Cimarron Breeze concerts in June~
Monday, June 10th at 7pm: CLAIRE
LYNCH BAND!
Truly one of my all time favorite songwriters and bluegrass
female vocalists!
She has won IBMA's Female vocalist of the year twice, has written so many great songs- many of them having been recorded by
other bluegrass, country, and gospel artists. Her band is made up of award
winning instrumentalists, Matthew Wingate on guitar and mandolin, Bryan McDowell mandolin,
fiddle, guitar- they actually share multi instrumentalist honors, and the amazing
Mark Schatz, IBMA Bass player of the year at least twice that I know of,
banjo player and clogger...he is also a well known producer.
is where you can
listen to all of her great tunes and read about the fellers in the band!
Claire's brand new recording is out and it is wonderful! I listened to the entire CD Sunday... wow! All of the songs are produced so thoughtfully, many great hard driving bluegrass songs, and tender and beautiful folksy songs. The title cut "Dear Sister" is a ballad of the Civil War written by Lynch and Louisa Branscomb. It was based on recently discover letters written by a relative of Branscomb's on the eve of the battle of Stone river. I love this song, Friends... you need to join me this Monday evening for this very special evening of songwriting and stories, 'spot on' instrumental work, and full harmonies by Miss Lynch and her hard working band.
The Monica Taylor Trio
This is a picture of Nancy Kamm and myself performing a show in Dallas, TX last August with John Fullbright on piano and Terry Ware on guitar.
The picture below is of me and Uncle Don playing the Cain's Ballroom last spring.
My
trio- Uncle Don Morris, myself... and this time: the lovely Miss
Nancy Kamm on the fiddle will open for Claire and her band. Gene Williams will be on the road
playing guitar with our fellow Red Dirt artist, Greg Jacobs during this week
(we'll miss him.) Might have a guest guitar picker join us though- I'll be
asking him this weekend! (It's a surprise!) I really appreciate my good friend
and amazing musician Travis Fite for stepping into driver's seat for
Gene... behind the sound board. Ya'll call now for your tickets to this show-
you really will not want to miss it! It's a Monday night for goodness sake- you
can record The Antiques Roadshow! (smile)
To purchase tickets in advance, please call 405-547-2411. This is the office of The Perkins Journal newspaper and The Perkins Tag Agency. They can take your ticket orders with your credit card.
www.okterritory.org is the website with information about the concerts and the Plaza, just click on 'events.'
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
*If you would like to come early for 'Meet & Greet' with the artists, come between 5:30 and 6pm, it will be an extra $5 but you will get to enjoy the 6pm interview with each of The Claire Lynch Band, a drink and snacks, get your seat for the evening... ask the performers questions about their careers, lies, etc....
Ya'll come to Perkins, OK for a night of music, at the Old Church Center located in the historical Oklahoma Territorial Plaza just north of Perkins, at 750 North Main. You can see all of the old buildings, railroad station, caboose, school, barns, church, Pistol Pete's old house from the intersection of highway 33 & highway 77.
Come early & stay late! ~ see ya'll then, Monica Taylor Johnson
More Cimarron Breeze & Songwriter concerts:
Saturday, June 29th at 7pm.... THE
CHEROKEE MAIDENS & SYCAMORE SWING! This is the western swing &
jazz trio that I sing with... and our fabulous fellers in our Sycamore Swing
band ~Kentucky White on guitar, Rob Loren on fiddle, James Holcutt on bass,
and Kirk Russell on drums.
Robin Macy (Dixie Chicks, Big
Twang, Domestic Science Club) and Jennifer Pettersen (Jenny Lou & the
Buckroo) and myself (you know me!) make up the trio. Robin called me up
a few years ago and asked if I'd like to stay in the little guest house at her
beautiful Bartlett Arboretum, have a Mimosa, and sing some old Bob Wills
songs with her and a gal who had been helping her work at the arboretum?
Okay, what am I going to say to that offer? YES! We each enjoy the great
outdoors, getting dirt under our nails and staining our knees with grass & soil... and we each
write our own songs and play guitar, bass, and sing harmonies.... and LOVE
western swing! I feel like these two gals and I were sisters in an earlier
life- in a family full of music and creativity. We immediately fell into the
tones and textures like families share when singing together. Love them
dearly. During our show we will do our CM3 (Cherokee Maidens) tunes but we will also
each take a guitar and play our own self-penned songs for you.
There is a potluck and 'dinner on the grounds'
at 6pm. You might arrive just a little earlier to get a spot to plop down
on- bring lawn chairs or blankets for this part. *The 'Meet & Greet'
will be during this time for ALL who
come for the potluck! This is where I'll ask each of the band members and the
girls a few questions, and you get to do the same- a time to learn about each of
us and our musical backgrounds. **I am going to have some of my lovely Red Dirt
sisters there to help coordinate this dinner! (Girls... if you
would like to help and then have a campout at the house, give me a jingle!) But
you're all invited to bring a dish for the potluck!
