Every day is perfect if you let it be one

Until I saw a small boy with “J-Council” carved into his haircut, I thought I had become the biggest J-Council fan.

Turns out, there are plenty of us. We gathered Sunday at Timber Rattler Stadium for “Keep it Wisconsin”, featuring Cory Chisel, J-Council, Adriel Denea and the Bodeans.

The weather, theme, music, talent and crowd combined to make it a perfect afternoon at the ballpark. Of course, according to J-Council’s “Sun to Sun,” every day is perfect if you let it be one.

But, really, yesterday we didn’t even have to try. We just sat back in the sun and let the music wash over us.

Opening act The Priggs got things rolling with a lively set, followed by Adriel Denea and J-Council. Fun fact: uber-talented keyboardist Alex Drossart and bassist Matty Day played in four of the five bands. That means they spent roughly three straight hours on stage.

Everybody joined in the fun once Cory Chisel got rolling, including the crowd. Special guest Hillary Reynolds jumped in for a few tunes and the whole stadium sang “I’ll Fly Away” and “You are my Sunshine.”

All that happened before the headliners even took the stage. The Bodeans used to be called Da Bodeans, which is another fun fact and one my sister Kathy did not believe when I told her yesterday. In any case, it was fun to head down to the field and cap off the afternoon/evening dancing to the Bodeans.

The whole event was a fundraiser for the Refuge and, if J-Council, the first product of the Refuge’s artist in residence program, is any indication, it’s a very worthy cause indeed.