On Monday, May 27th, the Community Music Hangout met for a special Memorial Day edition of the music Hangout. We had been planning to meet on Saturday, but the day dawned with thick low fog; everything was soaked. So, we moved #58 to Monday instead. And, wouldn’t you know it, Saturday got sunny and nice while Monday stayed cool, windy and overcast! So it goes when you’re playing music out of doors. When I wheeled up to the piano, I met a new friend who was already playing a lovely ragtime piece. Great playing, Joanna! Come on back and see us again. Joanna’s friend played the one song she knows, as well. Fun! After that, we welcome two young ladies—sisters as a matter of fact—to the piano to play a bit for us: Stelly and Shania. Thank you for jumping in and keep on playing! Never stop. Next up, Brian biked up to join as he almost always does. He’s definitely attended more Hangouts than anyone other than me. Thanks for being a core of the Community, Brian! Then, up biked my old pal Steve and his wife Tona and their adorable little fella Riley. Steve brought his mini congas and also added some nice deep vocals. Great to see you guys! Thanks for joining the fun. By now, we were well and truly rolling along, despite the cool and blustery conditions. Up next we met Caitlin. Caitlin was on her way to practice for May’s Vibe at the Studio show, which is coming up on Friday! Get your tickets now. Next up, we saw pals David and Karl again at the Music Hangout. Nice to see you gents! David played a Spanish tune called Eres, which he’s been working on because he wants to play it for his wife. That’s a wonderful reason! And I think he’s ready, because he sounded great. And Karl sang a few tunes throughout the day. Great stuff! Come back again soon. Up next, Hannah came jogging by the piano and stopped in again to sing a number with us. Welcome back! And we caught her on the return leg of her run as well. I warned her that this is how CMH addiction begins. First you stop in as part of your exercise routine, then your stops get longer and longer, and then you just come to the Hangout directly! It’s a slippery slope into Hangout. Beware. Then, I looked up and Caesar was strolling up to the piano. It’s always a treat to play some music with that man! He has such a way about him; he directs traffic in the jam, encourages people to play and sing more than they otherwise would. He brings a tremendous amount of joy and talent to the Hangout. Thank you for joining, my friend. I especially enjoyed our shit-talking banter back and forth. We give each other a hard time which, in my book, is a sign of affection! Great stuff, man. A little later, I looked over and Jorge was walking up to the piano with his guitar and harmonica in hand. Great to see you again, dude! Then, Jess joined the Hang again – and she got more of her Vibe at the Studio folks to come join the party. I love the cross-promotion. And actually, next up at the Hang we met Audie who will also be playing on Friday at Vibe at the Studio. Great playing and singing, dude! Come on back soon. Around this time, a fella by the name of Mario had been sitting at the Hangout for a couple hours. He’d declined my first few invitations to play but then hopped up and played an awesome version of “Riders on the Storm”. That’s not an easy tune to pull off and he crushed it! And Brian handled the vocals wonderfully. We were winding down by this point, but not before Theo jumped in to play some jazz piano. Loved that. It was great playing sax with him. Finally, we had Phisherman Phil jump in and sing us a song about being thankful for all the blessings in our lives. Great message, Phil! It was after 4 PM by the time we packed it in for CMH #58. The conditions weren’t the nicest, but the people were! Thanks to everyone who spent a bit of their Memorial Day with us at the CMH. We’ll see you next time for CMH #59 on Sunday June 2nd starting at 11:30!