 2006,” was published in January of 2007 with Mitch dubbing the column “Minkin’s Music.” And the rest, as they say, is history.

Over the years, the goal of Minkin’s Music was to feature local and national Americana Roots singer/songwriters as well as iconic recordings for your music library with an emphasis on educating the readership.

Mimi helped launch my column into other avenues—most notably the international audience of No Depression magazine.

As my life path has diverted from being a business owner to working as a special education classroom assistant, it’s time to say goodbye.

Special thanks to the following: Mimi’s own Beth Newcomb and Kelli Comer, for designing my stories and uploading them online, proprietors Cindy Barber and Mark Leddy of The Beachland Ballroom, Colleen and Mike Miller of Music Box Supper Club, and Karen James Walters of the G.A.R. Hall, for allowing me access to their venues.

I’m truly humbled by the support over the years from the “usual suspects,” along with the artists I’ve interviewed, my wingman, Dale Elwell, my wife, Ellie Minkin, and the legendary Mimi Vanderhaven.

TIME FOR GOODBYE TO MIMI (reprinted from the December 2019 edition of Mimi's Magazine. The above slideshow features 50 photographs that touch on just a few of the national touring artists who have been part of the journey.

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minkinsmusic · 5 years

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The following short articles appeared in Mimi’s Magazine October and November issues. Minkins Music is completing it’s twelfth year of liner notes in multiple publications and on-line media outlets.

“Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?” One of the best programs out there is the Hardcore Troubadour Radio show hosted by Steve Earle on SXM channel 60. With the Rock and Roll HOF nominations being announced this month, a case for Steve Earle’s induction is long overdue.

Since the release of Guitar Town in 1986 through So You Wannabe An Outlaw in 2017, Earle’s music has been relevant, chock full of hits, and at times political. Emulating the songwriting of Bruce Springsteen, Guy Clark, and Townes Van Zandt, songs like “Hillbilly Highway”, “Guitar Town”, “Copperhead Road”, “Telephone Road”, and “Galway Girl” have been etched into jukeboxes and covered by other artists and garage bands. Some albums like The Mountain (1999) with Earle backed by The Del McCoury Band dedicated to Bluegrass founder Bill Monroe along with tribute albums Townes (2009) and Guy (2019) are essential recordings within his catalog. He is an exceptional instrumentalist on guitar, mandolin, harmonica, and banjo besides lending his iconic voice to recordings.

His rebellious story can be found in books like Hardcore Troubadour: The Life and Near Death of Steve Earle by Lauren St. John (2003), a great read that you can find for a deuce and change. The man is constantly touring, frequently playing in either Cleveland or Kent and performing acoustic or electric backed by The Dukes.

My sincere appreciation of Steve Earle has recently been while “taking his class” listening to the weekly radio show. Earle dons the professor hat while delving into the historical periods of a certain year and the music that defines it. Other shows have been solemn eulogies dedicated to departed artists who left their mark on the music timeline.

So turn it on, turn it up, listen to the radio and listen to Steve Earle.

With the holidays and RSD Black Friday just weeks away, it’s time to offer some suggestions for that audiophile on your gift list. Here are a few favorites released this past year from artists that deserve your listening attention.

The best album of the year could also be the comeback album of the year as Tanya Tucker delivered the goods with While I’m Livin’. Produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings, it’s Tucker’s first album since 2009 with radio singles “The Wheels of Laredo”, “Hard Luck”, “High Ridin’ Heroes”, “Bring My Flowers Now”, and a cover of Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me”. Other notable female singer/songwriter releases include Bonnie Bishop The Walk, Julia Jacklin – Crushing, Danni Nicholls – The Melted Morning, and Kelsey Waldon – White Noise / White Lines. You may not know these names, but once you hear their voices you’ll fall in love with them.

As for the gentlemen, Tyler Childers anticipated follow-up to Purgatory (2017) debuted at No. 1 with Country Squire topping both Billboard’s Country Albums and American/Folk Albums upon release. Produced by Sturgill Simpson, Childers brings the “hillbilly” back to country western music and is blazing on the single “House Fire”. An artist that released his sixty-ninth studio album, Willie Nelson continues to record stellar material with Ride Me Back Home. Another Texan, Joe Buchanan released Back from Babylon that not only is a great sounding record but has some beautiful spiritual undertones.

I loved the documentary film and soundtrack Echo in the Canyon featuring music that came out of L.A.’s Laurel Canyon neighborhood between 1965-67. Starring Jakob Dylan, beautiful covers like “Go Where You Wanna Go”, “The Bells of Rhymney”, “In My Room”, “Goin’ Back”, and “Never My Love” take me back in time. When it comes to historical content, the release Bob Dylan (featuring Johnny Cash) – Travelin’ Thru, 1967 – 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 15 is an essential addition to your music library. The latest chapter in bootleg series revisits Dylan’s pivotal musical journeys to Nashville, from 1967 to 1969, focusing on previously unavailable priceless recordings made with Johnny Cash and unreleased tracks from the John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline, and Self Portrait sessions.

Stay tuned for some final comments next month.

