Great Acoustics

At the Cambridge Center for Adult Education’s historic Blacksmith Housel in Harvard Square.  This is the 30th iteration of  Lorraine’s original Flower Carol Festival,  and you know it will feature master classes for all levels, jam sessions for all levels, a wide range of instrument builder/vendors,  more jam sessions, before an  intimate evening concert – right in Harvard Square.  www.dulcimerfestival.org.

With Alan Kaufman, Martin Grosswendt and Many Celebrated Others in a special event at the Skellig Pub, Moody Street in Waltham, for the benefit of  flood victim Tim Rowel and his Minuteman Music.

Well, we have ‘em, but except for the Minuteman benefit, all our gigs this month are private affairs, not open to the general public, so I won’t tantalize you  with descriptions. There are corporate gigs where our real job is to look good in an atrium, dressed to the nines in velvet smoking jackets and lacy gowns, and one or two special gigs at parties ‘n’ stuff. We’ll do  Welsh  Christmas music here and Irish Christmas music there, and generally carry on with the wass’ling and feasting, picking and singing until the Season grinds mercifully to a close on Old Christmas, 12th Night, January sixth.

Lorraine and Bennett teach and perform in Waretown NJ at the Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education. Fabulously beautiful setting for a folk festival, in the woods by the water.

http://www.musicatbarnegatbay.org/

Our very first CD, Jonah’s Dream has out of print until now! Re-issued with new graphics, it is available today.

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz

I wonder where the birdies is

You’ve heard the bird is on the wing

We sing the wing is on the bird…

        Ah Spring is here and Festival Season has begun. There was Neffa, dear old Neffa, so much like a Disneyworld for real people, with outdoor jamming and Morris teams jingling, indoor workshops and concerts and crafts and dancing dancing dancing. Delicious world food and good looking young people in colorful costumes everywhere – it is just about the most fun to be had in and around a Highschool building.

Our 29th annual Dulcimer Festival at the Blacksmith House had good weather, too, so we could set some of it  up outside, beneath the iron image of a spreading chestnut tree recalling the famous poem. There was jamming – which is a regular feature of anything we organize – and workshops all day Saturday. On the Sunday, as part of the Harvard Square Mayfair, was our usual instrument petting zoo cum family concert. One very little girl got up and danced to our first tune, accepting the audience’s applause at the end with a modest and graceful bow.

Banjo Camp last week-end was heaven-on-Earth, as always, there’s a wedding next week (Lorraine wrote the Bridal March and  it is lovely), in June the UMB Guitar Clinic and Concert, a concert in N.Falmouth and the Collegium at the end of the month for Lorraine, SAMW I in July, August Dulcimer Daze and SAMW II in August. I can’t think any farther ahead or in any greater detail right now…