Had he noticed me, leaning in from the edge of my seat, grinning like a lunatic and mouthing to everyone I knew, "Isn't he great?" Calvin Arsenia might have been tempted to file a restraining order. I saw four of his sets and considered hitting a fifth, but rain and family commitments kept me away. [...]
More than 30 years after she first started writing it (and singing it all over the house), my mom finally finished a song about my middle little sister. With an assist from an extremely kind teacher at Heid Music, and a lyric or two from my youngest sister Jenny and her daughter Erin (who now [...]
Mile 4 brought plenty of talent to Appleton this weekend. Some of our favorites included Wild Adriatic, Hubby Jenkins, Elle Winston, LOLO, Kristin Diable, and the Dreamers. But, what really struck us about this year's festival was the sophisticated talent of the homegrown performers. We watched Peridot fill the Lawrence Chapel with its soaring harmonies [...]
The U.S. postal service has nothing on Levi Parham. Neither rain, nor heat kept him from his appointed round at Mile of Music. Ironically, midway through his song "Gonna be a long day," the skies opened up, winds blew, rain poured down and, not just unfazed, the singer/songwriter from Oklahoma actually turned it up a [...]
The first time I listened to “Lonely Work”, a brand new single by a branded new musical group, I found the juxtaposition of sweet music and sad lyrics intriguing. Unrequited love hurts my heart, yet there I was humming along. Each time I listened, though, I heard more optimism woven into the compelling harmonies and [...]