Dan & Faith

Hello!

Have you ever noticed the music of nature? One of our favorite treats in springtime is the return of bird song to our hilltop. In winter, there’s an occasional chickadee or bluejay call as we walk around our property, but it’s mostly silent. And then spring comes, the robins return, the cardinals start calling to one another, barred owls hoot out their conversations, and suddenly we’re in the middle of a cacophony of song! But birdsong is not the only source of music. The ssshhh of the wind in the leaves, the rubber band plunk of the bullfrogs, the chitter of angry chipmunks and squirrels, even the whisper of bird’s wings, it all reminds us that winter is over, and that the music of nature is back in our lives. Even the sound of rain on a lake can be magical if you stop to listen.

Happy Pride Month to all our LBGTQIA+ friends and relatives!  We see you, love you, and support your right to live your true lives without abuse or persecution. You will always have a safe place with us, as well as proper Mom & Dad hugs if desired.  We sing Faith’s song My Name Is George at just about every show we play, in all parts of the country, including shows in Florida, Kansas, etc.  Our hope with the song is that it will open people’s eyes to the humans behind the labels. It makes us happy that we have never had a negative reaction to the song anywhere, and gives us hope for the future.

Now that we’re past winter weather, it’s time to start thinking about farmers markets. Our first outdoor market of the year is the Peterborough Farmers Market on the grounds of the Bowling Acres Bowling Alley in Peterborough, NH on Wednesday, June 10th from 3-6pm. Local crafts, foods, and produce, plus our music! The market is rain or shine, but will close in thunderstorms.

Our friend Aaron Tornberg has started a new summer music series in Salem, NH this year. We’ll be taking part in the Salem Songwriter Sessions at the pavilion in Salem’s Field of Dreams Park on Saturday, June 20th. We’ll be performing in-the-round with Jensing, Rob LeBlanc, and Todd Trusty. Bring a lawn chair or blanket, and enjoy four diverse musical acts! Music starts at 5pm. Free admission, with tip jar for the artists. In case of inclement weather, monitor the Facebook event for possible date changes.  We’ll also send out any date updates as needed.

Sunday, June 21st is Make Music Day, a worldwide day of music performed by anyone, free for everyone. We’ll be taking part in Make Music Vermont at The Commons Park (near 63 Summer Hill St.) in Springfield, VT that day from 12-4pm. There will be food trucks on site for lunch. Bring a chair or blanket, and get ready to make some music!

Last month, you may recall we were planning on singing Faith’s song Alton Weagle Day at Mount Washington for Alton Weagle Day. Now that we’ve been there and witnessed all the creativity, we’d like to share the fun with you! Here are Dan’s photos and Faith’s full writeup of the day, including the unexpected bit of recognition we got for the song.

Our albums Who We Are, Then and Now, Seeking, and Simple Grace are available from us at shows and on our website, through Bandcamp, or you can find them at iTunes and most other online music stores. Our music is also available streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.

As always, you can find additional schedule information on our website. For additional content, follow us on Patreon. For more frequent news updates and information, check out our Facebook fan page.

Keep an eye out for local music festivals and other live music events in your area! Music is good for your soul.

Dan & Faith

Hello!

Despite Mother Nature throwing a couple of snow flurries at us a week or so ago, it looks like spring may be well and truly here. We’ve already harvested a few asparagus spears, the azaleas and our volunteer forsythia are in full bloom, and the blossoms on the peach, pear, and crabapple trees have popped open. Our yard had its first mowing last week, and the dandelions immediately started peeking up again. All the trees around us are leafing out, and the birds and peepers are filling the air with their sweet songs. Hooray for spring!

Another sure sign of spring up here in New Hampshire is the opening of the Mt. Washington Auto Road for the season. Mt. Washington is the highest peak in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, at 6288 feet. Our friend Dan Szczesny’s book, The White Mountain, introduced us to a number of wonderful tales about the mountain, including the story of Alton Weagle. In the mid 20th century, Mr. Weagle became known as “Mr. Mount Washington”, and is credited with a number of unconventional “firsts” on the mountain that include being the first to walk up the mountain backwards, as well as walking up it blindfolded. In 2011, the Mount Washington Auto Road folks introduced Alton Weagle Day as part of the road’s 150th anniversary, and a ragtag group of eight intrepid adventurers performed their own unconventional “first climbs” up the mountain that day. They would have made Alton Weagle proud! Other than 2020 and 2025, this event has been held every year since then. Dan Szczesny’s description of it (he took part in 2017) was delightful, and Faith wrote her song Alton Weagle Day based on it. This year’s Alton Weagle Day is Saturday, May 23rd, and we’ve been invited to perform the song as part of the awards ceremony after the climb! If you’d like to join the celebration of this year’s chosen adventurers (weather permitting), come join us at the foot of the Auto Road in Gorham, NH at 12pm. And if you want to be one of those intrepid adventurers, it’s invitation-only, so send your first ascent idea to events@mt-washington.com and see if they’ll consider it!

The following weekend, Friday May 29th through Sunday May 31st, we’ll be taking part in the People’s Music Network Summer Gathering at Grotonwood Camp & Conference Center in Groton, MA. The People’s Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle is a diverse community of singers, artists, activists and allies that cultivates music and cultural work as catalysts for a just and peaceful world. They use music and culture to promote progressive ideas and values. The summer gathering brings folks together to share a weekend of panels, workshops, and (of course) singing. If you’ll be there, too, give us a shout! We’d love to touch base.

In honor of the upcoming Alton Weagle Day on Mount Washington, we’re releasing Faith’s song Alton Weagle Day as a single! Check it out here on Bandcamp.

Our albums Who We Are, Then and Now, Seeking, and Simple Grace are available from us at shows and on our website, through Bandcamp, or you can find them at iTunes and most other online music stores. Our music is also available streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.

As always, you can find additional schedule information on our website. For additional content, follow us on Patreon. For more frequent news updates and information, check out our Facebook fan page.

Music touches a part of the brain that is deeper than memory. Find some live local music today!

Dan & Faith