Ahhhh – Fall is almost upon us!
I hope that all of you have had a glorious summer and are getting ready to welcome Fall in Florida. The zebra-longwings are all over my passion vine (their host plant) which is taking over my front yard. The flowers are magnificent. All the butterflies have enjoyed the purple ironweed which by now has gone to seed. I collected purple ironweed seed in the woods a few years back and now have a great naturalized stand under my live oak. Here’s a few snaps from my front yard garden.
On a personal level
There have been many changes this summer – including the fact that John & I are now empty nesters! Our son is enrolled in the honors program at UF and we are so proud of him. Life will certainly be different without him in the house! We started missing him from day one.
On a sad note,
We lost a couple of our nearest and dearest friends Michael O’Loughlin and Jim Murphy within a week of each other. A few weeks later, friend and fellow songwriter Doug MacKay left us. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of these remarkable human beings. Know that we share your great sorrow but also wonderful memories of moments spent together. Our lives were richer because they shared theirs with us. Here is a quote from Doug in the last days of his life:
“To be able to sing is a miracle” – Doug MacKay
Life goes on.
On the right is a photo taken at my show at Mudville Music Room in Jacksonville last month – thanks to Steve DiMattia and his wife Yvonne for sharing it!
I have returned to the lovely Gatorbone Studios to begin recording my next CD. I’m so excited about this project and can’t wait to finish it so I can share it with you. Recording is expensive and for me, quite time consuming. I’m looking at release early 2015. You can help me finance this new project by purchasing copies of RISE &/or SEAMLESS for Christmas & birthday gifts either through this website or at shows. Speaking of shows – I do have one coming up soon!
Come enjoy some music in the garden
Along with tasty treats from the bakery, what could be a better way to kick off an afternoon of Folk in the Springs, a festival which features artists all day long in various locations in High Springs, culminating with the inimitable Brian Smalley! Let’s hope for sunshine and gentle breezes. I’ll be playing some of my new songs too!
Upcoming Shows
SUN SEPT 21, Noon – 1 PM Elaine Mahon – solo
Secret Garden Bakery at Wisteria Cottage
225 N Main St, High Springs, FL – phone 386 454-8447
For the rest of my schedule please visit my TOUR page here
Sandhill Stage
The Fall schedule for Sandhill Stage is wonderful! I’ve booked a number of Florida artists to showcase the fine talent we have in this state. Check out the Sandhill Stage schedule here.
Collaborations
I am starting a collaboration with Lauren Heintz and we are having a blast learning each other’s songs. You really should listen to some of her music at the link above. She’ll be playing solo Sandhill Stage on FRI OCT 10. A wonderfully unique finger style guitarist and a very fine songwriter Lauren will give you a show to remember. We’ll be playing a show together in December.
Also in December I’ll be opening for guitarist extraordinaire Richard Gilewitz and he’ll be accompanying me for a few songs. I am honored and super excited that he likes my songs enough to want to play on them.
What’s Next?
Who knows what the future holds, but I am deeply grateful to be able to sing and share my music with you. Thanks for opening up your hearts, minds & ears! If you or someone you know would like host a house concert I would love to help you pull one together. A house concert is a lovely way to share and intimate evening of music with your friends. Try it – you’ll like it!