music festival

The Savannah Music Festival officially started on Thursday, but I have come to realize that I have my own version, and it's year-round.
As far as the SMF goes, this year I have only attended two events, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday. The event on Saturday was a family event, affordable and fun for all. Titled "The Amazing Musical Rescue", it was equal parts music lesson, history lesson, Bill Cosby-esque antics, and puppetry. I totally enjoyed it and was glad to see so many others there for this early afternoon event.
Then, on Sunday, I attended church, in a way. "Gospel with James Bignon", held in the open foyer of the Jepson Center For The Arts, was certainly a religious event. The high-ceilinged entrance, with its roof-to-floor windows overlooking the trees of Telfair Square, allowed the songs to rise and reverberate magnificently. Somehow, the overcast sky, with the soft rain falling all around, added to the overall message of hope: Even though the skies are gloomy, we will sing!
But these two events were certainly not the only musical entertainment I had last week. Far from it! First, I had the Saint Patrick's Day Parade, replete with bands of all denomination! High school bands, local and from South Carolina, Florida, and who knows where else? Fife and drum corps from New York, with their kilts swinging and their bagpipes singing! Military bands, looking razor sharp in uniform! Floats with their own music, either live or taped, engaging the crowd! Priceless... and free.
On Friday, I attended the Karaoke Party at Steed's, a smoky little place with cold beer and warm hearts. (No, I don't think there's a weblink for this!) I walked in for one of my favorite songs, "Breathe" by Anna Nalick, sung beautifully by Shelly, a very talented songbird. (Aside: When I was getting divorced, I was at work and the phone rang. On the other end was just this song playing. I was able to listen to the whole thing, uninterrupted. After the song ended, so did the call. I still don't know how that song came to be in my ear just when I needed it.) After she was done, others followed, all offering one-song concerts for my pleasure... as I did for them. Such fun!
On Saturday, after attending the SMF event, I went to Tybee and enjoyed the songs of nature for a while. The birds sending their messages skyward contrapuntal to the susurration of the waves. The playful shrieks of children as warm toes meet cold saline. Shouts of volleyball players and kite flyers and football tossers.
Then off to the church I so enjoy, the church known for its music and dance and welcome of all. Saturday afternoon, the church was hosting a concert not its own, a message of love in the form of the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus. "The Road Leads Back" was the name of the tour, and a tour de force it was. If you've never been graced with the opportunity to hear a 100-man chorus, you have no idea how high the harmonies can take your spirit. In the recently renovated sanctuary, I found myself closing my eyes to let my senses be overwhelmed, sometimes to the point of tears, by the voices melding together into a new, unified sound.
My Saturday was not yet done. Later that evening, I attended the concert at the Casbah Lounge, part of the Mansion On Forsyth Park. The group was Hear And Now, featuring a trumpet player I truly enjoy, as both a friend and an artist. I happened to enter as the band serenaded me with the James Taylor classic, "You've Got A Friend," letting me know at once that I was in the place I should be. I passed the next few hours listening to first one, then another of the bandmates regale the full house with song, with occasionally some dancing adding to the mix.
Yes, indeed, I had my own music festival these past few days, and much of it was free. How fortunate I am!