We
will probably get started with the concert inside the church around 7:30 on
this evening. Going to give everyone time eat, visit, clean up, visit the
powder room... and get settled in for the evening. The guys in my trio usually
help me open the evening, but I think I'll invite them up later in the show for
a couple of my tunes, too. This will be a very nice old-tyme summer
gathering... the kind that the old Methodist church we'll sing in had hundreds
of from it's 1892 beginning. Ya'll come!
ALSO at the Old Church ~ Saturday,
June 15th at 7:30pm is our second Cimarron Songwriter Showcase concert
featuring my dear friend Sarah Barker Huhn & Gypsy Twang! This gal and I
have been friends for many years, and I have always sat there and shook my head,
smiling and singing along with her well-crafted songs. Her voice is 'mountain
born'... she writes songs that are gritty and melodic, great stories, great
choruses. And her band really showcases the songs with an old country or
bluegrass feel. I'm not sure on who all will be there from the band; but, I
know her husband Steve will be there upright bass, and Dan Nieto on guitar and
vocals, maybe Jay Lesikar on keys... Jack Abraham on pedal steel? It'll all be
great! THEN for the second set, we will presenting songs in the round.
That grouping will be Sarah, Dan, myself, Randy Pease, and Don Morris.
*Note about Randy below! Ya'll come out and enjoy great songs by great
folks... Jonna will have cold beverages and savory snacks ready for you, too!
Suggested donations at the door for these songwriter shows is $5-10.
POTLUCK DINNER BEFORE THE SHOW! OH! Yes, we'll invite you to bring a dish for our potluck dinner at 6:30pm this evening! Looking forward to this time with some dear friends and their amazing songs... see you there? (smile)
**By the way, THANK YOU to
all of ya'll who joined us for the May 23rd Cimarron Songwriter showcase featuring Joe
Baxter & The Lost Cause- with Chuck Dunlap, Rick Reilly, John
Williams, Kurt Neilsen, and Rachael Wagnon joining in for the second set of
writers in the round! Marco, you and Rachael were fabulous as The Lost
Cause- amazing harmonies and playing! We also raised over $200 for the Oklahoma
Red Cross!
Saturday, June 8th, South West City
(MO) *I am doing a House concert with some of my favorites writers and
musicians at this old farm just 30 minutes from Grove, OK... Chuck Dunlap,
Patrick Williams, John Williams, and Nancy Kamm on the fiddle! What a line
up! I'm sure Patrick and I will pull some old Farm Couple songs out our guitar
cases, and John Williams will 'blow you away' with his songs and his harmonica
playin', Chuck's songs leave a person hankerin' to learn 'that one' and 'that
one!' Nancy is one of the absolute best fiffle players I have ever heard. Her
western swing and bluegrass playing is saltier and purtier than any you've
heard... and she's always ready to jump in there when someone gives her the
nod! She and I have a few shows on the books for the next few months- including
Woody fest! They have me down for Saturday at 11am... and Nancy will be with
me! There will be camping, pickin', potluckin... come early in the day and set
up your tent or trailer around the old spring fed pond that is ice cold and
ready for swimmers! Suggested donations for the concert is $10-20, or whatever
you would like pitchin! (grin) For more information, please see the announcement flyer at the bottom of this letter. Or call me at 405-612-3183 or Joyce Morris at 417-762-3191.
Concert begins at 7pm.... potluck begins during the intermission.
Friday, June 14th at Eskimo Joe's in
Stillwater, OK from 8-11pm. Ya'll come on down to Joe's for our monthly
Red Dirt Rendezvous show- this month Uncle Don, Brother Gene, and
I will be hosting our Red Dirt cousin Randy Pease! Yes, you heard
correctly! Randy Pease is driving back this June to spend some time in
okieland, and he's bringing his beautiful and talented daughter, Lily with him!
We'll have to invite her up to sing a couple of songs for ya'll! Randy has
written so many songs that our 'family' of Red Dirt artists have taken with them
and played show after show, have recorded, and have been inspired his
songwriting and performing. Let's see "Saw Dust Trail," "I Love this Game,"
"Rosalie," just to name a few. This will be my last Red Dirt Rendezvous
gathering until the end of Sept. because I'll be traveling north by northwest to
play music for a month- and to camp ad see old friends! More on that later,
Tater!
This picture of is of me & Randy at last year's Red Bull Gypsy Cafe's festival in Stillwater- we played the Eskimo Joe's stage!
Thursday, June 20th from 7-8pm Uncle Don, Gene
Williams, and I will be performing on the OSU campus for their Summer
Evening concerts. Will be outside on the northside (I believe) of the student
union. Ya'll come enjoy a burger or sandwich from one of the vendors and listen
to us render for ya'll!
~I
also have a few more Cherokee Maiden concerts in June- they
are in Kansas, Will send out another newsletter with these details later
on.
Much love from this Red Dirt girl,
Monica Taylor
Johnson
Me & Dwight, on our wedding day 1-11-11
(actually, this is when he pulled a ring out and asked me to marry him.... I said "Of course!")
