The North Star is just wonderful. I wish we could clone it and have one just like it here in NY. For that matter, I’d like to have our own Fifth Maine here, too. What a sweet venue that is!

I can’t say enough nice things about the hospitality of the good people of Maine. I hope Gathering Time will be able to make it a regular stop on our road trips!

Many Many Thanks for your kind words about my music! I couldn’t help but have a blast! It was SUCH a joy to perform at the North Star Cafe… It was my first time & I didn’t know what to expect, but I was so very pleasantly surprised. Anna Maria, the owner (I didn’t get to meet her other partner) was such a wonderful host (plus she gave great harmonies & backup vocals;)

The food was luscious, the sound & overall vibe were just so sweet…
And then “Gathering Time”… WOW what a treat! From their original tunes to their covers… each song was impeccably swirled & floated about the room for us to catch & bask in. They are each so talented… and the combo of their individual vocal, lyrical & compositional gifts was something very special!
I really look forward to hearing more of their music down the road.

I don’t have any other Maine performances as of this moment. I recently volunteered to perform at a fundraiser for a local Humane Society. Probably it’ll be a house concert. I”ll let Y’all know for sure when I know. Plus I’m always open to house concerts…

I’ll also head to the open mic one of these thursdays just to meet some other Maine Songwriters. So happy to hear that’s happening. Till Then…

To Music! (& Thanks again Bob for doing what you do!)
Annie

All of the above — those are all good questions to take to a song circle. Of the songs played at this circle, 1 was brand new for this circle (mine), 1 had been written for a circle the week before (Bob’s) — at least two had been played and worked over for more than a couple years, gone through multiple revisions, etc. I was looking for whether or not my song said what I was trying to say. Other people were checking out whether latest revisions were a step forward. One person brought a great question: she had a particular introduction that always preceded her song, and wanted to know if the song worked as well without it. So she played her song without it and got that feedback.

I see a song circle as a place to get support and perspective. I think both of those can be hard to find, as a writer, and any time you feel like you could use one or the other (or both) is a great time to bring your song to a group of people you trust. You’re always welcome to come up to Brunswick if you’d like to join our circle!

-Jud

P.S. — thanks to Bob for writing this blog! It was great seeing you…

Thanks for sharing the experience. One question that always occurs to me about song circles is when is the right stage in a song’s development to bring it to a session like this? Is it when you first start it and want some advice on where it might go, or you’ve got it mostly finished but there’s something that you’re stuck on, or something you feel like you’re done with but want to see how it stacks up? Maybe it’s all of the above. What stages were the pieces at this workshop in?