Old Town School of Folk Music's Square Roots Fest

Man that was a fun one! It was our first time playing the Square Roots Fest and it made me a little nostalgic as I have been affiliated with the OTSFM as long as I have had a banjo in my hands. I'm sure the other guys had their own sentiment about it as well as two out of three of them are currently employed there.

I started the day as most of us Chicagoans do around this time of year- dreading that it was going to be 95 degrees outside AND humid while most of my day would be spent outside in the Sun working. Having a blast nonetheless but working all the same. When I looked at the weather forecast, I couldn't believe it. This weekend of all weekends (we were scheduled to play two outdoor fest) was 70 degrees, sunny and seemingly with no clouds in the sky. It just made me all the more ready to restring the 'ol banjer and motivate!

We arrived to find an array of great musicians, fans and vendors (my favorite being Feed Your Head) all lining the streets ready to rock. This is usually something that I tend to avoid seeing as how huge crowds in Chicago's events are HUGE CROWDS that drive me a little crazy but this was different. . The overall vibe was nice and relaxed as people with their kids in tow were having a great time. I remember thinking that we were playing one of our best shows of the festival season and it was apparent to me while on stage that Aaron, Mike and Pat were feeling the same. WHAT A BLAST!

We'll be really trying to get in that fest again in the coming years!

Until then, over and out.

-Pete