Notes From The Country Roots Tour in Germany

The time is passing so quickly as today marks the last
week of the tour.

The last few days have been full of shows. We did a
really nice performance in the old Etzdorf church.
Even though ninety percent of the show was in English
the crowd loved it! At this show was also had Alex and
his friend from his band The Road Brothers
joined us. Before the show Rik was able to give a
quick lesson on the Ukulele. Once she got the knack of
the chords she was able to strum along while we all
sang
You Are my Sunshine. It is great to be able to work
with young people and share our music together.

After the show Rik & Wilfried were invited to a fine
meal of regional cuisine, not to mention the very good
wine. After the feast, out came the instruments and
a informal show that lasted till the the wine was
gone!

The next morning Wilfried brought Rik to meet with
the head politician of the region Mister Heller. It
was a good chance to share ideas of how music can
bring people together, and plan for future events in
both Germany and the USA.
Near the end of the meeting Rik played his banjo while
Willie kept up the driving beat as they belted out a
few classic North American folk songs. The music rang
through the whole building and soon many of the office
workers took a short break to join in the fun. After
the mini concert Rik presented a copy of his book
"The Road is my Mistress" and was given a book of the
area in exchange. Everyone shook hands and looked
forward to many more musical adventures.

The next days were filled with more school shows and a
special book reading. At this reading Willie was able
to read the German version of Rik's book while Rik
sang some songs to illustrate the stories. The room
was full
and in a short time Rik started telling the stories
while Willie quickly turned Rik's words into German.
The show ended up much longer than planned as no one
wanted it to stop. If you get a chance to see one of
the Country Roots performance you will know that it is
the team work between Rik & willie that make these
shows work. This is also what they believe in the if
only we would sing together, eat together and learn
from each other then perhaps there would be less war.

All the best from the Country Roots Tour

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