Happy Fall -
Autumn is an evocative time, whether it's back to school (remembering the feeling as a kid, or experiencing it again through the kids in our lives); the exhilarating, ominous change in the air and the leaves; the relentless onslaught of pumpkin-spiced everything...
For me, it's been all of the above (minus the pumpkin spice beverages!), and a chance to step back a bit, take a breath of cooler air, and reflect. This post is a bit of personal history, since this fall happens to coincide with a twenty year career milestone in my musical history with Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs. For those of you less familiar with the Caffe, it's been a birthplace and home of the folk music scene in the Northeast and beyond, a historical and cultural landmark as the longest continuously-running folk music club in the US (since 1960). Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger... so many influential artists have found a musical home at Lena's, and I'm truly honored to have been able to do so myself for two decades (yikes!) In my travels both musical and geographical, I'm coming more and more to appreciate how lucky I am to be one of the last generations to participate in the folk process firsthand, learning the songs, tunes, dances, and stories of the generations before me from those musicians themselves.
On October 16th, at 8 pm, I'll be revisiting some wonderful musical moments of my own at the Caffe, in a special "20 Year Retrospective Concert", aiming to perform songs and tunes from my latest and my earliest set lists! (Now I just have to find the 20 year old set list somewhere!) I'm really looking forward to making this music again with the help of a few very special guests who have joined me on Lena's stage throughout the entire span of those two decades. Without spoiling the surprise, I'll just say that the show is shaping up to include tunes with band mates from Sara and Friends (my very first band to play the Caffe Lena stage!), The McKrells, and of course, my thirteen year collaboration with Greg Anderson (as a duo, as Daisycutter, and beyond!)
In this increasingly digital age, no algorithm can replace the special feeling of a community of people gathering together to take part in a musical moment in time. The continuation of that community is the magic of Caffe Lena.
For those who can't be there, the show will be streaming live via Concert Window.
For those who can, it's also Octoberfest at the Caffe, and thanks to Olde Saratoga Brewing Company, craft beer will be available at the show! Just save me some!
Details and tickets are available at www.caffelena.org
Hope you can join us in celebrating this musical milestone!