Busy Weekends/The Life of a Musician
As the weather gets warmer, we get busier. It's always this time of the year where we find ourselves getting up early, and staying out late playing Bluegrass music for the masses.
This weekend was no different. We kicked off the weekend by playing at one of the most adequate breweries in Verona, Hop Haus Brewing Company. Phil and Sara are the owners, and they always treat us pretty well, so we keep coming back. It's a great environment with lots of beer, but also lots of children. Phil and Sara have two young sons, so they've built a place where their friends and patrons can also feel good about bringing their little ones to a brewery. This is Wisconsin after all. This is one of the things we love about Bluegrass; it transcends generational lines. What other genres allow a bunch of bearded millennials to entertain baby boomers and babies at the same time? The Hop Haus is a family brewery, and our music is music for the whole family.
Despite the late night. Carl and Tom and I decided to get up early and stake out a spot at the Farmers Market. We're quickly learning that this is not as easy as it sounds. You certainly don't want to take someone else's spot. Those street musicians hold a grudge! Anyway, the spot we played last week just wasn't going to work, so we sent Tom out to find a new spot. After he left, we didn't know if we'd ever see him again. But happily, he rounded the corner of the Capitol Square with a fresh spot, unbothered by other musicians, with a clear view of patrons, and even a little seating. Conveniently, it was right in front of The American Family Dream Bank. This is pretty cool, because we'll be playing at The Dream Bank later this summer. If you haven't been to the Dream Bank on the square, please make sure you check it out.
We had a great time playin' tunes for the people of the Farmers Market. Tom conveniently picked a spot under a tree, so the rain didn't give us no nevermind. Here's a cool picture Instagram user Anthony Cao posted of some little ones enjoying the tunes.
After the Farmers Market, it was off to a few naps, so we could be ready for our night time show at the Harmony.
We got hooked up with the Blackberry Bushes a few months ago as they were planning a trip to Madison. They have been touring all over the east coast and down through Texas, so up through the Midwest was the end leg of their tour. We decided to run this show a little differently, so the Bushes played first, and we ended the night with a nice long power set. I'm still not sure how we stayed awake until almost 2am (I think one of us actually fell asleep during the set) but it was great to play on a stage for a change, especially at a cool place like the Harmony. Tom likes their chili. He's right, it's pretty good. We made some new friends, and hope to make it back to the Harmony soon.
After all that, it was nice to have the day off on Sunday. We have a 4 show weekend coming up, so it was good to have a little at home family time.
Thanks for reading, if you made it this far. We're happy to share a little insight into what it's like to be us, and see what we do. So you can walk a mile in our shoes maybe. Which reminds me of my second favorite Jack Handey quote: "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes."
See y'all down the road,
-Kodey
