The Big Surprise Tour

The press release described it thus "In a free form ramshackle flow, the bands and artists will share the stage, taking part in each other's songs, resurrecting old standards, and playing newly written collaborative material as they go..."

Went last night. Great show!!! A little bit country, a little bit bluegrass, a little bit rock'n'roll. If you have a chance to go to one of the few remaining performances left - go! Remaining stops are Cary, NC, Louisville, KY, and Nashville & Knoxville, TN.

A Medley of Music Info

• Buying my tickets this evening for a girls night out to see Indigo Girls next month at the Charlottesville Pavilion. I didn't realize they had a new cd out until I clicked on the Pavilion's website. Haven't listened to any songs all the way through yet but I like what I heard of "Ghost of the Gang" - acoustic version. (Quick side trip down memory lane, it was Alycia that first introduced me to Indigo Girls. Actually it was Alycia that first introduced me to a lot of good music... I have loving but puritanical parents who generally restricted my music selection to country, gospel or oldies. thank god we moved to Blackshear, GA my junior year of high school so that my ears could be enlightened by Alycia's extensive cd collection.)
• Another blog I like to read about music... http://www.fuelfriendsblog.com/
• Check out this website, 8tracks. I haven't had time to explore it much but looks like it could be an interesting resource. Their tagline is "Share your mix. Discover new music." They explain their M.O. as "a simple, legal way for people to share and discover music through an online mix."
• Last thing, Alycia already mentioned Bela Fleck -the new album & the tour - in an earlier post but I'd like to give a shout out to Vusi Mahlasela who will be touring with Bela Fleck. A friend of mine, Ann Kingston, is his manager. Vusi played at UVA back in February. Unfortunately I was sick the night of the show, but I did get to hear him play a little the next night at a local restaurant where he had a dinner/meet & greet. My friends who made it to the concert had nothing but great things to say about the show. It was in a UVA concert hall with cramped seating that can create a pretty sedate atmosphere but Vusi had everyone up and dancing. Here's a video of Vusi playing at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Celebration in London.