I got an email from an old friend from the Macomb YMCA last month.
Seems as though she works at an assisted living complex in Chesterfield and was wondering if we would be interested in entertaining her guests in some time in March.
After making all of the connections and working out the logistics, we arrived at The Village Of East Harbor on a Thursday afternoon to set up.
The complex was huge, serving many many guests. We were welcomed in and after a small tour, found the location for our first of two mini concerts.
Our first show would be in the chapel; a medium sized room with a beautiful stage area complete with festival seating. We set up easily and got situated for the upcoming show.
Being ready early has many benefits. We can ferret out most equipment problems if we are aware of them before the actual show time. We can take a moment of two to catch our breath and contemplate the sets and how we are going to approach them.
And some times if we are lucky, we get to meet some wonderful people.
Sitting down and sharing a moment or two with our audience is one of the most rewarding aspects of entertaining. Finding out what their expectations are and learning a bit about who they are, why they are there and what they really enjoy about music.
After all, the music is the reason we are entertaining. The commonality that we all feel.
Since Betsy asked us to play some Irish music, that is exactly what we started out with. Our traditional Irish first song: The Whistling Gypsy soon filled the room with Celtic mirth. That went well, and the room reverberated with smiles and song right from the start. Each and every person attending, a wonderful part of an audience we truly appreciated.
We began with several Irish favorites and then took a moment to salute all of the March birthdays in the house. After that it was time to bring out songs from other genres.
Country, folk and of course, good O’ l Rock & Roll!
They loved them all. And with a little urging, we had them singing along!
Just as soon as it began, it seemed, it was over and time to move to the other end of the building and set up again for an entirely different group of guests.
The second show was just as much fun as the first, with an entirely different cast of characters.
We played Motown, country, rhythm and blues and even some more Irish to be sure. When we played our birthday salute, we found out that one of our guests was celebrating birthday number, one hundred and one!
All in all we had a blast playing for the guests and the wonderful staff of East Harbor.
Hopefully we will return in the near future to bring them even more music, smiles and birthday wishes!
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Click here to watch a video of our engagement.
