The 19th meeting of the Community Music Hangout gathered on Saturday July 1, 2023 at the West Piano, i.e. Carly. The fog was thick and low over the course of the week and, even worse, Carly lost her cover and was exposed to those nasty elements. The piano was not playable. Nevertheless, the show must go on! So, I hauled out my digital piano and borrowed a big battery from Alice and Sage to run it. Also, Rikki was a big help in getting through the modified shlep plan. Thank you, Alice, Sage, and Rikki! For #19 the weather absolutely fantastic. Hot sunshine poured on as the occasional cool breeze kept us comfortable. Too comfortable, in fact. I forgot to put sunscreen on my sandaled feet! Oops. But after all the gloom in May and June, we were so glad to be soaking up the sun. The day got off to a strong early start when Diego and Angel showed up. And, on their way, they met violinist Ben who tagged along with his instrument! It was great to play with Diego and Angel again and I loved that they brought a violin player with them. The list of characters from #19 is EXTENSIVE! We had Ivan on guitar, while Detchen and Addison joined in on the vocals. We had singing from Angel and fantastic playing from Diego. Joining in the fun were Diane and Mary as well. And, in an all-star debut at the CMH, Nina came with a cello (technically her partner biked it up on the back of his bike! Thanks, man!). Nina brought a cello to the hangout and then stayed for a long while! Awesome. That’s exactly what we like to see at the Hangout. Hope to see you and your cello again soon! We also managed to intercept John on his way to a gig at the beer garden. He led us in a few songs and joined in on harp on a few I sang. Super fun jamming! And, as if that weren’t enough, by this point, the members in my funk band Mangobus started to make it to the hangout. Things were about to go to another level. Tom wheeled up with his drum set, Andrew ambled up with his guitar, Jen rocked up with her bass and her best friend Anita! And Lauren rounded out (that’s a pun because she’s pregnant) the group. With all of Mangobus assembled, we proceeded to rock out! Standing under the San Francisco sun, nailing our tunes to a crowd of park goers was a superlative experience the likes of which I won’t soon forget. Joining in the fun as well was Daniel on guitar, Coco, Luca, and Mason on drums! Last, but certainly not least, we saw Joe on sax! I haven’t seen Joe since we met at a camp jam at High Sierra like 7 years ago! Holy smokes. That’s the CMH for you. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was a big cast of characters this week. It was, by far, the greatest edition of the Community Music Hangout. Thank you to everyone who came out to contribute their energy! We’ll see you next on SUNDAY July 9th from 11 until at least 2 at the West Piano.