Harper & Midwest Kind August Blog

Hi Everyone,

Summer is definitely here and it is Hot Hot Hot!!!!. During our June tour we tried to dodge all the rain but weren't successful on many occasions. Our show at Mixer On the Mall in Kalamazoo went well despite the threatening rain clouds. Amazingly the rain hit hard just as we were loading out our equipment, which was great for the crowd but not so great for us, as we were all soaked. We weren't so lucky for The Rathskeller in Indianapolis. It looked like the show would be cancelled, but the storm passed and many folks came out to see us, which was very cool!. Our shows at The Empty Glass and Papa Mojos went really well. Infact quite a rowdy crowd turned up for the Papa Mojo's show in North Carolina. Our show at Blueridge Big Sky saw its biggest turnout to date. A stunning setting in the mountains of Moravian Falls, North Carolina. We planned to record a live CD, but were faced with a number of mishaps, firstly we were pounded with 15 minutes of torrential rain then my Harp mic decided to be temperamental by cutting in and out. Hopefully we will be able to work with the rest of the tracks. Our last show in June took place at Kiawah Island, Night Heron Park in South Carolina. This time we were hit with over an hour of pelting rain drops and heavy black clouds. It looked for sure that the show was going to be cancelled. But the organizers of the concert decided to move the show to a dry location. So the sound people and the band had to move everything to another venue. It seemed to be a huge effort to do a show for no one because of the bad weather. But we did what we had to do. As I looked at the two sound engineers struggling with their heavy speakers, soaked from head to foot, with not a word of complaint, I realized this is what is mean't by "the show must go on". So instead of the usual full on electric show, we stripped it back to an acoustic set up. And wow it just sounded amazing. And you know what- the people did come out as soon as the rain stopped. It was a great show. Even the clown dude on the stilts who made balloon animals for the little kids, had a a huge lineup. Some of the kids got so excited that they started to argue and jostle each other. Just like a session of Congress (LOL) Soooo funny to see!

The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in Iowa was a blast. The day started with a didgeridoo/ harmonica workshop then in the afternoon we performed a show at the tent stage. The sound was excellent and the crowd really dug the show. Then it was off to Ottawa Blues fest in Canada. We didn't have too much trouble getting through the border which was a huge relief. The Ottawa Bluesfest is a huge multi stage, multi musical genre event. My band and I performed at the Hard Rock Cafe Stage. The sound and hospitality was top notch. We had a great crowd for our show. Unfortunately the band after us "Hey Rosetta" had to cut their set short because a huge storm hit Ottawa. The wind was howling and the rain was hard hitting. All the stages were closed down. It turned into a bit of a party back stage because you really couldn't go any where. Finally the storm passed and the music flowed. We were very sorry to hear of the collapse of the main stage at the Ottawa Blues fest the other day. We send all the hard working crew all our very best. Our final show at the Ottawa Bluesfest was an acoustic show at the Barney Dansen Theatre. We had a capacity crowd and very intimate and beautiful sounding set. After our show we saw Larry McCray and his band perform on a stage near by. We all hung out with Larry and the boys for the rest of the evening before heading back to Michigan the next day. The London Blues Festival in Canada was also a great experience. Despite the scorching temperatures there was a large crowd to see us. Again the sound was excellent and absolutely not a rain drop in sight !!! We have some great Michigan festivals coming up plus another short trip to Canada and Colorado in late July and August.

We hope to see you out on the road this Summer,

Harper & Midwest Kind

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