Reflections of May

Now that June has arrived along with the summertime heat, I thought I'd reflect on the month of May. The festival season here in Florida has gone into hiding until cooler weather returns in the fall, and who can blame it!  
   The Grand daddy of all folk festivals, The Florida Folk Festival, which traditionally occurs on Memorial Day weekend every year for the past 64 years, was a ton of fun.  Our home town hero, Arlo Guthrie headlined the Saturday night show, his witty stage repartee and great music always grabs the crowd. After fifty years of playing Alice's Restaurant, it's still something his fans love to hear, and sing! I know I do. Along with Arlo, another home town hero who has amassed quite a following, Ben Prestage made the scene.  A great blues/one man band kind of guy hailing from Vero Beach, he had the crowd on their feet for most of his show Friday night.  Other noteworthy performers were, John McEuen, Billy Dean, Les Dudek, and Jim Stafford. If you've never been to this festival you should make plans to get there next year. There's nothing better than sweating it out with a bunch of folkies!
   The new CD update: I would have liked to complete it by the Florida Folk Festival, but unforeseen health issues surfaced and slowed down my work flow. Now that I'm back in the saddle, so to speak, I'm hot on the trail of the final mixes. This is the part of the project where my OCD kicks in. I'll be busy getting things ironed out for the next month or so. I think we've decided to title this disc "Gibtown", it was either that or YO HO, and it seems to me that pirates get enough press already. 
   So enjoy the summer and keep tuned in here for the next update.  Hopefully by the time I get back here with my next report I'll have a more definite completion date for this project. Many thanks to everyone who sent me healing vibes, prayers and sage smoke, the world could use more folkies!
  See ya soon,  Al