(Airing Sept 7th – September 13th) eTown broadcast/podcast with The Avett Brothers and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
By Helen ~ September 7, 2011
Hey everyone,
Great show this week with musical guests The Avett Brothers and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals at Red Rocks Amphitheater! We take eTown ‘on the road’ to one of the best (and most stunning) outdoor music venues on the planet. Check out our website to see photos of both the show and eTown Square, a collection of great, eco-minded orgs and companies who joined us for the event; each with a booth and various things to offer the show attendees, from demonstrations and info about the great enviro work they’re doing, samples of yummy organic stuff (thanks Galaxy Nutritional Foods and Rudi’s Organic Bakery for the KILLER grilled cheese mini sandwiches, big hit!) and more, up top at the visitor’s center there at Red Rocks.
And wow, what a musical combo we have to offer you! The Avett Brothers return to eTown to share those awesome sibling harmonies and collaborative songs (the day before the show, the boys stopped by our new offices in the finished portion of the eTown Hall building; what a great group of guys, so sweet and so cool). They ROCK the show and just about bring down those red rocks!
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals also revisit eTown and man, they hold their own. You may have heard that Rolling Stone named Grace and her group to be one of the Best New Bands of 2010, and with good reason (bit of eTown trivia: Grace is one of my top ten favorite contemporary singers). Plus, Grace’s parents were traveling with her and the band, how cool is that? I got to meet her dad, who is as much a sweetheart as she is; missed her mom, unfortunately, but hope to meet her next time
There’s lots of great conversation with the artists, plus a great E-Chievement Award story that you won’t want to miss, all coming to you from the beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheater. Hope you’ll travel there with us.
Speaking of travel, it’s hard to believe that I was in Denmark a year ago today. Nick and Hot Rize played the Tonder Festival near the town of the same name. We stayed at a sweet little inn and rode bikes, provided by the wonderful festival organizers, to the festival site everyday. Hot Rize played to a packed house and did one of the best shows I’ve ever seen them do. It was a thrill to go to such a gorgeous country (reminded me a lot of my home state of Minnesota), meet so many terrific locals, hear so much great music and sample the Danish fare.
After the festival we headed to Finland (with my stepdaughter Erika) to visit our friends Bruce and Cody Oreck (he’s the American ambassador there) – quite amazing staying at the embassy, and so great to see our dear friends whom we dearly miss. Then it was back to Copenhagen for a couple days and fianlly home.
What a great trip that was. I would wish all Americans could travel outside of the US, its so important to meet other people, experience other cultures, and hear other points of view. You realize that we humans have so much in common, whether its Denmark, Africa or wherever: we all love our kids, we all want to have a decent life, with enough to eat, good water, clean air and a chance to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Our only regret was that while we were gone for those ten days, our dear friend Jeff (Quinlan), whose brain and lung cancer had been advancing, took a rapid turn for the worst. Upon our return, we were able to visit with him a few times, but he had gone into hospice and unfortunately he went into a startling decline, passing away just a few weeks later. Broke both Nick and my hearts. The three of us had grown so close in the several months we knew him; we sort of took him under our wing, we saw him just about everyday – he’d come by with his huge dog, Tonka, and knock on our door, which was always open to him.
Looking back, I’m so glad we met Jeff and were able to be there for him. Before he went into hospice, Nick was able to bring him as his guest on a wonderful trip that meant the world to Jeff. We helped him write a song and record it, which was a dream come true. We tried to do what we could to be of service to him, to be available when he wanted us to be, and to be his friend and help him through what had to be a scary and hard, hard time. And I know it meant a lot to him that we were around. He was a really sweet and generous man, and we miss him terribly.
It’s the kind of experience that reminds you how precious life is, every breath is such a gift and every moment is a treasure. I feel so lucky to be alive; and I hope you do, too. Things can be hard, I know; we all have stuff we are struggling with and dealing with. But Jeff taught me to remember to be in the moment and to try to not take any of it for granted. For that I will be eternally grateful.
Best to you all, hope you had a good and safe Labor Day break (my deepest sympathies to those still impacted by and suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, also to those dealing with the fires in Texas, tornadoes back east, and all the awful stuff going on; I know there are a lot of you out there and I’m so sorry you’re going through all that).
Talk with you next time.
Xo Helen
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