BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet

Date: July 31, 2009 10:08 AM Topic: Sengleman Hall, Schulenburg, TX Last night the band played at Sengleman Hall in Schulenburg, TX, about 100 miles east of San Antonio. The building was restored by investors and houses a very nice restaurant. The music hall is upstairs and is focused on dancing. It's been open for about a month. Last night was the first Thursday night show the Hall has put on. Though the attendance wasn't great, those who came looked like they had a great time. I hope the band gets an opportunity to play there again. Today we head to San Antonio for Casbeer's at the Church. I would imagine we'll eat some Mexican food today.

The Whitefish show was sold out, and unfortunately we didn't have many CDs for sale. Also, it drizzled during most of the drive from Helena, so there weren't too many sights to see along the drive. We stayed in a hotel on the mountain above the town, but the fog was too thick to see anything. We left the hotel at 6am and got to the Kalispell airport by 6:40. Trip done, just got to get home safely.

Date: July 13, 2009 12:20 PM Topic: Myrna Loy Center, Helena, MT The band took the 'south route' to I-15 to Helena, across the Lehi Pass, the same one Lewis and Clark took in 1804. The views were stunning! And the road wasn't paved, which added to the drama. We stopped in Dillon, MT for lunch at a Mexican Restaurant, and the food, when we did get it, was good. We got to Helena around 3:30 and were off to the venue by 5pm. The Myrna Loy Theatre used to be the Helena jail, which is interesting. Gary Cooper was also from Helena, and there were posters from both of their movies in the lobby, as well as one of Myrna Loy's dresses. The show was well attended, and everyone was tired, probably due to the elevation we've been at for the past few days. It's hard to adjust to higher elevations when you come from below sea level.

Date: July 12, 2009 12:05 PM Topic: Sacajawea Center, Salmon ID This was supposed to be an outdoor concert, but the rain was threatening, so the concert was moved indoors. Though not highly attended, the show was good, despite the rainy weather. The lightning was nice! The hotel was situated right on the Salmon River, famous from the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Mitchell thought his room was haunted, however, and probably did not sleep fitfully.

Date: July 11, 2009 12:02 PM Topic: National Folk Festival, Butte, Montana This year was the 71st National Folk Festival. What an amazing event! The groups this year were very special, as usual, and always show the diversity of the United States. The band played 3 very upbeat sets over the course of two days, plus a fiddle workshop with Michael, Mitchell and me. Fiddle workshops are always well attended, and this one was no different. It's amazing how many fiddle styles there are! The annual volunteer/performer party, held on the Saturday night, was a good one.

Date: July 2, 2009 11:59 AM Topic: FitzGerald's American Music Festival, Berwyn, IL It's amazing how Fitzgerald can alter his club to accommodate an event with so much entertainment and yet keep the Fitzgerald's feel. The groups that played were amazing, from Bill Kirchen to Marcia Ball, and of course BeauSoleil. Since we had flown in on the day of the first show, July 1, we were a bit tired but played very well inside the club stage. On Thursday, after getting rest, we played the outdoor stage and really kicked it up. Points to note for this trip, and more specifically O'Hare airport: Continental has moved its gates to the United Terminal, in anticipation of the Star Alliance merger later this year. No more Northwest and Delta!

Date: June 27, 2009 11:52 AM Topic: Smthsonian Folklife Festival It was only a quintet that performed at the Concert put on for the retiring Folklife director Diana Parker. The Folklife Festival this year featured Hispanic America and Wales, an interesting combination. As usual for the Folklife Fest, all the performers were housed at the Key Bridge Marriott. There were the usual evening jam sessions, this year taken over by the Hispanic groups. The music was really good. After the special concert, there was a reception for Diana at the hotel. The whole event was to be a surprise for her, and even though she did find out about all the special events, she sure was surprised by it all.

Date: June 28, 2009 11:55 AM Topic: TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival, Toronto, ON We left Washington early and got to Toronto by 1:30. Bill Bennett and Tommy Alesi were on different flights, coming from Louisiana, and they arrived at the hotel around 4pm. Even though we were all tired, the show went well. Toronto is a very large city, very urban and very interesting. We were followed by Buckwheat Zydeco, and we all had a good time. Because we had early, very early flights the next morning, no one stuck around to see the Buckwheat show.

Date: June 14, 2009 11:49 AM Topic: Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco Festival, New Orleans The Festival was actually a part of two other festivals, the Louisiana Creole Tomato Festival and the Louisiana Seafood Festival, held at the French Market. The day was exceptionally hot: even the dancers were under the tents! The crowds were large, and it looked like everyone had a good time. The band performed between Bruce Daigrepont and Rosie Ledet.