Celebration

This weekend is the huge Sasquatch Music Festival in Seattle. Alas I was there last weekend! However the Cheese Festival and Wine Tasting Tent in Pike Place Market were great. Tons of people, superior wines to taste and wonderful buskers filling the air with music. Loved the counter culture on display in Seattle - including my own.

Jim Byrnes new CD - "My Walking Stick" is a marvel. Think Robert Johnston meets early Ray Charles. Completely different from his last two CDs but just as enchanting. The final track on the CD: "Creole Poetry" is a wonder, and worth the price of the whole CD. You will know what it means to be human and in touch with the spirit world after close listening.

Also bought Ruthie Foster's new CD - "The Truth According to Ruthie Foster." One track "Love in the Middle" by Eric Bibb is one of those great songs you are sure was pulled from the collective memory of the human race. It is immediately familiar on first hearing. Ruthie and the superior studio musicians she gathered for this CD just nail it.

Then there is Dion's "Heroes, Giants of Early Guitar Rock." A salute to the likes of Chuck Berry, Elvis, Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, et al. Seriously wonderful time warping happens when you listen to this CD.

Finally, need to track down a way to buy Angus Wilson's CD "In the Gray." A friend brought it back from Rosebud and it is simply mesmerizing. Indie bent stripped down to a beautifully intense acoustic sound. I will find a way to own it.