Day 25: Interstate Tour 2018
I didn't rise with the sun, but not long thereafter, and walked down to Prophet's Rock to record a flute track for The Improv Files. Wandered around the battlefield, recorded a second piece, then headed back over to the festival grounds, closed out with the folks at the CD booth, taught a mountain dulcimer workshop, said my goodbyes and then hit the road for Bardstown, Kentucky.
The 2018 Indiana Fiddlers Gathering was extraordinary in so many ways; it gave me a lot to reflect upon as I drove 3 hours and change down through Indiana and into Kentucky. Sunday traffic was light and the weather was clear.
It's been 8 years since I taught at Kentucky Music Week, which was the very first dulcimer festival I went to back in 2006 and the only one where I was simply a student. Before the year was over, organizer Nancy Barker had extended the invitation to come teach, which I did from 2007 to 2010. All I'll really say about that is I hadn't received an invitation to return until 2017, when Nancy contacted me about the 2018 edition, which I gladly accepted.
Walking into Bardstown High School and seeing so many people that I haven't seen in years was simply amazing! It was great to visit, catch up, jam and know that we all had a solid week together.
The vending area at Kentucky Music Week. Yeah, LOTS of choices!
With a site reserved at My Old Kentucky Home State Park, I checked in after the jam and settled into bed. If there's one thing I remember about KMW, it's jam-packed with scheduled activities and I'd need to get good rest each night to be at my best each day. I don't jam till all hours like I used to - usually erring on the side of rest and preparation, instead. In those early days of my fledgling dulcimer festival career, I had a couple of CDs, one book and not a lot of e-mail traffic. Nowadays, with dozens of titles, video programs and a higher profile, if I don't check my e-mail once a day, it quickly turns into Dagwood's closet, a virtual crap-a-lanche of items that can bury your desktop in no time flat. There are definitely times that I'd rather be sitting around, playing music and having bull sessions with folks. There'd be plenty of time for that this week - but I also still need to reserve 2-3 hours of admin time a day so that e-mail gets answered, shows get booked, orders get processed, songs get arranged and tabbed-out, video segments get produced and promotion gets taken care of.
Visions of things-to-do danced in my head as I drifted off to the sound of intermittent rain drops dancing on Imua's roof.