It was a 4 a.m. departure from Vancouver on Friday morning. We made good time and got to Lewiston Idaho in the early afternoon. We seem to end up In Lewiston about once a year. This time we were back behind Boomers on an outdoor stage playing with The Bellboys who were mostly born and raised in the area so it was kind of a homecoming gig for them. It was a beautiful night with a bright moon overhead. A couple of hundred people showed up and a good time was had by all.
We left early Saturday morning for the Mt. Helena Music Festival. Most of the journey is alongside a river. Beautiful for sure, but kind of slow going in the “make good time” department. But we generally allow plenty of time so we rewarded ourselves with a half -hour pit stop at the Missoula Taco Bell. We’ve played the festival a few times in the past and Jim and his crew always present an interesting and diverse line-up of folk, rock, blues and Cajun music. This year was no exception with Michelle Shocked and a bunch of great bands from Louisiana among others rocking Helena in the sunshine!
We took the stage at six and played hard for a solid 90 minutes. The summertime outdoor vibe is always a good one. So wonderful to see people of all ages enjoying the music. There’s always something that happens that lives on in your memory years after the show: seeing Kevin Costner in Las Vegas, or Jeff Bridges at a wedding, or a freak storm knocking out the power at a festival forcing us to play unamplified, a cute kid joining us onstage, a long lost friend showing up, Rebecca’s 89 year old Grandma making a surprise appearance in Seattle…I could go on and on and on… After our set in Helena, we were presented with a card signed by several hundred in the audience as we played. So sweet and a nice keepsake to keep with us in the van. Won’t forget that anytime soon.
Trevor Rogers 