Rainbows and Twinkle Stars

Upcoming Gigs, I'm on TV! PLUS World Cicada Map, Philip Glass Polka Etudes, Scientific Proof: Live Music > Recorded Music, and a Book Report

Wednesday I had the great pleasure of playing banjo with 47 violin students playing “Boil the Cabbage” and “Folk Dream” (retitled from “Devil’s Dream” to not offend religious people) at their end-of-year recital with Sphinx Overture music education program. They also played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which brought me back to my old Suzuki days. I look forward to working with these enthusiastic music students and their wonderful teachers more in the future. Oh, and on my way home from the recital I saw a BIG rainbow with a faint second rainbow right next to it. Beautiful!

In this newsletter:
- Upcoming Gigs
- I’m on TV!
- I’m on the Radio!
- Maple Leaf Rag
- World Cicada Map
- Philip Glass Polka Etudes
- Scientific Proof: Live Music > Recorded Music
- Book Report: In Watermelon Sugar

Upcoming Gigs

Tonight! I’m playing North Star Lounge with a pickup band called Pontiac Trail Blazers. I’ve never played with them before so I don’t know what to expect other than a good time! We play 7-10, $10 cover. More info here

Next week, Friday 6/14, I’m playing a Word of Mouth Folk Show in Detroit at a friend’s backyard. I think shows like this are the future for people like me and I’m excited about it. Also on the bill: Noble Hobo, Pine & Fire, and Les Blackwell. 6pm doors, 7pm music, $10-20 suggested donation, BYOB, 17651 Lahser Rd, Detroit

Saturday, 6/22 - Howdy Fest at The Old Miami in Detroit — I’m playing a square dance 8-10pm but the festivities begin at noon and go til 2am! There will be many live acts, a mechanical bull, and pony rides!

Starting at the end of July I’ll be on tour with Corn Potato String Band, and we have some new dates to announce:

07/25/24 - Detroit, MI, Detroit Film Theatre, 1-2pm, FREE
07/26/24 - Ann Arbor, MI, North Star Lounge, 6:30-8, 9-10:30 (two separate shows) BUY TICKETS
07/27/24 - Remus, MI, May Barn, For reservations and more info contact Kris Stableford, 989-330-7917
07/28/24 - Detroit, MI, Ghost Light (TBC)
07/29/24 - Toldeo, OH, Cob Stomping Party (TBC)
07/30/24 - Detroit, MI, Alpino BUY TICKETS, Like and Share on FB
07/31/24 - Goshen, IN, Stoltzfus Manor, Call Jesse at 504-377-8223 for reservations
08/01/24 – Fort Atkinson, WI, Cafe Carpe BUY TICKETS
08/02/24 – Shawano, WI, Cotter Creek House Concerts 5:30 doors, Showtime 7pm Cotter Creek House Concert Series at the home of Joel Kroenke, email jmkroenke@frontiernet.net or call (715) 853-6879 for more info and to make reservations
08/03/24 – Madison, WI, Sugar Maple Music Festival
08/04/24 – Madison, WI, Sugar Maple Music Festival

I’m on TV!

Last winter I was featured in a locally produced TV program called Celebrate Michigan! I had a great time and it was just recently aired and released on YouTube. Here’s how it turned out.

I’m on the Radio!

Right after I got back from tour last month I hopped on a couple of radio shows with Alex Belhaj to promote our big Ragtime Banjo Revival debut concert at The Ark. We got a really nice recording from this session of the Local Show on WCBN. Check it out here.

Maple Leaf Rag

Still celebrating the debut release from Ragtime Banjo Revival, I’ve been pleased with the response this piece has gotten so far and I hope more people continue to order the sheet music and download the track. (It’s free! In fact, I’ll mention here that I rely on donations from people like you to be able to keep going — If you made it this far into my newsletter and you still haven’t joined my little exclusive world on Patreon all I can say is, Come on! It’s less than the price of a cup of coffee. In fact, you can join for free. It’s just like being a subscriber to this newsletter except you get early access to new content and the warm feeling in your heart that only comes from knowing you’re keeping precious musical gems from being relegated to the dustbins of history!)

World Cicada Map

You may have heard about the specialness of this particular summer for cicadas — Well, using this link you can access live streaming audio from dozens of microphones located around the world. Something different to listen to while you’re on the computer to take a break from all the ragtime!

Philip Glass Polka Etudes

My brilliant friend Joe Krause created a medley of the first ten (of twenty) Philip Glass piano etudes in the style of a “Weird Al” Yankovic polka medley. If you like smiling and having FUN I’d say it’s in your interest to give it a listen!

Scientific Proof: Live Music > Recorded Music

My friend Bill Gulvin shared this with me and now I’m sharing it with you: PNAS/PubMed: Live music stimulates the affective brain and emotionally entrains listeners in real time -OR- You can listen to a 9 min. summary here: PNAS Science Sessions: Emotional power of live music

Book Report: In Watermelon Sugar

I love this little book by Richard Brautigan. I first read it many years ago and recently found a copy and read it again. It’s written so simply and beautifully, and covers such a range of human experience. I love how it creates such a concise and vivid world of its own while at the same time leaving so many questions unanswered.

Farewell, for Now

I have a lot of new videos coming through the pipeline, they’re just not ready for this edition of the newsletter, but stay tuned for videos from the Willi Carlisle tour I did last month, and from the debut concert of Ragtime Banjo Revival Trio at the Ark, also last month. And again, subscribe to my Patreon to be the first to find out about these new videos.