Charter Oak Bluegrass organized a fine showcase for Connecticut bands last night at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center.
The auditorium was filled, and others chose to pick in a side room. We were glad to get things started, and Matt later did a tune with Charter Oak (his former band) before Bruce led a jam consisting of players from all the other bands - Grass Routes, Shady Creek, Crossover and Second Circle.
Earlier in the day, we finished recording the songs for our upcoming CD -- as yet untitled.
We did Streamlined Cannonball, When You and I Were Young, Maggie, I Can't Help it if I'm Still in Love With You and Night Train to Memphis. Next up is mixing and mastering.

Congrats to Amy and the Canterbury Historical Society for a successful show. It was a great day. Some 200 people packed the auditorium, and we were proud to be the musical transition between Nick Anderson and Shady Creek and David Peterson and 1946.

I've liked all the versions of Shady Creek through the years, but Nick's current band has the most drive and edge that I think I've heard.

As for David Peterson and 1946 -- That man is a great entertainer who surrounds himself with top-notch musicians.
He started his second set by coming on the stage alone and sang the most beautiful version of "Miss the Mississippi and You" that I've ever heard. It would have brought a tear to Jimmie's eye.

Dave Helman, as always, provided great sound, especially considering that the building wasn't available to him until about an hour before the sound check. He was able to tweak the system quickly and adjust on the fly.

We sold out of our 5-song CD supply. If you were one of the several people who requested one, please be assured that we'll mail it out early this week.

Because we play so many train songs, and the place is a perfect setting for us, we had been long looking forward to playing at the museum in Willimantic. Thanks to help from WHUS Bluegrass Cafe, Saturday's show had the most attendance of any at the museum this year. Thanks, Amy! Attendance was bolstered by several family and friends. We even had Ray Axexlrod, one of the museum volunteers help us by playing train whistle while we played "Railroad Boomer."