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:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: Thurs., July 1...“Lawnchairs and Liberty,” a special patriotic concert at Historic Polegreen Church in Hanover County! 5-7 p.m., 6411 Heatherwood Dr., 23116; visit http://www.historicpolegreen.org for directions and more info. It’s going to be a very family-friendly evening to help begin the long holiday weekend, and you will absolutely love this magical and historically significant location! Historic Polegreen Church truly was at the heart of our country’s revolutionary birth and fight for religious freedom; the kids will have a blast (and learn stuff, but don’t tell them!) along the Road to Revolution heritage trail, you’ll feel the waves of liberty in the air, and we’ll provide music so that you can raise your voice in celebration of our nation’s Independence Day. The weather is even cooperating, as the heat will break and Thursday evening will be dry, clear and comfy, in the low 80s. Thanks so much to Delegate Christopher Peace for letting us lead the celebrating in such a special venue! Fri., July 2...private party. See? Another one! Yours could be next! Sat., July 3...Colonial Downs, “Racing to the Stars and Stripes” night of horse-racing, music and fireworks! Post time is at 5:00, and tickets start at just $2 for adults; kids are free! Enjoy the beauty of magnificent athletesÑthe horses and the jockeysÑand then stick around for music and fireworks! After the races and “rockets’ red glare,” you can avoid the crowds in the parking lot by sticking around and listening to us play. The “Blast Zone” is the best viewing area for the fireworks display. Included in the $40 Blast Zone package is an umbrella table with four seats, four hot dog vouchers, four soft drink vouchers and four glow sticks. It’s a full night of family-friendly entertainment! And did I mention fireworks?! Wed., July 7...Ashland Coffee and Tea, 7:00, Homegrown Wednesdays, 798-1702, solo, $5. I feel pretty great about the fact that Ashland is quoting my website on their website, so I’m going to quote them quoting me...but how many sets of quotation marks do I use for this?! The computer is rebelling against my every attempt at punctuation propriety, so I’ll leave off any quotation marks. These Wednesday nights are so much fun, and no one knows what will come out of my mouth at these shows. New songs? Old songs? Songs I don’t actually know? ANYthing is possible, and it’s always a lovely time! Sat., July 10...Hanover Tomato Festival, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., we play 12:45-1:30, Pole Green Park, rain or shine, Mechanicsville, free! I have two things to say about the Hanover Tomato Festival. Thing #1: Mmmmmmmmm, delicious! Thing #2: Leave VERY early to get there, make sure you have a full tank of gas, and bring your patience! The lines are long to get into the park, because there’s so much to see and do (and there’s just one lane in, one lane out!). I hope you’ll join us for all the fun and the finest tomatoes anywhere...well, except for those in my backyard! Visit http://www.co.hanover.va.us/parksrec/tomatofest/default.htm for directions and more information about all the activities, entertainment and food, food, food. Thurs., July 15...Noon Tunes at the James Center, duo, free. We’ll hope for a much cooler day, which we likely shouldn’t bank on, given that it’ll be July in Virginia, right? Right! But we’ll be there! Ice cream, anyone? Sat., July 17...Christmas in July, Short Pump Town Center, 10-6, food- and fund-raiser for the Central VA Food Bank, duo, free. Here’s another great opportunity to help the Central VA Food Bank, where more and more people have had to turn to provide food for their families as the economy has challenged people who had never before been to a food bank. Bring your non-perishable food items and monetary donations, and then go shopping after doing your good deed for the day. Music lasts all day, from The Offering Band and lots of other great groups who are donating their time for this wonderful annual event! Remember our winter snows? All together now: Aaaaaahhh! Sat., July 17...private party. Wed., July 21...Virginia This Morning, 9:00 a.m., WTVR Channel 6. Tune in to hear us play and hear all about the Richmond Peace Education Center’s 30th Anniversary concert, coming up on July 24...more on that next! Sat., July 24...Richmond Peace Education Center Benefit Concert, featuring folk legend John McCutcheon! 7:00 p.m., Singleton Center, 922 Park Ave. (on VCUÕs campus), $20 for adults, $10 for students, tickets@rpec.org or call 232-1002; tickets also available at the door. I will be the opening act for Mr. McCutcheon! What a thrill! This wonderful concert will celebrate RPEC’s 30th anniversary of providing leadership for non-violence in the Richmond community, through programs on conflict resolution and violence prevention, racial reconciliation and global issues. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the wonderful programs at the RPEC. John McCutcheon is world-renowned as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, performer, children’s author and peace activist, and this will be a marvelous and memorable show for a great cause! Sun., July 25...Save Our Food Festival! 12-6 p.m., $10 per carload (per carload! what a deal!), FREE for VA Farm Bureau members; Meadow Event Park (the new fairgrounds in Caroline County, Farm Bureau Center, indoors and outdoors), full band. What do I do best? Eat. It’s good to know your strengths, and that’s my greatest one. I am looking forward to every aspect of this big event: Fantastic family fun, with a large outdoor farmers’ market, BBQ competition, indoor VA wine and specialty food showcase, and a special “Down on the Farm” kids’ area and Family Cool Zone. And music! We’ll play from 1:30-3:15, and you’ll also enjoy music from Jackass Flats and the Venture Rays. There’s no better way to spend a summer Sunday than celebrating and enjoying our safe, fresh and locally grown Virginia agriculture products. Yippee for the Virginia Farm Bureau! Sat., July 31...Ashland Coffee & Tea, 8 p.m., 798-1702, 100 N. Railroad Ave., Ashland, full band, $10. Whoohoooo! There’s just no place like Ashland Coffee & Tea, and we’re lucky, lucky, lucky every time we take the stage here. The room sounds great, as always, the food is delicious, as always (with all kinds of new options every time), and we will play our hearts out for you, as always. This night, we’ll do a long, full-band set and then unplug (sort of) for the second set, bringing out some more acoustic songs that we don’t get to play as often as we’d like. It’ll be a very special night, and I hope you’ll join us! I have a quick update on the Richmond Symphony’s Celebrity Maestro “competition” from May 22. And the update is: I WON!!! This was a complete shock, as I was up against some prodigious “opponents,” including a very well-prepared Bobbie Barajas of WCVE 88.9 FM, and an extremely popular Pastor Lance Watson, a spectacularly gowned-and-tiara-ed Miss America Caressa Cameron, and a dashing, nattily attired Mayor Dwight Jones. And, of course, Nutzy the Flying Squirrel, who did such a great job (I’m not kidding) and was so hilarious in the process that he made us all feel nutz for ever doubting his conducting prowess! So I still don’t know how I won, but it was one of the most challenging and exciting things I’ve ever done, including my can-can kicks on the final number. Ask me about it at a show. What a night, all for a great cause: Supporting the Symphony’s Youth Outreach programs! If you couldn’t make it but would like to help, visit http://richmondsymphony.com for info. Honestly, everyone was so nice and had such a great time, and my worthy competitors were a joy to be with, as was, of course, every super-talented member of our amazing Richmond Symphony! Please call all venues before venturing out, just to make sure. Things can change quickly, and sometimes I’m not able to update the web site as quickly as things can change. Remember to drink plenty of water, wear your sunscreen, rediscover the wonder of hats, and be kind to yourselves. Relax when you can, and be grateful (as I certainly am) for the opportunity to work. Work is good! So is relaxing! So is listening to music, live or recorded! Here’s to better times ahead for everyone in need, whether music is involved or not. |