Did I tell you much about Song School? I tried.
Did I tell you about the Folks Festival that always follows the Song School?
After a week of singing and writing and editing beside the St. Vrain River, after talking songs and showing our cards and asking ourselves what in the world we're doing and why, after all that we get to reward ourselves by sitting in lawn chairs and watching magic unfold on the mainstage while drinking good beer and eating festival vendor food that we dream of when we're back home again.
This year we got: Connor Garvey, Kasey Chambers, Sufjan Stevens, Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell, Mary Gauthier with Michele Gazich, Jason Isbell, NIcki Bluhm and The Gramblers, Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. THere were others.
The songs that won't let me go include:
"Rain Just Falls" from The Pine Hill Project, Lucky Kaplansky and Richard Shindell
"Stockholm" by Jason Isbell from Southeastern
"Luckiest Man" by the Wood Brothers
"Hard Times" by Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings from The Harrow and the Harvest
"The Hard Way" by Mary Chapin Carpenter
"Nullarbor Song" by Kasey Chambers
Kasey Chambers went on late after a rain storm and was sunshine after it all gone dark, Martin Sexton performed to the tune of a double rainbow up above the ridge, Sufjan landed his folky spaceship and flipped us all out (and probably stole our thoughts), Jason Isbell reminded us all why he's the Americana darling of right now (because he is and tough too), and Gillian and Dave were the best best best. They closed the festival and left us all so happy and thankful with "I'll Fly Away" as their encore.
It took me a while to unpack such a full week and weekend. I'm unpacking now. I'm settling into the school/work/volunteer routine of every day life. I'm remembering the gift that is music and I'm keeping it close in the midst of all the other stuff.