Music at the library
And, let's roll with the changes!
Hi ho,
It’s been great seeing new and familiar faces over the past few weeks. The event calendar has calmed down — thanks for your feedback — but we’re preparing to enter some exciting and unfamiliar territory. Let’s get started!
‘All-Request’ Jam at the East Regional Library, Knightdale, April 15
Yes, they’re upon us! Tax filing day and our first library jam in almost four years. Saturday morning, head to the Wake County East Regional Library, 946 Steeple Square Court in Knightdale, to play for the patrons and our legion of fans (heh). Arrive around 11:15 to set up. We’re playing from 11:30-12:30. Indoors, where it’ll be pleasant.
Check Dropbox for the “Playlist for East Regional Library” file. We’re handing that over to the audience and they’ll pick the songs (after we play a warmup or two). You might want to separate those song files from the others so they’ll be easy to search. Or not. It should be a lot of fun and perhaps a bit of a challenge. It also will allow the folks watching to get an idea of how we try to do things under normal(?) circumstances.
Chairs will be provided. If there’s a potential shortage of seating, I’ll let you know via email Thursday or Friday.
The meandering downtown jam
I have good news and (possibly) unfortunate news. Unfortunately, we have accomplished our mission at Pelagic Beer and Wine. The Allens asked us to come one Tuesday a month in the hopes of boosting their business. Well, we’ve done it. They’re so busy that we’ve outgrown the available space, especially if it’s cold or wet and we can’t play outdoors. So we’re ending our monthly date with Pelagic.
The good news: For now, at least, we have another place to play near downtown! The Allens recently opened Riparian Provision Company, a beverage and craft and plant store beside Earp’s Seafood Market, 1408 South Saunders Street. It has more space indoors and outdoors … and parking! The Allens have invited us to give Riparian a try, and we will, Wednesday, April 26, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Berto’s Chimi’s (a food truck specializing in Dominican-style burgers … drool) will be there as well!
I recommend bringing a chair or stool in case you need it. There may be enough for all … or not. Consider this a trial to see if the new location and day of week work. (Tuesdays are not an option; other weekly events scheduled.)
David and I also are scouting out other locations in the general downtown region. We think it’s important to have a publicly accessible meeting place where people who may prefer to check us out at a centrally located spot before they drive to Ray Road and join our usual frivolity. We have a few on the radar and are considering others. We may wind up rotating among several sites if we find a few we like.
Feel free to email and suggest locations, with these goals in mind:
We want to be near downtown Raleigh. (See: The name of our group … )
The location should be large enough to handle us and a potential audience.
It’s protected from the elements.
They should offer some sort of food/beverage for sale.
It should be “quiet” enough for us to strum and sing without being drowned out by other activity, including other amplified music or entertainment.
It’s open during the time we usually play, although we could push the time up to 6 or 6:30 if enough of you insist and the spot is that wonderful.
We’ll see how it goes. We’ll seek a place to play in May. In June, our downtown gig will be part of Make Music Day Raleigh. We’ll be at the City of Raleigh Museum on Fayetteville Street, Wednesday, June 21, from 7 to 9. Yay!
That other band
Far From Done has several gigs on its 2023 schedule, beginning April 28 in Chapel Hill! Check out its Facebook page for more information.
Since we may be wandering —
Vagabond Rick