If you've ever been to the Northwest of the United States, you know how precious water is. Even in places people think of as rainy (like Seattle), the quantity of rain is much less than most cities in the Eastern United States get. A few summers ago I was driving across a long wide stretch of prairie and saw a thunderstorm way off in the distance. There was a dark line extending underneath the length of the storm system, and I realized the rain was evaporating before it could reach the earth: all that parched land, water just above and none of it reaching ground. It reminded me of the way we want so badly to connect to the people we love the most--and how often we fail. (Video by Wes Cobb.)
I recently attended the International Bluegrass Music Association's annual conference: "World of Bluegrass" and picked up my camera more often than I did my guitar--a great week listening to many talented performers. Claire Lynch's performance pulled me off my feet to snap pictures of her enchanting interpretation of "Dear Sister" around midnight in the conference center (watch the youtube link of her performance--she gets a standing ovation in the middle of her set ):
The song (co-written with Louise Branscomb) went on to win "song of the year" at the Bluegrass awards ceremony later in the week.
Also wowed by Melody Walker of Front Country's singing and songwriting--lots of heart and soul along with interesting music, instrumentation and lyric writing.
