I don’t know if it’s being raised in a small South Dakota town, my Scandinavian roots, or that I have ancestors from the 1800s named Thankful and Plenty. I’ve actually seen their headstones in Richmond, Rhode Island. I worry about being too much, maybe that Puritan way of thinking is a factor.

Somehow is the soup of all of that, I felt it would be showing off to post about last year’s Newport Folk Festival where Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon were the freakin’ surprise guests. One year later this now seems a little kooky. Jeff and I are heading to Rhode Island tomorrow for Newport Folk Festival 2023.

Last year on Saturday night Nathaniel Rateliff put together an American Tune Review and welcomed Paul Simon onto the stage. He closed out Saturday night singing “Sound of Silence” with just him and his guitar. The whole crowd was mostly silent except for the crying and occasional sniffles.

So, here’s my humblebrag of photographs…

On Sunday evening one of my heroes, Brandi Carlile put together a Joni Jam like they’ve been doing in Laurel Canyon, CA the last few years helping Joni recover from her 2015 brain aneurysm. After Brandi’s amazing set, nearly shaking she told us that they need about 20 minutes to set up so something so unbelievably special. In Brandi’s memoir, she wrote passionately about Joni Jams.

Sharing our unique experiences has a ripple effect of joy out in the world.

Managing three days of sun from 11am to 7pm requires some strategy.

I think we must grab joy & music wherever we can whenever we can.