The WinterWonderGrass Festival had its first ever foray to the east in mid-December. It was a warm welcome to the beautiful Vermont Green Mountains at the Stratton Ski Resort. There’s a saying in New England, and it especially applies to Vermont this time of year. If you don’t like the weather, wait an hour. This adage proved true over all three days of the WinterWonderGrass Vermont festival. Opening day Friday started out mild, mid-40s a bit grey. Everything looked perfect for a fine festival kick-off.

Today, poignant powerhouse songstress Lindsay Lou announces an extensive North American fall tour with her band. Performing in support of their latest album, Southland (released April 2018), the tour kicks off on October 24th at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon, heads down the West Coast, and then across the country—stopping in almost 20 markets along the way.  In December, Lou and her band head to Mexico for 2018 Strings & Sol.

There is a small unincorporated lil “town” called Hoxeyville in the northern Michigan mitten and once a year the population exponentially grows when they open the gates to one of my all time favorite fests.  The drive north winds through quick moving clouds and green rolling fields that inspire but not quite as much as the dashing downbeat and the humbling hugs that abound at Hoxeyville.