S.E.A. on tour in Kentucky

Captain's Cabin

 The Captain's Cabin, Louisville, Kentucky, was the site of an S.E.A. rendezvous as our trio sped from opposite directions to meet up here for the beginning of our gigs in Kentucky this past June.

Steve had begun his tour in Wisconsin, Ohio and was finishing the West Virginia leg, while Erin Mae and Amber were kicking off their summer driving from their homes in Kansas.

S(teve).  E(rin). A(mber).

This carefully and beautifully restored historic location was also a reunion for us since we had played a fortuitous midweek show on the back porch here after the hosts came to one of Steve's local house concerts and offered the location the following week!

With more time to publicize and invite guests (and with a potluck of homemade pulled pork and ice cream!) the audience was full to the gills with people and the excitement of this community gathering bubbled over to the accompaniment of our old-time tunes and songs.

After a blissful night's rest in the air conditioned comfort of the cabin next door (there are 2-TWO- of them!), we had a delectable morning breakfast on the front porch with our hosts.

Then it was time to pack one car to drive to Bardstown to stash our gear so that we could drive back to Louisville, take instruments, product and band members to LaGrange to the Majestic Tea House for an afternoon of music in that tasty atmosphere.   (Thanks to Hallie Boyer for helping us set this up!)

(The traintracks down the middle of the street reminded Steve of Fort Collins!)

Then, we packed up again (Erin Mae seems quite flexible!) to move to Bardstown once again for the full week of teaching and music mayhem at Kentucky Music Week.

There, in addition to teaching our classes, we gave a DulcimerCrossing Concert Window Show on our open night and we performed together for the Instructor's Concert on Thursday night

Our Hosts at Majestic Tea!

(Thanks to Stephen Siefert for the performance photo below)

And we did have time to squeeze in an additional rehearsal 

while driving to the evening concert location:

Glimpses from S.E.A Summer Touring

Here are some photos of our Trio (S.E.A) from our Summer Touring:

Kentucky Music Week, Bardstown, Kentucky

Westwood House-KU Lutheran Campus Ministry, Lawrence, Kansas

Courtland Arts Center, Courtland, Kansas

And here is video of our performance at Kentucky Music Week



Ain't we got fun?!

Dan Evans, the Olney Dulcimer Player at Kentucky Music Week

Week-long festivals like Kentucky Music Week can be like family reunions for both students and instructors who get to be reunited to swap music and share stories of our musical adventures during the past year.

This year, I was privileged to share a room with Dan Evans, from Olney, England ("about as far away from any of the English coasts as one can get!") who introduced himself to the other teachers as the "Olney Dulcimer Player" in attendance this week.  (Go ahead, say it out loud...)

After I read his article in Dulcimer Players' News in the Spring Issue I was eager to meet another accomplished player who prefers DAA tuning (and finds no need for extra frets--including the 6-1/2 fret--to play the music of his choosing.  Definitely a soul brother!)

Dry British humor is only one of the many characteristics I enjoyed in getting acquainted with Dan.  His fingerpicking style is facile and dextrous in a way that is still melodic and beautiful.  Although his stage set was hampered by some sound reinforcement hiccups, his playing then, and when we swapped some tunes privately, was very beautiful.

As a teacher, Dan has a keen desire to help his students grasp the skills and concepts and the commitment to accompany them as they gain skills and confidence.  His photographic eye is adept and adroit, finding and framing his shots in interesting and revealing ways.

Only after we parted at the end of the week and I was looking through my collection of Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 2, did I realize that Dan and I both have recorded tracks on that collection!

(Dan offers his own reflections on Kentucky Music Week here)