North East Tour day 6

Hey everyone!

Its day six of the tour and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. I'll start from the beginning.

Unfortunately, due to a family emergency, Jamie could not join us for this tour. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kristina and Jamie.

This last minute change of plans has tossed us into the musically unexplored: a duo consisting of mostly bass and mandolin. Fortunately, Matt also contributes some guitar and I bring the banjo out of the closet and into the ear of the public. So far, this set up has been a success!

Day 1
We started off the tour by playing in Clemson, South Carolina for the Spitoono Festival. It was a hot day, but as always, they provided us with cold beverages and a shady place back stage to leave Ruby. The thought was nice, but Ruby just couldn't stand the thought of not being in the spotlight, so she wiggled herself up on stage and sat right in between Matt and I, next to the bucket of ice they placed up there for the beverages. Every time someone came up to take a picture, Ruby was sure to get right up to the edge of the stage and smile for the camera. Of course, it was her time to shine.

Day 2
After our first duo show ever, we were feeling a lot better about the whole situation, and so, after a little rest, we hopped in the van and headed North to Virginia. We played on Friday night at a bar called Fellini's #9 to a late night crowd. It was good to see some old friends, even if it was just briefly. We were also lucky enough to be joined by our good friend, Liza Bance. Liza got up and sang a few and joined us on guitar as well. After tearing down and packing up we went to see what was going on downtown. Since it was 2am, what was going on was bars closing down, so we went back to Liza's house for some more pickin.

Day 3
We didn't get to sleep until 5 am the night before, so naturally, we got a late start on the day. A little lazing around, a few more tunes, then back in the car for the short drive to Richmond VA... Well, actually, outside of Richmond in a little town called Powhatan, in a cute, not so little restaurant called the County Seat. We got there early, and were fed so much its a wonder we could get through the doors to the back room where they have music. We played to a very polite crowd... they clapped, they enjoyed, they were very quiet... after about an hour and a half, we took a break, and a lot of the people, being stuffed full to the brim I'm sure, decided to call it a night. Seeing as there weren't too many people left, we decided to play a few more and be on our way as well. After about 3 more songs, we got off stage and got ready to pack up. There was one guy in the corner, who we hadn't noticed yet and he ambled out of the corner to tell us how much he was enjoying our playing. We thanked him, thinking that was that, but he went on to say he liked it so much that he would be willing to write us a personal check, for a handsome amount, if we'd get back up and play a while longer. So... we did what any self respecting musician would do, and we played until the last remaining waitress had to sweep us out with the last of the dust and food crumbs.

Day 4
We were fortunate enough to get to spend the night at Liza's parents house in the country, so we woke up to the sounds of a farm. After a long walk through the woods, we spent the late morning on the porch playing some more music with Liza before we had to take off for the city.
We arrived at Legend Brewing and set up. We were excited to get to play outside by the river. I was sitting in the shade, writing a set list for the night when I looked up just in time to see a huge bolt of lightning split the quickly greying sky. We quickly grabbed all the sound and instruments and relocated indoors. As soon as Matt walked through the door with the last speaker in hand the sky opened up, and it proceeded to pour for the rest of the evening.

Day 5
We left Richmond in the morning for an easy drive to Williamsburg VA where we played for a room full of seniors at The Spring Arbor, a very nice retirement community. The residents and the staff all had a good time. Its always good to see people smiling, tapping toes, and singing along.
After that, we had to make a quick stop at Bluegrass Unlimited to drop off a few boxes of CD's and then off to Baltimore for the night. We decided to take the adventure rout and drove straight through DC and did some drive by sight seeing. We saw the Washington Monument, The White House, and XM Radio!
As we were driving through Baltimore, I was on the phone doing an interview for a radio show in Montana, while trying to help Matt with directions to where we were trying to go. It was the first radio phone interview I've ever done so hopefully I didn't giggle too much, but I guess I'm just lucky I didn't loose cell service!

Day 6
And here we are on day six. We stayed the night at my Aunt's house. I get spend some time with my cousins, get caught up on emails, take a walk down by the river and write this blog while Matt is down at the local swimming pool swimming laps.

Well, I feel like you're all caught up now. We're really looking forward to playing some full band shows up in Boston! Keep reading and I promise to try harder to keep up on the blog so you can all follow along with us!

See you soon!

-Ashleigh