Friday, May 1, 2020

May Day edition, and the weekend's cyber shows. Friday May 1 edition, 2020

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While the news herein is still of interest, the LATEST EVENTS are now in the May 5th edition. 
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In most of the world, people are especially disappointed and frustrated to be home today in particular, because 'purt near everywhere in the world, May 1st is MAY DAY, a big-deal celebration. But it's not safe to celebrate it -- except in very specific, very different ways -- in 49 of of the 50 U.S. states, where it's waaay problematic to celebrate May Day.

Therein is quite a tale. Of course, we get to all that for you, before we launch into THIS WEEKEND'S EVENTS and the first look at the week ahead.

So, with no further ado, let's get started!


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Living history, derailed culture

What's up with May Day?

Why it's a big deal every place else, but not in 49 of the 50 U.S. states

Union-busting, red-baiting, flag-waving for robber-barons... the whole story on how Spring revelry got hijacked, in three parts

part one...

Today is May Day. Traditionally a European pagan celebration of Spring, it came to be known and celebrated as the first Labor Day, honoring the craftsmanship and devotion of the working class, and to remember the struggles of workers in their fight for better wages and working conditions.

That developed into May 1st as "International Workers' Day," which made it -- and those who celebrated it -- a target of McCarthyites and other extreme anti-union economic interests who adopted the self-serving diversion of being "anticommunists" in the U.S. of the 1950s.

May Day has never recovered as a workers' celebratory day in America, so most of its purpose moved to the first Monday in September -- where other interests can manage its impact and mess with its message. By the way, May 1st still continues as the "Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker" in the Catholic Church, though they keep that one quiet in the American Catholic church.

May 1st is the appropriate time to acknowledge that America has displayed a visceral fear of empowering workers throughout its history. And that has led to violence on, and villainization of, May Day. Early trade unions, labor unions, industrial factory unions, miners unions, steel mill workers unions, railroad car builders unions, and more, were often broken-up with murderous gunfire by armed thugs and private armies of Pinkerton detectives hired by mine owners or factory bosses.

In America, May 1st as "International Workers' Day" commemorated the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, wherein agents of the bosses started a deadly riot and made it appear striking workers were behind it.

Two alternatives to May Day were developed in America to refute workers rights. One, "Loyalty Day," is still observed in some circles on May 1 in the U.S. It is "a day set aside for the reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom." (Except for freedom of workers to organize into a union.) During the "First Red Scare" after Russia's 1917 Bolshevik Revolution produced the Soviet Union, it was originally organized in 1921 and called "Americanization Day." President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed May 1, 1955, as its first observance as "Loyalty Day," erasing any chance of obtuse interpretation.

Indeed, in that same year of 1955 during the "Second Red Scare," "Loyalty Day" was declared by the U.S. Congress, which then proceded in 1958 to make it an official reoccurring holiday via Public Law 85-529. In 1958, Eisenhower even urged Congress to move "Child Health Day" to the First Monday in October to avoid conflicting with "Loyalty Day."

While it seems archaic and a bit creepy to modern sensibilities, "Loyalty Day" has been recognized with an official proclamation every year by every president since its inception as a legal holiday in 1958. And every year (except this pandemic shutdown year) it is still celebrated with parades in Golden Shores, Arizona; Calhan, Colorado; New Lenox, Illinois; Murray, Kentucky (though not annually); Standish, Michigan; Norfolk, Nebraska; Brandon, South Dakota; El Paso, Texas; Rutland, Vermont; Long Beach, Washington; and Freedom, Wisconsin.

The other officially proclaimed May 1st diversionary day in the U.S. -- also making people forget about May Day -- is "Law Day." It is meant "to reflect on the role of law in the foundation of the country and to recognize its importance for society." It, too, was proclaimed in 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He didn't want competition from "Child Health Day" but apparently saw no problem with mixing a lawyers' professional day with "Loyalty Day."

Originally the idea of Charles S. Rhyne -- Eisenhower's legal counsel and president of the American Bar Association. Its observance was later codified by Public Law 87-20 in 1961.

Eisenhower said in that first year's proclamation, "In a very real sense, the world no longer has a choice between force and law. If civilization is to survive it must choose the rule of law."

Interesting, since the same could be said of workplaces.

~ part one by Lawrence Wines, for The Guide.
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Part two...

The land where palm trees sway: May 1st, in a happier context...

In Hawai'i, today is "Lei Day," not simply a play on "May Day," but a statewide celebration. Normally, things begin in the morning of May 1st every year and continue into the next day. "Lei Day," established as a holiday in 1929, occasions parades, Hawai'ian music, hula, and lu'aus. Lotsa-food- you-know-dakine-lu'aus -- poi, kālua puaʻa (kālua pig), poke, lomi salmon, ʻopihi, and haupia, beer, and the aforementioned entertainment.

Each Hawai'ian island has a different type of lei for its people to wear in the celebration, displaying the characteristic flowers and colors of that island. The festivities have consistently grown each year, prompting the state of Hawai'i to change the venue some time ago.

