Yesterday was AWESOME! A bunch of you may have been having fun at the Getaway but for me yesterday takes the cake.

The setup was this. Rivertree Arts in Kennebunk is trying to launch a regular Maine Music Heritage Festival. They hired Roll & Go, Castlebay, and Gordon Bok to start the ball rolling. In the afternoon we (Roll & Go) and Gordon each ran workshops on songs of the sea and those of Maine. Gordon sat in, as audience, on our workshop and we sat in on his. We talked of chanties and sailor songs in general. He talked of songs of Maine and where he learned them. He also talked of his experiences and how they contributed to the songs he has "made" and is continuing to "make". I had not realized the depth of his experience in fishing vessels and coastal trade. I have gained a new respect for him in addition to my already existing love for his music and his musical style.

Later that evening we joined with Castlebay (Fred Gosbee and Julia Lane) to do a concert. Roll & Go opened the show with a half hour set followed by Castlebay. Then we took a break while students from the school sold home made refreshments as a fund raiser. The second half of the concert was all Gordon. He has such a great style and wit. He sang and talked of his life and the friends he has made music with. He is currently playing his big 12-string which was made by Nick Apollonio, his six string which was his mother's guitar, and the modified cello/gamba thingie that he and Nick developed. He didn't sing any of his own songs but songs he had learned that particularly tickled him and they were good'uns. Then at the end he asked Castlebay and Roll & Go to join him on stage and we sang The Hills Of Isle au Haut and Roll On.

The audience was very responsive and appreciative, joining in on choruses and applauding enthusiastically. During the break and after the show they went out of their way to compliment all of us on our work.

This has been a great weekend and it's only Sunday! And today I get to do laundry and clean the bathroom! And prepare for the shows this weekend. No Gordon but they'll be fun anyway.