Fall Quarter – Rounding 3rd on Twelve Years The following short articles appeared in Mimi's Magazine October and November issues. Minkins Music is completing it's twelfth year of liner notes in multiple publications and on-line media outlets.

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minkinsmusic · 5 years

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Americana With A Jewish Soul

Finding yourself and finding happiness is something most people keep to themselves. The search for religion enlightenment is an even deeper journey that you may never come to appreciate until you’ve run out of time. Sometimes though, it will hit you when you least expect it. It happened to Joe Buchanan, and he’ll be visiting Akron from August 23-25 to share his unique personal story.

The…

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#Back From Babylon #Beth El Congregation #entertainment #Facebook #free #Google #Hazzan Matt Austerklein #JCBA #Joe Buchanan #Shaar Hashalom #Shabbat #Shaw JCC #stories #Texas #Twitter #Yahoo

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minkinsmusic · 5 years

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Attending the Nelsonville Music Festival has been in the works for a couple of years. My child Seed Minkin, who attended Ohio University in nearby Athens, Ohio, has been raving about the experience and kept asking when I was going to make it. The threads of fostering friendships and community remained strong after they moved to San Francisco prompting an annual return to the legendary “dumpster” camp site on the festival grounds at Hocking College. With 2019 being a year of historic milestones (turning 60 and getting my ear pierced is an entire chapter), I decided to pull the trigger early on to make this a Father/Child feel good moment.

Another major part of the experience was spending time with Seed’s partner Sam Raridon who also made the cross country flight to Ohio for NMF15. Although “Dad and The Queers” weren’t scheduled to perform, our presence was welcomed and embraced by all the wonderful people who made up “dumpster site 4 life”.

Seed & Sam at #dumpstersite4life

Ah, but we’ll leave camping to the youngins as I partnered up with my friend and noted photographer Amos Perrine with a three room suite at The Little B in downtown Nelsonville across the street from Stuart’s Opera House, who throws this party. It was nice to take advantage of the bike path that connected the town to the festival and have a watering hole at the campground.

The cool, overcast day gave way to high heat by the time 4:00pm rolled around to welcome Hubby Jenkins at the Boxcar stage. Jenkins blends historical African American roots stories with mojo-free banjo and guitar picking songs that makes him such a special performer. After taking a stroll to check out the layout of the performance stages, I made my way over to get a prime spot by the front rail for Town Mountain from Asheville, NC. The crowd really erupted during the song “Down Low” from their album New Freedom Blues released last October. Next up was Todd Snider who makes playing in front of a large crowd very intimate. Accompanied on stage with his dog Cowboy Jim, Snider intertwined stories between “Can’t Complain”, “Ballad of the Devil’s Backbone Tavern”, “Conservative Christian, Right Wing Republican”, “D B Cooper”, “Looking For A Job”, and “Alright Guy”. After a Taco Bell drive thru rap, Snider peeled off “Stuck On the Corner”, “Beer Run”, “Play A Train Song”, “Enjoy Yourself” (dedicated to Leon Redbone), “Statistician’s Blues”, “Like A Force of Nature”, and closing with “Easy Money”.

Todd Snider & Cowboy Jim

Thursday night’s headliner Tyler Childers still does his own sound check, although that may change after the release of Country Squire in August. The band came out hot with “Born Again” and played through their set without much banter. Many folks in the crowd were wearing single day wristbands, purposefully coming to hear the up and coming outlaw country star. Highlights included a string of songs “Feathered Indians”, “Whitehouse Road”, “Purgatory”, and “Honkey Tonk Flame” before closing with solo acoustic rendition of “Nose on the Grindstone” and “Lady May”.

Friday morning began with breakfast and coffee at Fullbrooks Café, then catching a portion of the avant-pop trio WYD playing on the Porch stage. Songs like “wtf” and “wyd” caught my ear by singer/guitarist Carly Fratianne, Maddy Clampa on keyboards/backing vocals, and percussionist Courtney Hall. The Boxcar stage featured Nashville’s Sierra Ferrell and some olde- tyme music to begin the afternoon with several songs off her Washington By The Sea album.

There were a few artists I had on my radar prior to attending and one showcase I was looking forward to was seeing Molly Burch in the No-Fi cabin. With no amplifiers or microphones in a tiny house cabin, capacity was just enough people to fill four rows of wooden benches. Standing room consisted of peering in through the windows and doorways. Burch’s angel voice was accompanied by Dailey Toliver on acoustic guitar along with Luke Norton playing the old upright piano in the cabin. Her short but memorable set included “I Adore you”, “First Flower”, “Wild”, “To The Boys”, “Please Be Mine”, and “Every Little Thing”.

Molly Burch

No sense leaving this beautiful space as Hubby Jenkins was scheduled to perform next. Little did the audience know that Jenkins would be entertaining us with passages from an original Grey Castle Press version of The Mystery of Chimney Rock by Edward Packard. The “choose your own adventure” series was a childhood passion of Jenkins and he routinely scavenges the used book stores as he travels looking for stories from this series. So between songs, Jenkins would read a portion of the book where the audience had to decide what path to take. The crowd was so appreciative that Jenkins did an encore singing his Mom’s favorite song “Lost Gander” and then led a sing-a-long playing the bones with “Moses, Moses, Don’t Get Lost”.

