PorchFest 2023

Hi there! So, it’s that time of year again. Time for the big fun of Porchfest. This Saturday, June 10th. From 1-5pm, in Mt Morris. We- The Magtones– play from 2-3pm. The ‘new grass’ band I play in, Grass Attack, play on the SAME porch (handy for me), at 1pm… Our good friend RuthAnn Lillstrom plays at 3pm. And there are a ton of fun/talented other musicians.

Grass Attack Played Leaf River Days

Hey kids… So, this is a post about the ‘new grass’ band I play in, Grass Attack. Music on your favorite streaming service… But, we had the chance to play at Leaf River Days, a small town summer celebration. Always fun. Food. Music. And, fireworks. It’s what small towns in the midwest do, in the summer. Anyway, here’s a couple snippets of us playing… Hope you like them…

Train Long Gone
Hobo Song

Happy Birthday, Michael August!

Hi. We know this guy… Known him for 20ish years. Met him standing in a circle, in the dark, in the country, playing tunes w/ a bunch of other people… Nice guy. Great musician. A lot of fun… So, we became friends. Playing at different jams and such. Then, around ten years ago, we went to a ukulele fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and there he was. We had dinner, hung out, and became closer friends. Since then, we have been all over the country, on musical and non musical adventures. We’ve played together at gigs, and at parties. He’s a stand up guy, that, we count ourselves blessed to have as a friend. He’s rescued us at the airport at midnight, when travel was FUBARed. We’ve discussed, and ‘solved’ the worlds problems, talking for hours. But, today is his birthday… So, we wanted to say a VERY happy birthday to the amazing Michael August… Check out his tunes, on that Youtube thing…

BCUF Adventure

Hey kids… A little while ago, we went to a ukulele fest, in S. Indiana. The Brown County Ukulele Festival. Good times. Great friends. Fab tunes…. Got to see peeps irl, that we hadn’t seen in a long time, and hear some amazing musicians… If you are interested, keep your eyes open, for the dates, etc…

Hangin’ in the bar, with Greg, Mike, us, Sharla, and Diane
In Class
Us, Diane, Sharla, and Jim
The very talented Diane Poole, Sharla Rae Stephens Weins, Michael August, and, the killer Jim Allen
The amazing Mike August
Backing up Mike
One more…
Headed to the airport, to drop off Diane and Sharla,
then home

Again….Good times. Good friends. Great tunes. Lucky to be alive….

Two Rivers Fest, and, Straw Sculpting Fest

Hey kids… So, we have a couple gigs this weekend… We play Friday at 4:30pm, and, Saturday morning, at 11:35am, at the Two Rivers Bluegrass Festival. So will several other amazing musicians. It’s free. Come out, it’ll be fun! And, to make it more interesting for me, I will play bass for/with the amazing Grass Attack, at 5ish Friday, and 11ish Saturday morning.

Grass Attack, W/ me on bass
Magtones onstage

Our latest, new, surprise gig, will be Sunday, 12:30-2ish, in Mount Morris, Il, at the Straw Sculpting Festival. Amazing sculptures, made from straw. Yes, that is why the name….

Mr Peanut
Grogs

Pizza on the Farm

Hey kids… Last night- Saturday- was a fun evening. We were invited to play at the ‘Pizza on the Farm’ event, at Inn Serendipity, for the Wisconsin Soil Sisters… Fun time. The Inn is an off grid, B&B/farm, and Soil Sisters are a group of women farmers, that work together to help each other. Both are way cool… A good crowd, and amazing food. The pizza was killer, and, other tasty foods- salads, cheeses, finger food… All soooo good… Thank you again, for asking us to be a part of this fun, worthy event!

Mugging for the camera

We played City Market!

Hey kids… So, blowing our own, local horn… Last Friday, or as some say, Friday last, we- The Magtones– played the acoustic stage ( it’s a spot, not a stage, actually) at the local city market… That is quite a feather in our small caps… We played from 5 to 8pm, and had a lot of fun… Our amazing, and very nice friend Michael August, was nice enough to join us for the fun… And, it’s always more fun when he plays/jams with us, or anyone, for that matter….

Mike, Maggie, Tim

The band