Wednesday, September 25, 2019

If you missed our group's second open mic night (this time with a real mic and sound system) you missed the musical stylings of Thelma, Verna, Judy, Linda, Lynn, Cathie, Heather, Lana, Louise, Zenith, Marge and her special guest, husband Dale.

We gathered in the gallery area of the Golden Prairie Arts Council building, utilizing the new sturdy mic stands and comfortable chairs purchased by the council.

The current art display at the gallery, Writing on the Wall, with framed copies of song lyrics written by Ernie Enns and Brenda Major, was a perfect backdrop for the evening.

Song selections ranged from at least the 1920s to 2019 and included everything from gospel favourites to alternative rock. We heard covers of artists like John Prine, John Mayer, Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, Don Ho, and more with plenty of opportunities for everyong to join in for the choruses and a variety of ooo and ah parts. Players also demonstrated their picking, chord melody and blues skills, inspiring me at least to go home and practice some different techniques. We also played some old favourites together like We Are Going to be Friends, Angeline the Baker, You Belong to Me, and, of course, our signature set-ending song.

It was scary playing with an actual mic this time (thanks for setting that up Lynn) but a great opportunity to share our love of singing and playing ukulele and a chance to hear and learn about some new songs.

The group decided we would try to have another open mic in a couple of months so watch this space for more information.

Also, Linda asked us on behalf of the Sonatrice Singers if we would play a couple of selections at their Christmas Cheer concert on Sunday, December 1. We agreed in principle and will discuss song selections in the coming weeks. 

Hope to see you at our next meetup on Wednesday, October 2.

Until then, keep strumming! :)

- Heather

P.S. Feel free to send me the titles of the song or songs you played and I will add them here.

Verna - a homemade 12 Bar Blues tune based on Manitoba Hal's workshop lesson 
Thelma - Pearly Shells (Don Ho)
Cathie - Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell)
Heather - I Guess I Just Feel Like (John Mayer), Perfect Situation (Weezer), Space Oddity (David Bowie)