I have been starved for live music for quite some time. That all seems to be turning around- finally!
This seems to be my month for music. On April 27 I went to Durham for what turned out to be a 3 1/2 hour concert with Rhiannon Giddens- vocalist, banjo player and violinist extraordinaire, Mavis Staples, Rissi Palmer, Toshi Reagan, and last but far from least, Blind Boys of Alabama! What an amazing show!!! Absolutely phenomenal. Brilliant musicians. Full of good and uplifting vibes. I don’t have the words to express how truly wonderful it was. Maybe this video will give you a little feel for it. This was Rhiannon and her band.
Three nights later I went to Asheville to see Simrit Kaur at the AyurPrana Listening Room in Asheville. I have to say that I missed the kora player who I always feel is such a big part of her music but it was wonderful nonetheless. Plus my friend Sabrina and I stayed at an Airbnb so we turned it into a bit of an adventure. We got the most incredible freshly made organic insanely delicious donuts in the morning, went to Trader Joe’s since there is not one anywhere near where we live (Asheville, at 2 1/2 hours away is the closest!) and stocked up on some goodies, and then went to Chai Pani for lunch, an Indian restaurant famous for their Indian street food.
Below- Simrit looking like a mystic goddess…
A couple of days later I was talking with my friend Helen and she told me that her husband was a Pink Floyd fanatic so they were going to Chattanooga in a few days to see Brit Floyd, who I wasn’t aware of but are apparently considered to be the number one Pink Floyd tribute band in the world. Of course now I know why. Somehow I managed to get right in on that and ended up going with them. we had front row seats for an absolutely mind-blowingly amazing show! They were totally incredible- I truly do not think if I had my eyes closed that I would have been able to tell the difference between them and the real Pink Floyd. Beyond the instrumentation and the light show, their voices matched perfectly. It was kind of insane- and fabulous. and thoroughly exhilarating!
Coming up next- Andrew Bird and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra! May 29- can’t wait!