Harper July Blog "Stand Together" CD hits number 10

Hey everyone,

The month of June brought us some exciting news. The new CD "Stand Together" (Blind Pig Records) is now number 10 on the national US blues charts (Roots Music Report) & climbing. Thanks to you all for getting us to such a great position. Its an amazing achievement considering that I am a harmonica/ didgeridoo playing dude from Australia.

Our show at The Flint Art Fair, home of our drummer Marc Dixon, was sweltering hot. Our performance at The Ann Arbor Summer Festival in Michigan was cut short by tornado warning sirens. Thankfully no tornadoes hit the area but the storm was very fierce and we were lucky to arrive home in one piece.

We didn't do too many shows this month as I needed to get my Dodge Sprinter Van repaired due to the accident we had in May. We were worried about the transmission, as the engine was making some strange noises, but we were assured by the Dodge mechanic that the transmission was in good shape. Famous last words, so as to speak!!!!. On our way to Burlington, Iowa for a show at The Washington with the band Indigenous, my van just died on a little back road just north of Carthage, Illinois. With very little phone service and not knowing what to do, we were blessed by the arrival of a complete stranger who hooked us up with a tow and a mechanic. Bobbi then called our good friend Matt Eimer who was the music director for the Simply the Blues Festival in Fort Madison. Matt came to the rescue with only one hour's sleep. He turned up with his truck and horse trailer and his son followed with a mini van. Matt's incredible generosity enabled us to make it to our shows in Burlington, Iowa and the Bear Creek Blues Festival in Slater, Missouri. Matt even let us drive his mini van back to Michigan, where we now await the verdict of our sick Sprinter, which had to be towed to Peoria, Illinois. We hope our insurance company will cover the repairs. I still can't believe that these kind people came to our rescue without a moment's notice. A huge thank you to Matt and his son Josh and that kind lady who to stopped to help us and even let us use her phone. Many thanks also to the Riverbend band who let us use their drum kit and bass rig at the Bear Creek Blues Fest.

We have a summer packed with many great festivals which will take us to New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Quebec, Canada, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Massachusetts and Maine. For those in the New England area we have an open date on Saturday September 4 (Labor Day Weekend), so if anyone would like my band and I to play at their summer party, please let me know. Hope to see you all out on the road this summer.


Peace,

Harper & Midwest Kind

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