An ever-growing dance card
What we know (for now) about the next 10 weeks
An old baseball saying is “you can’t know the players without a program.” For us, you can’t know where or how often we’ll be playing without a calendar. So, to the best of my knowledge (which has been flawed — see below*), here’s what to expect/plan for through early November (see the Whirligig Festival entry for practice information):
August 27: Play Music on the Porch Day. This isn’t an official event for us, just another opportunity to relax and strum your stuff — at home, or elsewhere. The folks in Wilson are playing at an event for the Seeds of Hope nonprofit at 10 a.m. More details here.
August 30: Jam at Pelagic, 300 Pace Street, Raleigh, 7 p.m. We’ll have our usual strums and suds. If the weather is dry, we’ll play on the patio. If not, it will be indoors. Plan accordingly!
September 1: Jam at the church, 7 p.m. Among other goodies, we’ll go over the songs we plan to play at the Total Life Center, Bond Park (see item below!). The list will closely follow what we did at Woodland Terrace earlier this month.
SEPTEMBER 8: NOTHING. Originally we hoped to go to the Apex Night Market, but some scheduling conflicts came up. So NO APEX NIGHT MARKET SEPT. 8.
September 15, Performance at Total Life Center Bond Park, Maury O’Dell Drive, Cary, 10:30-11:30 a.m. (weather permitting) We’ve not been to Bond Park since the pandemic hit. They’re eager to have us play, and some of their volunteers and caregivers could be in the audience! We will play outdoors near the center. Plan to arrive early to set up, and bring a chair if you’ll need it. If it’s rainy, we’ve scheduled a backup date, September 29, same bat time, same bat channel.
September 15, Jam at the church, 7 p.m. Rain or shine! If the Bond Park gig happens, we also can review our Night Market list and go over some bluegrass tunes for our regular World of Bluegrass week gig at Pelagic at the end of the month.
September 22, Ukester Brown Workshop and Concert at the church, 7 p.m. We’re fortunate enough to welcome to Raleigh David Remiger, aka Ukester Brown, for a special interactive performance. Starting at 7, David will lead a workshop on barre chords. Around 7:30, he’ll play a half-hour-ish concert, featuring some of the “lost” and “recovered” songs from decades ago he loves to bring back to life. It’ll be great fun and a chance to learn some cool new moves.
We are asking for a $10 per person donation to help us cover costs. Also, to accommodate the workshop, and any potential COVID sensitivity, we’re limiting attendance to ~50 people. Space is limited! We have a couple dozen slots left. First come, first served. If you’re interested, please email me: rhenderson58@gmail.com. When we run out of space, I’ll send an email and/or post on social media.
Sign up soon!
September 23, Garner Night Market, 120 E. Main Street, Garner, 7-9 p.m. Keep our fingers crossed for good weather! Plan to bring a chair along with your other gear.
September 27, Bluegrass night at Pelagic, 300 Pace Street, Raleigh, 7 p.m. We throw in some pickin’ and grinnin’ during the week the World of Bluegrass Festival is in downtown Raleigh. The songs are all in our book. We’ll play other things, too. No white lightnin’ on tap, sadly.
September 29, TLC Bond Park raincheck date, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Only if we’re rained out on the 15th. If both dates are rainy, we’ll schedule another date soon.
SEPTEMBER 29, OPEN MIC *AND* 9TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY AT THE CHURCH, 7 P.M.! Yes, it’ll be nine years! Yes, we’ll have food (including cake)! Yes, you can tell fun stories! Yes, you should plan to bring a song to play for the partygoers! If you know how to reach folks who’ve come to the jam over the years and have stopped for whatever reason, please invite them. I may require a signup sheet for performers, depending on the time and the interest level. Stay tuned!
October 1, Open Ukulele Singalong/Strumalong, Exchange and Market Plazas, 219 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, 2:30-4:30 p.m. As part of World of Bluegrass, our friends Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer will lead a jam open to all uke players (and singers) at the jam tents located in the open space between Fayetteville and Wilmington Streets. Bring your ax, bring your voice, bring a chair (probably), and have some fun with two of the coolest and most talented teachers and performers around. This is not a Raleigh Uke Jam event. People from around the country and the world(!) will be there! While you’re downtown, plan extra time to check out the free bluegrass shows happening all day on Fayetteville Street, and visit the vendors, too.
October 6 and October 20, Jam at the church, 7 p.m. Back at it!
October 21, Cary Night Market, 310 S. Academy Street (old library site), 7-9 p.m. Weather permitting, as always! Maybe we’ll throw in a Halloween song or two!
October 25, Jam at Pelagic, 300 Pace Street, Raleigh. More ghosts and goblins?
November 3, Jam at the church, 7 p.m. Are your fingers sore yet?
November 5, N.C. Whirligig Festival, Whirligig Park, Wilson, 3 p.m. Our friends in Wilson, Fayetteville, and New Bern, aka the North Carolina Ukulele Collective, have invited us to join them at one of Wilson’s biggest events of the year — the Whirligig Festival! Each group has served up five songs to lead. Anyone who wants to play can see the videos of the arrangements as the local groups play them at the NCUC Facebook page.
If you wish to join live rehearsals/practices, here’s what you need to know:
October 4 and October 22, 10 am - noon, Wilson Public Library, 249 Nash Street W., Wilson.
November 5, 10 am until lunch, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 5142 NC Hwy 58, Wilson. From there, players will head to the Whirligig Park, grab a bite to eat, take in the festival, and prepare to set up at 2:30. Splendid times promised!
To recap …
We’re busy.
If you want to see Ukester Brown and haven’t contacted me, do so pronto!
If you want to play at the Whirligig Festival, check out the videos and try to go to a practice if you can!
*If we’re scheduled to play a Night Market event, we will not play if the weather forecast is dicey. Rule of thumb: If the forecast from The Weather Channel predicts a 30% or higher chance of rain after 2 p.m. on the play date, we aren’t going. I’ll try to inform you of a cancellation, but in case I mess up, err on the side of caution.
We have an open invitation to return to Woodland Terrace and to play at at least one other assisted-living center. If we can arrange dates, I’ll let you know.
The holiday season is coming. More opportunities to play!
Now practice!
Taskmaster Rick