Day 29: Interstate Tour 2018
Just one of my hard-working, happy classes!
Of all the week-long festivals, Kentucky Music Week is the one that most people will cite as being the most fun AND the most tiring. With a jam-packed schedule of classes and activities, it's not unusual for students to feel a little overwhelmed and weary by Wednesday, but there's a lot of energy here this week and my workshops were bristling with activity as we worked on a number of styles and tunes.
There are 57 instructors at the festival and close to 500 students. That's a lotta humanity packed into a middle and elementary school complex.
Stephen Seifert, Erin Mae and John & Karen Keane backstage.
But we're having a ton of fun in my four classes and it's been a blast working with eager learners who are hungry for more skills. Being an entertainer is great - but I enjoy teaching more. Not only do I enjoy enabling others to make their musical dreams a reality, I also dig that, by teaching, we also unearth wonderful nuggets of information.
Part two of the concert was tonight and it was another stellar line-up. Backstage, some instructors practiced, others slept and some caught up on conversation with folks that they don't get a chance to see often.
And there's a funny thing that happens with the passing of time at KMW. It starts off frantic and you think, "goodness, we've got five full days of this," before looking up and seeing that it's Thursday and wondering, "goodness, where did the week go?" It's just another sign that we're having a load of fun (and work.)
Another fabulous concert, another quick drive back to the state park, and I went to bed early in order to get up earlier, tear down camp, get morning admin done, go through the final day of KMW and then pack up and roll towards Gettysburg.