In the rewrite in my own head of the song "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things," funky and elegant are contenders for inclusion. Funky and elegant together is a sure shot winner in my book, which is why I am so drawn to The Mansion On O. Ooooh, they have a hot show coming up with Jon Dee Graham and Sam Baker play an SRO on June 12. They have a full dance card of artists coming to play there.
I always feel like I am home when I get to stay at The Mansion. Thankfully, I had occasion to do just that last week, and was bathed in the glow of crystal chandeliers, with art and letters and music, and STUFF of every description, everywhere. And as I am a pillow hound, The Midshipman Room, where I stayed this time, was absolutely great, as half the bed was covered. Then I took the Amtrak to NYC, watching pastures and woodlands and green turn to exurbs, suburbs, and finally the Big City. I love it all.
The Jude Johnstone song "On That Train" is echoing in my head. When one is moving, there are always the regrets of parting to get gone again. By the way, Jude is yet another celebrated songwriter, having had her stuff done by Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, and Bette Midler, just to name a few. You can see the words forming under her skin, she sweats iambic pentameter. During Cherokee Creek Music Festival last year, we were taken with her authority and her power, but we didn't get a chance to capture performances from her last year. This year, we rectified that, and here is one of the songs from her new album, Quiet Girl. Now I ask, why can't this be the kind of song that gets nominated for an Oscar? "On That Train."
-Jessie Scott
