Mark, you are right on! I remember the first time I heard Joe Thompson, the old-time fiddler, play. He was at an open-air thing that was intended to showcase his playing, so just he and a supporting guitar player were there. He played a couple of tunes, then put down the fiddle and said something about how hard it was to play when people are just sitting there watching and listening, that the music was made to DANCE to! My then 4-ish daughter and I took him at his word, and danced up a storm on the lawn... and Joe won my heart.

I have the great honor and privilege of hosting, at our restaurant, Old-Time jams and concerts of all kinds. There have definitely been nights when my staff begged me, "do we have to listen to them play that same song AGAIN!?" I think that's what Dick is talking about! And then there have been the many, many other nights I get goosebumps to see old and young swapping songs, learning, playing and dancing. And then there are the people who sift the 'old' stuff down into their own, people like our own Shivers, like (former Rambler) Bill Hicks and his wife Libby, who played here to an adoring crowd the other night, and like Alice Gerrard, who inspires young players all over.

All that said, Old-Time is not necessarily this folk-lovers cup of tea, but then not every kind of 'folk' music is!

Dani