Another session with Mack!

Whistle
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So tomorrow I leave once again for the beautiful scenery of Grand Mesa, and the 6th annual Celtic Festival in Grand Junction, Colorado!

I had an absolute blast with Mack in July when we hosted the first of what we hope will become an annual event: The Rocky Mountain Session.

The festival should be a good one by all accounts, and we’ll be playing session at my hotel till the wee hours with just a little luck! That is, if I can stay awake!!

I’ve got a ceilidh/session tonight here in Salt Lake, that teds to run pretty late, then after all the fun in Colorado, it’s a mad rush back to SLC for ANOTHER session on Sunday night!

I’m in whistler’s heaven!!! :smiley:
(I’m also praying for a safe drive, with NO tickets!)

Bri~

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I just want you both to know I’m insanely jealous that I can’t be there. Thanks, Brian, for rubbing salt in the wound. Why don’t you just kick my dog while you’re at it.

Tom

p.s. for those of you who are wondering, I’m kidding, except the part about being insanely jealous. By the way, I finally learned “Sheebeg sheemore” tonight. Have fun, guys, and play one for me!

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The Grand Junction, Colorado Celtic Festival and Highland Games.

The morning of the big day has arrived after much anticipation and a sorta restless night. I can’t wait to see Brian who’s great fun to be around; wish with all my heart Tom could make it. Hey Tom I’m laying out your curtain rod low D for display, but not for sale at any price. You still have to come claim it!
For any who might make it to the fair in Grand Junction you can find us at the Irish Information tent toward the north end. Brian and his entourage will be jamming and some of the locals. But there’ll be lots of dance tunes, too, as the dance floor is in our tent. The weather is supposed to be spectacular both days. I think the tune of the day will be “Amazing Grace”-many, many highland pipes.

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OK,

So for all of the poor folks who weren’t able to make it out to the Grand Junction Celtic Festival, let me please state again…YOU MISSED OUT!!! :stuck_out_tongue:

WE arrived early afternoon on Saturday and met Mack in the Irish booth. There were some wicked step dancers doing a set next to Mack’s tables, and I couldn’t help but pull out the bodhrán and play along with then!

We had a few lookers at the whistles too, and Mack and I were able to make several “converts” and send them off with lovely new whistles! We did a bit of playing as well, but then decided food was the next priority.

After one of the most lovely dinners I can call to recent memory with Mack, his lovely wife Joan, their daughter, and grand-daughter, it was off to the hotel to check in and play more tunes!

The music was great, except for the last “official” act before the session…they were good, but played about twice as long as needed. You could tell the audience was getting a little bit bored.

Then, when all was done, about seven of us grabbed chairs and played our hearts out! We must have sounded pretty decent, as we had two of the step dancers from earlier in the day ask if they could dance as we played.

Needless to say, it was pure magic! I was ready to bring the sun up still playing…but several of the other musicians had to get some rest as they had concerts to play the following morning as well.

So about 2:00 AM, I crawled into bed myself. After an early start, and the trip to Denny’s for the ol’ Grand Slam breakfasts…we headed back to the fairgrounds to finish the fest. There were several more wonderful Irish groups, and Mack was able to snare yet more folks into the wonderful world of WhOA!

My hat’s off to all the musicians, and most importantly, to Mack and Joan Hoover!

May God hold you in the palm of his hand, Always!!!

Blessed be,

Brian~

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The fair is a memory now; but what a memory! I can’t think of a single negative incident, except for being too tired to get the performances at the Ceilidh Saturday night. Brian will have to report on that; he was up till the wee hours. We got him partially up for breakfast so he could caffeinate in prep for the rest of the day.
Brian was at his best when he was encouraging a young girl with the whistle. Or maybe when he was playing along with the dance tunes. Oh, he was good at the spontaneous sessions, too. Anyway, if you have a ceilidh, invite Brian.

Nice to see you Marceemay!And Mr. Wright…

GM, we agree that you must come out our way one day. Hey, that invite is to all who whistle or aspire to, too! It’s just that Grannymouse chose another fair over ours this weekend. We require an explanation (and a report)!

Ah, we’ll sleep tonight! And dream of the many renditions of the great Scottish and Irish tunes (and the Cornish national anthem)
and Amazing Grace!
A contented
Mack

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:slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

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The Grand Junction Celtic festival was a good one. Mack Hoover was his usual gracious and generous self. And then there is the irrepressible Brian Dobson who is, well, irrepressible! The man is infinitely enthusiastic for Irish music in general and whistles in particular. I met Marceemay, too, a very nice lady from Utah. Tom, too bad you couldn’t make it down.

Mack, those whistles are great. More on that later. Brian, good to see you and sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye - it was getting a little late for the family and we had to get on the road.

Hope to see all of you again before too long.

Rand

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I had a great time at the festival. It was so nice to meet you Mack and Digger. Sorry I missed you Brian, although I did get a chance to covet your new whistle. I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had car trouble on the way over and wanted to start back early in case we had more trouble on the way home. We didn’t, thank the lord. Next year I will definitely plan to stay for the ceilidh. I hope to meet more of you then, if not before.

Looking forward to next year
Marcee

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On 2001-09-24 18:02, marceemae wrote:

…Sorry I missed you Brian, although I did get a chance to covet your new whistle…

Marcee

So Marcee,

THAT must be why it played so sweetly! You graced it with your presence, but had to scamper off before I could join you! GEESH! Well, Mack is just about like a second father to me now, and I do plan on spending many more days and long nights down in GJ and Clifton with him!

Perhaps, at next years Rocky Mountain Session, or Celtic Festival, we’ll be able to meet. Sorry you couldn’t stay for the sessions either, as they were wonderful! The step dancers were amazing, and to think they danced just for US! :slight_smile: I was the only one of the bunch who knew ‘O’Sullivan’s March’ so I even had a chance to play a solo piece with some wicked hard shoe dance for backup!

See you next year I hope!

Blessed Be,

B~

(Blessed “B~”? LOL)