Yo! Summer is officially kicked off!

The Side Door was cookin' again last night. I may write more in greater detail later, but once again, I put my trust in the musicians and they came through for us all.

We had Jim Kern and Jeff Wynne making a repeat visit to the Side Door, but this time they were augmented by Jennifer McClellan, a fine singer. They played a groovy set that included John Prine and Fleetwood Mac. I'm continually amazed at the welcoming spirit of the Side Door crowd. They're supportive, respectful, and enthusiastic - they make the show every time.
Andrea Marshall brought her band "Ironic Dixie" featuring Jim Hockett on the mando and Joyce Gollogly on the bass. Those guys could really sing, and for a trio, they really had a full sound. (Jim jumped in Dale's regular songlist with the Wagon Wheel, but whatcha gonna do? It's a hit.)
Then we got another first to the SD stage, Free Range Possums, featuring the Steele family and their friends. Their friends included our friend Fritz and banjo player Bob from Blacksburg. He had a funky black banjo that was way cool. They showed us they meant business from the first tune--Bill Monroe's Scotland. I was won over right there, but fiddlin' Bailey Steele has some primo chops and is sure to scare some folks in Galax this year.

We took a little break and went on with the long-awaited appearance on the SD stage of Kendall Weddle. Kendall's been wowing us at the Radford and Christiansburg jams for a while now, but he got a band together for last night and let our audience in on the secret. The guy is a bluegrass machine, and as he says in his new hit song, he's got "Bluegrass in his soul." Kendall, his fine tenor singing pal Kelvin, and Jason Wheeler are the core of the band, and were helped out by Chris, Ralph, and Mr. Slash on the bass. (Y'all are lucky that Slash was there because Doug Capobianco went down with some kind of bug, and Chris was gonna have to sit in on bass. Could've been a little jerky rhythm-wise. Hope Doug is on the mend.) Kendall is the real deal. He sings bluegrass as good as anybody that ever did it.

Dale brought the night home with a typically raucus set. I got the paper plate setlist for a souvenir. I liked his Love, Please Come a whole lot.

Then we got down on it at your now-usual afterhours jam. Thanks to Timmy and Scott for showing up after all the scheduled music to make the jam. With players like them helping out, the whole night becomes 2 for 1.

Many super thanks to Ralph for helping on and off-stage.

Thanks again to everybody who helped out--especially y'all who helped out by coming to sit in the audience, have cookie, have a drink, and hoot-n-holler for our musicians. Last night was a blast.

Next scheduled event is August 2, down in Shed #2 in Bissett Park. Miss at your own risk.


Notes: We made it without Doug OR Wayne. Those guys do a lot for us, and without 'em I was kind of scared, but we pulled together, plugged the gaps, and put on a great show.

The sound turned out to be our friend last night. Anybody who ever put on a music show knows the sound system can be a temperamental thing, but last night out rig made everyone sound good, and we had no noteworthy feedback. Considering we were sound checking for the first time with some of the groups at 7:15, it was a great relief at 7:20 and thereafter that the sound was good. I listened to our tapes today and they are some of our best ever.

Finally, a big welcome back to Jam-pals Christian and Kimberly Hearn. They got the bluegrass fever strong enough they had to move from down-east up to the mountains of Blacksburg. Look for them and their impending offspring to participate in jams for years to come.

What can I say, people? I feel good. These shows are coming off way better than I ever hoped. We're trying to make them better always, but there's a lot of energy here for music and I'm glad it's channeling through the Side Door.