On Sunday, May 5th, the Community Music Hangout gathered for the 55th time. We gathered under crystal clear blue skies and gusty conditions. At first, it was so blustery, that even the binder clips were ineffective at keeping the songbook on the right page. However, throughout the course of the day, the winds would die down. Overall, it was yet another fabulous day to gather and make music with whoever showed up. An interesting thing happened early when I met Chuck. Chuck was seated near the piano when I got there; when I picked a song by The Band, he commented that he was at their last ever show, which was, of course, in San Francisco. That show was filmed by Martin Scorsese and went on to become one of the most legendary concert films in The Last Waltz. Wow! Lucky Chuck! As I was getting set up, Brian biked up to join the hang. Nice to see ya, as always! Ryan cruised up with his family to join quickly on the heels of Brian’s arrival. And, braving the early gusts, we were off and running. Ryan’s adorable daughter Rosie would materialize next to the piano after songs and make very cute requests in her little, sweet voice. At one point she requested “Me and Julio Down by the School Yard”, which isn’t in the book but we gave it a try. It wasn’t until I was singing the line that I remembered that song says “Goodbye Rosie”! Cute. And she was not the only tyke making requests. I love it. All requests made by small children will be honored. We were rolling along in the early going when Francisco showed up with his family too. I love that the Hangout is a place for young families to bring their little ones and enjoy some musical communing. Next, we met Tal, Michael and Troy who jumped on the piano to share some tunes. Thanks for joining in, fellas! It's always a joy to encounter new folks at the Hangout. I hope you come on back to the Hangout again soon! A bit later, we were singing along with Fontaine and Anna. Lovely singing, ladies! Hope to see you again soon. Next up Nina made an appearance with her violin. Nice! She played some great solos and even let another Hangout attendee try her violin out for a bit. I love that spirit of sharing. Then we saw young Atarah again, and she played a bit for us. Lovely. Following that, we had 2x Davids hopping on the piano. Boy, we had a lot of piano players! Awesome. We also saw Tony again and he jumped on the piano as well. Such a great mix of players. Then, when I looked up from the piano, I saw Lauren and Grant and their wee baby Perry. What a pleasant surprise! Lauren and I play in a funky outfit called Mangobus (come see us at the Golden Gate Bandshell on Friday June 28th from 4-7:30!!). She came up to sing a superb Valerie before heading off to picnic in the grass nearby. So great to see you guys! We were starting to wind down at this point, but were weren’t done! Next up we met Aaron and he shared some great tunes with us. Nice to meet ya, come on back soon! We also saw Andrew again for a few minutes. And last, but certainly not least, we had Ben on the keys. Ben played stupendously. I especially love his ability to subdivide the beat with laser precision and musicality. His work was fast, clean and playful. A joy to hear and join in with on my horn. Come back again soon! Gosh, it was nearly 5pm by the time I managed to pull myself away from the scene at the piano. Ben was still rocking out when I finally left and, man, that dude can play! He can go and go and go, but when the Hangout was going on, he was very respectful and just took his turn. I love that! Ben clearly understands the spirit of the Hang. Despite the windy conditions, we managed another great day of musical exploration in the park. I’m so grateful to be able to share these moments with everyone. Thanks go to everyone who took part! Can’t wait to see you all again for CMH #56 on Saturday May 11th starting at 11:30.