Cute, radriano- but I don't get it! (Oh, you mean, April, May, Juneau- hardi har har, indeed!)

The guest artists this year are Alice, Tom and Brad- that's as in Alice Gerrard. I'm excited about meeting her and expect to enjoy them hugely.

There's no way every year's guests resonate the same within each of us but every 3 years or so I get very excited about them. For instance, Ginny Hawker and Kay Justice brought their band up here a few years back- We're still singing the Primitive Baptist songs we learned then. I spent my teen years in Virginia so their sound takes me home.

Too much blues makes me sad so the year we had a couple of bluesmen here I didn't spend much time in the auditorium. (Too loud, too) And another year- you get the idea...

But sometimes you get a real surprise. For instance, Brave New World. I figured that would be a year that I just kind of sat it out- after all, there would be no songs in English and it's klezmer besides and what kind of workshops could they do that would be applicable? Well, I was wrong. They were wonderful.

The AFF board scours the country each year, pursuing seminal people that typify a certain musical history. Read the criteria on the web site- it's amazing how many people are eager to come up here on that basis. On the other hand, how many guest artists get to come to such a beautiful place with such appreciative audiences who throw such great jams and who take the guests out salmon fishing?

Ebbie