Solo show @ Paradise Springs Winery, Clifton VA

Kirk, owner of Paradise and me in the barrel room

I had an amazing time performing for the folks at Paradise Springs Winery.  What a gorgeous new facility they have!  A beautiful room, fantastic wines, and a great staff.  I stuck with the Meritage most of the evening, but did get a chance to taste the delicious Norton just unveiled that same day.  

Since it was a solo show, I took full advantage of the opportunity to sing instead of doing my usual instrumental Jazz.  I started out at 3PM with about an hour of my Sinatra repertoire in the crowded back outdoor area in front of a beautiful fireplace.  By about the third song, I noticed the crowd really getting into it and suddenly I had a music stand of full of special requests and nice notes from people enjoying the music :-)  I really enjoyed singing happy birthday for all the requests, changing the style each time to suit the mood.  It was a kick!  

I stepped it up a bit for the second set with some Van Morrison, Michael Franti, Michael Buble, Jack Johnson, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, Grateful Dead, Bob Marley etc... Then I transitioned into some rock and soul songs.  Some of the audience started dancing and singing along.  It was a blast.  We even had a few bold audience members who came up and played my bongos.  Erin was especially awesome at playing the bongos for her first time ever!  Her friends all loved watching her perform Franti's Sound of Sunshine with me.  I was having such a good time I totally lost track of time.  I was supposed to stop playing at 7PM but the crowd kept calling me back for more and I went until 8PM for a total of 5 hours!  I swear we could have kept going until midnight if we could have.  

Thanks again to all the staff there and to Kirk, the owner for being so gracious and accommodating.