The people have spoken

RUJ is doing one outside gig a month and jamming like crazy on our regular dates

Hi ho,

The feedback from my recent query was decisive. Y’all are OK playing one outside gig a month but not wild about playing more — especially if we’re cutting too much into normal jam time. (Exceptions for December, of course. We love sharing that holiday spirit.) So it shall be written …

Aside from our 1st/3rd Thursday gigs at the church and our last Tuesday gigs at Pelagic, here’s our “schedule” for the next few months:

• March: Our first visit in more than a year to TLC Departure Drive, 5124 Departure Drive, Raleigh. We’ll play for the participants and staff from 2 to 3 p.m. We need to pick a date. I’ll prepare a playlist. Available are:

  • Monday, March 6

  • Thursday, March 9

  • Monday, March 20

  • Tuesday, March 21

  Email your preferences to raleighukejam@gmail.com. I’ll go from there and let you know the details.

• Also March: OPEN MIC AT THE CHURCH, Thursday the 30th at 7. Get a song or two ready to play for the group!

• April 15: Wake County East Regional Library, 946 Steeple Square Court, Knightdale. It’s a Saturday. We’ll play from 10:30-11:30 a.m. It’ll be a bit like a regular jam, with one exception: We’re taking requests! I’ll draw up a list of 40-50 songs we play with some regularity, print copies to circulate, and let the folks attending call the shots. It should be a lot of fun, and good exposure for the group from an area that may give us some new members!

• May: to be determined, but probably at TLC Bond Park in Cary. The Blue Ridge Ukulele Festival is May 5-7 in Morganton, so the Bond Park is likely to be in the second half of the month.

• June: Make Music Day, June 21, 7 p.m., location to be determined. Make Music Day/Summer Solstice falls on a Wednesday. Our “program” will be a regular jam, with an open invitation (as always) for newcomers to join us. We’re probably headed downtown to a location with more exposure than Pelagic, but stay tuned! Much more about this soon.

• July: Who knows? That’s a ways off.

Point of personal privilege

March 3 marks the 100th anniversary of Doc Watson’s birth. A whole lot of tributes are in the works, of course, including an album of Doc’s songs by his friends, collaborators, and admirers. The first release features Dolly Parton singing “The Last Thing on My Mind” (check the earlier link to hear it). I thought I’d end with a gem captured during a rehearsal for Merlefest in 2001, the last time Dolly performed there while Doc was alive. Hope you enjoy it.

Until next time,

Ringleader Rick