Getting into the autumn groove...

It is autumn in my soul when 1) I start buying pumpkins and squash (I love those bad boys!) and 2) I start getting the annual Thanksgiving Eve gig together (another all time favorite.)  Well, I am truly getting into the autumn groove. 

Check out this incredible picture from the works of Ben Garver of the Berkshire Eagle that just showed up on Facebook. And I now have 8 musicians confirmed - plus poets and church folk interested in the ad hoc gospel choir - for our Thanksgiving Eve benefit to raise funds for emergency heating in the Berkshires!  And they are HOT in every way.

+ Andy Kelly - guitar, banjo and bass - is the consummate musician who can groove with jazz, rock, folk or country. I am blessed to count him as a friend and so buzzed to count him among my musical mates.

+ Between the Banks - my church band - keeps maturing and adding talented musicians and vocalists.  Dianne De Mott brings a strong indie-folk aesthetic to the mix and will do a tune this year by her favorite band: The Eels. Sue Noyes has a heavenly voice and is discovering her lower and more sultry registers - a true delight.  Eva Perri - once considered herself not a pop singer - but now OWNS her Appalachian sounds and will share a Mary Chapin Carpenter song.  Brian Staubach is a rockin' guitarist who is not only a treasure as a man, but writes some of the most creative songs, too.  Dave McDermott is a smokin' guitar man with a John Fogerty voice that I adore.  And Jon Grenoble brings his own sweet CSNY thing to the band and will lead us on "For What Its Worth."

+ Carlton Maaia is just a killer:  his piano work - gospel, jazz and classical - is pure and creative. Who knows what he will add as a solo piece, but his honey, Rebecca Leigh, will join the mix this year with "O Taste and See" and something gospely, too.

+ Bert Marshall, local Church World Service coordinator, is a well-respected and fun folk musician with a couple of beautiful CDs under his belt.  He has joined us for the pat few years and will bring some great guitar driven original tunes into the mix as well as his incredible voice.

+ Hal Lefferts, my old guitar mate from high school, is a sweet, salty angel who last year knocked us out with a John Hiatt song.  For those in the know, Hall also does a daily radio show on the smallest NPR station in the nation @ Robin Hood Radio starting at 2 pm.  I can't wait...

+ Linda Worster has just finished her most recent original CD and can now be a part of the fun.  She's been with us for a few years, too and brings an incredible sensitivity and playfulness to her compositions.  I am always moved to tears with the beauty of her work.

+ Graham Sturz - local performer of depth and integrity - returns this year, too with his soulful groove.  He totally blew us away last year and I'm very excited about what he will pull out of his bag of tricks this year.

So far there's a little Tom Waits, Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield and Edwin Hawkins in the mix - a little Dylan and Springsteen, too.  If you are around on Wednesday, November 23rd at 7:30 pm... come on up to the house!