What a rare evening-- other musicians, take note-- rarely have I performed in a house concert that was such a, well, house concert. I would not expect the experience to be duplicated again. Yes it was small, and we knew in advance that it would be. I had prepared an evening of music from Northern New England and the maritimes-- and two of my "audience" were Debra Cowan and Kendall Morse, both of whom live and breathe New England on a steady basis, while I have to revert to old family memories and myth-making. I was so touched to be singing for them -- and also for Jacqui, the organizational whiz who presented me with a gorgeous crocheted shawl, not even knowing it was my birthday. What I was unprepared for was the gorgeous house, warm hosting, and fabulous cooking superintended by Deborah and Tom Coward.

There are always advantages to a small audience for my kind of music,. In this case, there was a sit down pot luck which made me think that Mainers do nothing by cook all day long. We were utterly flexible-- Kendall would pop up with a story on command, Maeve would sing choruses with a voice so pure I found myself begging her for a song later in the evening. Sure enough, it made sense to trim set two and start sharing songs -- which we did over wine, tea, and home baked cakes and pies around a big rectangular table that would have made the Copper family proud.

Charlie finally had a chance and the time to sing a few songs himself and I was truly proud of my favorite roadie....

If there ever was an evening that made me happy with sharing my music outside home turf, this was it.