Hubby Jenkins

The No-Fi space was so inviting I stuck around for a third showcase, this time featuring WYD whom I saw earlier in the day. Clampa met Fratianne by accident as separate artists and after a few months went by was asked to track some piano for a new song Carly was recording. The session led to a partnership and with the addition of Hall became a rock band. It was great seeing the artists conform some of their songs to the intimate No-Fi space as Clampa played the upright piano and Hall used a Timpani Mallet on a large drum head. The emotions expressed by Fratianne during the short set were heartfelt and the band was taken back by the roaring response of the crowd.

Anthony Da Costa & Steve Poltz

Steve Poltz was playing several times during NMF15, but can you imagine seeing him in the small confines of the No-Fi cabin? Well, Friday’s wake-up set was entertaining beyond expectations. Accompanied by Anthony Da Costa on guitar, Poltz opened with his one-of-a-kind smile and energy singing “Born In A Band”. Next Poltz sang “98 pounder” while blending stories about the Rugburns, kilts, and Palm Springs high school. A new catchy song, “Aw, Whatever” was followed by the hilarious children’s fable “Sewing Machine”. With the crowd going crazy, Poltz closed his set covering “Truckin’”

The only performance space I hadn’t checked out was the Gladden House back porch, so I made sure I arrived early for a “secret special guest” showcase. Playing the main stage later in prime time, Mandolin Orange walked out the back of the cabin to a roar of applause. Led by singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multi-instrumentalist Emily Frantz, their gorgeous set included “Lonesome Whistle”, ‘Lonely All The Time”, the John Harper classic “Buried in a Cape”, “Blue Ruin”, and “Hard Travelin’”.

Mandolin Orange

Emily Frantz

By now it was time to find a nice spot on the hill at the Boxcar stage for the sweet singer/songwriter Laura Gibson. Standing off to the side with her electric piano, highlights included “Not Harmless”, “Performers” and “Domestication”. After a little pick-me-up at the Donkey coffee tent, I made my way over to the main stage for Australia’s Julia Jacklin who opened with “Body” from the brand new Crushing album. Next, Jacklin’s dreamy vocals began singing “Eastwick” on her guitar before the song explodes with the force of her fabulous backing band. The band was just jelling through “Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You” and wowed the crowd with “Turn Me Down”. What should be the next radio single, “Head Alone” infused a chorus saying “I don’t want to be touched all the time/ I raised my body up to be mine”. After closing with the jangly “Pressure to Party”, I wasn’t the only one disappointed rushing to the merch tent to find that no vinyl copies of the new record were available.

Dad & The Queers

Julia Jacklin

The War & Treaty

I was told by photographer Chad Cochran not to miss The War & Treaty performing around dinner time on the main stage, and boy was he spot on. Michael Trotter and partner Tanya Trotter played to the photographers and crowd with a rousing high energy rockin’ R&B review. Opening with “Take Me In” and “All I Wanna Do”, they included a little medley of Stevie, Aretha, and The Temptations. Next came the emotional “Can I Get a Witness” with members of the band taking turns soloing before the pair of singers led a second line to honor Dr. John with a snippet of “When The Saints Go Marching In”. Some heavy spoken words by Michael about love, the human race, mental health and reaching out for help led up to a tearful “If It’s in Your Heart”. The band just blew the audience away closing with “Down to the River” and definitely deserved a prime time showcase placement.

Emily Dix Thomas

MorganEve Swain

Liz Isenberg & Emily Dix Thomas

Sunday morning we had time for one more showcase before departing NMF15 and our sights were set to see The Huntress & Holder of Hands. Another electric band having to conform to the intimate unplugged setting within the No-Fi cabin, MorganEve Swain and her ensemble brought the best and most unexpected performance of the weekend. With Swain on violin/guitar/vocals, she was joined by Emily Dix Thomas on cello/harmony, Liz Isenberg upright bass/harmony, Rachel Blumberg percussion, and Chris Sadlers electric bass. They were taken back by the experience of never playing an acoustic show before. Opening acapella with “Shadow of the Hunted” before adding instrumentation, the acoustics were gorgeous within the cabin. Other songs from the band’s Avalon album included “Call To Arms”, “Kingdom”, and climaxed with “Creatures in Flight”. Sitting next to me, New acquaintances Shiloh and Tay Tay along with Seed and Sam were moved to emotional tears following the standing ovation set.

With that, it was time to head back to dumpster camp and say our good byes. Fostering friendships is a big part of attending multi-day music festivals, so attending NMF was more than just about the music. NMF prides itself for Zero Waste with over a 90% diversion rate on both the festival grounds and campsite area. Being a father to a non-binary child, maybe in some way I helped bring a sense of hope to those that have communication and acceptance barriers between themselves and their families. In closing, NMF was more than just a music festival. It was about community, unwavering love, and the ties that bind us all.

NelsonvilleFest 2019 Was More Than About Music Attending the Nelsonville Music Festival has been in the works for a couple of years. My child…

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