Happy Holidays!

I hope that you had a marvelous Thanksgiving and that you are getting a chance to rest up and catch your breath.

A week ago I had the honor of viewing a painting at the Melrose Senior Center which was inspired by my song “Honey Tree” from my  CD, RISE.  I could not be more honored. The painting totally captures the spirit of the song. Some of you may know the artist, an amazing women, June Beverly.  June is the driving force behind the Shake Rag Arts Cooperative. The Cooperative hosts the Melrose concert series, Coffeetalk,  and is a partner with the City of Gainesville for the Thomas Center Jewelbox Concert Series.

This is the second time one of my songs was the inspiration for a painting.  St. Petersburg artist, Jenny Bleackley, created a beautiful watercolor based on another song from RISE, “Dust Tracks in the Road.”

As a songwriter I never imagined that my lyrics would inspire painters to paint!  The life of a songwriter is full of pleasant surprises.

 

COMING UP SOON

I have a show coming up very soon with The Belle Hollows and I am absolutely delighted to announce that my son, Sam Mahon, will be accompanying me on acoustic guitar and harmony vocals.  A fine songwriter in his own right, Sam is lead vocalist and electric guitarist for his power rock trio Xenogensis.  What Sam adds to my songs elevates them to the sublime and I feel extraordinarily lucky to have this opportunity to work with him. Sam graduated last May with a biochemistry degree and he will graduate from the EMT academy this month.  Until we know where he will end up working we won’t be scheduling many shows in advance, so please, come to the Dec 1st show if you can, you’ll be glad you did.

To reserve your seats in advance:
email sandhillstage@gmail.com or
call Freddie at (352) 317-7307

     The Belle Hollows, a Nashville-based duo, will play the second set of this show. The first time I heard them was a few years back at a music conference in North Carolina.  I was enchanted by The Belle Hollows and you will be too. Siblings Rachel & Jeremy Johnson have a beautiful, sweet sound, great songs, and an endearing stage presence.  I am thrilled to bring them to Sandhill Stage so that you can hear them too

 

A  JANUARY SHOW!

We are honored to be included in the Second Sunday Music Series at Beluthahatchee Park.

JAN 13, 2019, 2 PM – 4 PM

ELAINE & SAM MAHON IN CONCERT

Beluthahatchee Park 1523 ST RD 13, Beluthahatchee, FL

Space is limited and reservations are required:
For reservations & information
call (904) 206-8304.
Suggested donation $10

     The park opens at 1 pm with tours of Stetson’s house and museum before and after the concert. The series is in honor of author, civil rights activist, folklorist and environmental steward Stetson Kennedy. The concert is sponsored by the Stetson Kennedy Foundation, The North Florida Folk Network (NFFN) and St. Johns County Parks and Recreation Department.

 

LOOKING AHEAD TO MAY 2019

For family and friends in the St. Petersburg, FL area, Sam & I will be playing a house concert in May at the Wolf House.  This is a sweet house concert series and Jeff and Ann are amazing hosts.  Please come if you can, we’d love to see you there.

Don’t forget to put this date on your 2019 calendars!

SAT MAY 18, 7 PM 
WOLF HOWL HOUSE CONCERT SERIES  presents
ELAINE & SAM MAHON IN CONCERT
St. Petersburg, FL

For reservations and information please email me at:
elaine@elainemahonmusic.com 


 

For those of you who have expressed an interest in hearing Sam Mahon’s power trio Xenogenesis, here is your chance!

FRI NOV 30
XENOGENESIS  
THE HIGH DIVE

210 SW 2nd Ave, Gainesville, FL
Doors open at 8 PM.  (They are the second band on the bill )
If you have sensitive ears bring earplugs – they play alternate rock and roll. John & I will be there!



Searching for holiday gift ideas?

Purchase CDs from my website http://elainemahonmusic.com/store and I’ll mail them to the address of your choice. Please allow two weeks for delivery.

Click here to go to the store


WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO

I hope that you are enjoying the cooler weather and taking the opportunity that the holidays offer to visit with family and friends.  This Thanksgiving is bittersweet for me because I lost my Dad right after Thanksgiving last year.  We will be holding his memory close in our hearts during this season, as well as the memory of our dear friends who went before, Michael O’Loughlin, Butch Kemp, Chuck Goering, Penny Nichols, and Richard Bassil.  Time sneaks up on us all, and none of us are immortal, and so we are reminded again how important it is to honor those bonds that we have with the ones we love while we share this time on our sweet earth.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK IN MAINE


John and I had a wonderful trip to Maine this October (my first) to experience the Fall colors of Acadia National Park. And yes, it was beautiful!  The day we arrived was the hottest on record for Portland that time of year, but the next day cooler weather blew in with snow flurries.  We also had the opportunity to visit John’s Goering’s Bookstore colleagues, our dear friends, Fred & Betty Ann Rainbow, at their home on Peak’s Island in the Casco Bay.  What a delightful time we spent with them in their island home – it had been years since we’d all been together, but it felt like no time had passed. Old friends help make life worth living.

We then drove up to Acadia to join our friends Diane Chodkowski and David Coller (with whom we canoed the Green River two years ago) for hikes, bicycling and sight seeing in Acadia National Park, as well as many shared meals and cribbage games. What a contrast to our last trip with them which involved loading and unloading canoes twice daily, setting up and breaking camp, and hours of paddling.  Here we relaxed in the luxurious comfort of a nice house on a lake with a great view, a big kitchen, a wood stove, and warm beds. We  ventured out daily to take in the beautiful Fall colors and vistas! Both were great experiences and enjoyable in their own way.

     A week later, John and I ventured up to Maine’s Scoodic peninsula to participate in dawn migratory bird counts at cold and windy Schoodic Point.  The most exciting part of that was the large numbers of migrating gannets which would dive for fish right in front of us.  Also saw many loons came flying by (common and red throated).  We missed the huge migration of thousands of scoters which occurred the week before, but gannets are beautiful flyers and infrequently seen from shore. Our last day, was cold and rainy which made us look forward to our return to sunny Florida!

Once back in Gainesville, I returned to the Sirens & Strings Guitar Academy to teach another songwriting course.  I love coaching these interesting and talented women and the class has been having a great time watching their songs take shape.  They will showcase their songs in a concert (see below) which also includes students from the beginning & intermediate guitar classes at the academy, as well as faculty.

Student Showcase
Sirens & Strings Guitar Academy
When:  Saturday Dec 15 at 4PM
Where:  Somewhere Along the Way
(201 2nd Ave, Suite 110, Gainesville, FL)


 

There are some great shows coming up at Sandhill Stage in 2019.  

Please check out the schedule below!


 

Here’s wishing you a delightful holiday season.

I am looking forward to seeing you soon!

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