Halfway to St. Patrick's Day

What a week! Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate so we decided not to go to the Chicago Highland Games. There was flooding and whatnot, so I made the executive decision to stay in Beloit and have a pot of tea. But our Halfway to St. Patrick's Day party last night went REALLY well.

I've been planning this for awhile now, and it came together without a hitch. Before the party, I went to see BeauSoleil perform on campus. Student tickets were free and they are an amazing Cajun band. During intermission, I sneaked backstage and talked to the band. We were talking about music and I invited them to our Halfway to St. Patrick's Day party downtown. Apparently, the accordion player and fiddler in the band play Irish music! They were all really nice guys, but I wasn't able to stay for the second half because I had to set up for my own performance.

At The BOP (the venue) it was quiet for awhile. Only a few people showed up, but Jake, Gus, and I had a great time playing. Suddenly at midnight it seemed like the whole school showed up! I was really happy that people came, and they encouraged us to play more. Around that same time, the fiddler and accordion player from BeauSoleil show up! They sat and listened for awhile, and I begged them to play a tune with us. Well, they weren't kidding when they said they played Irish music. These guys were flying through the sets! Absolutely amazing.

So yeah, I had a great night. The Halfway to St. Patrick's Day party was a HUGE success so hopefully the Celtic Student Union will be having more parties in the future. And the Cajun guys really made me feel great. I love being a musician. Folk music is a powerful thing, and last night it proved how great it can be.