"Lei Day," first held in the Courts and Town Halls, had to be moved outdoors under the sunshine and Banyan trees, with the chief celebration in Honolulu's Kapi'olani Park.

So, a big May 1st "Aloha!" to dream of sweet smelling blossoms and better times.

~ part two by Skylar West, for The Guide.
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Part three...

Ancient roots, killed by religious nuts...

We said that May Day has its roots in ancient times as a pagan celebration of Spring. Let's back-up to that part of the story to let Garrison Keillor explain that part, from his "Writer's Almanac" for today:

"Today is May Day. Even though spring officially begins in March, today is the day that celebrates the height of spring, a day of spring festivities and celebrations. It is also a day to honor laborers.

"Like many of our modern holidays, May Day has its roots in ancient, pagan celebrations.

"Beginning in the third century B.C. in Rome, the festival Floralia, for the goddess Flora, was held in the days around May Day, April 28th to May 3rd. Flora was a goddess of flowers and fertility, and the festival was held to please her so that she protected flowers and other blossoming plants. There was a circus and theater performances, there were prostitutes and naked dancers, and a sacrifice to the goddess. Deer and goats were let loose to symbolize fertility, and beans and lupines were scattered for the same reason. Romans usually wore white tunics, but during Floralia, they got to wear bright colors.

"In the Celtic British Isles, May Day was celebrated as the festival of Beltane, or Bealtaine or Bealtuinn — Bel was the Celtic god of light, and taine or tuinne meant fire. It was the summer half of the year — a time when the sun set later, when the earth and animals were fertile. Beltane lasted from sundown the night before to sundown on the first of May. On the eve of Beltane, people lit bonfires to Bel to call back the sun. People jumped over the fires to purify themselves, and they blessed their animals by taking them between bonfires before leading them to their summer pastures the next day. It was a day to walk around the property lines and assess your land for the summer season, to mend fences. Women washed their faces with the spring dew so that they would stay beautiful, and there was dancing, tournaments, parades, feasting, and general revelry.

"There were lots of flowers — men walked around the fires with rowan branches to keep evil spirits at bay, and May trees, or Maypoles, were set up covered in rowan or hawthorn flowers as a blessing. People danced around the Maypole, seen to be a phallic symbol to promote fertility, and villages would compete with each other to see who could produce the tallest maypole. Young couples went off into the forest to spend the night together and came back the next day with flowers to spread through the village. A young woman was crowned May Queen, and she would ride naked on horseback through the village.

"Many of these celebrations continued as late as the 17th century — the Puritans were not too pleased, especially since so many young women went off into the woods and came back pregnant. Maypoles were made illegal in 1644.

"Since the Puritans discouraged May Day, it was never a major holiday in America..."

~ part three by Garrison Keillorfrom his "Writer's Almanac" for today.

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Wait. Doesn't this day mean something else?

Ten days ago, the Commander-in-Tweet said he wanted the restaurants, the schools, all the businesses and workplaces, the churches, the movies, everything, opened by May 1st. Apparently Fauci got to him and reminded him that May Day are the words you say right before you crash.


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Burnt political offerings...

Harvested from an ongoing multi-party dialogue:

In addition to Dale Wyant's appropriate new words -- "Covidiot," and the gathering of them being a "Covfefe" -- it seemed we needed a term for the "Liberate" insurgencies of traffic-jammers who congregate to blow horns and high-five each other without masks.

So, I propose that they are "Branch Covidians."

And when they create their own outbreak clusters and spike the mortality rate everywhere they "liberate," we can bury them together in their hermetically-sealed caskets, shrouded in the big Trump flags they waved, wearing their MAGA hats, holding their Trumpy Bears, a MyPillow behind each head, and tickets in their pockets to Ted Nugent and Kid Rock concerts (alongside their life member NRA cards), together with their old protest signs that proclaimed "Obama Will Kill Us All!" and "Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare!"


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Listen to the hand.

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Politics of pandemic

Is understanding and / or acceptance of "stay safe" protocols a partisan issue?


In the U.S., it damn sure is. Something that absolutely should be a science-based decision driven by data and the understanding of epidemiologists, isn't universally being regarded that way.

Just look at this...

Americans' readiness to return to normal activities -- Gallup poll

                    April 20-26     April 2-6

Republicans      44%             25%
Independents    22%             12%
Democrats           4%                5%
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White House reporters, when pushed, tell us, "Nobody in the West Wing wears masks."

And Vice President Mike Pence -- the bobblehead guy in charge of the "White House Coronavirus Task Force" --   infamously did a grandstanding visit where everybody was wearing a mask except him. Which prompted enough criticism that he wore a mask on his next "critical medical materials manufacturing factory" visit.
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Where's Mister Rogers when you need him?

"Can you say 'Second Wave'-? I KNEW you could!"


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CYBER CONCERTS, STREAMING MUSICALITY & MORE, mostly live!

We begin with two events that run through the weekend. One is NIGHTLY LIVE THEATRE through Sunday night, of a show that would have opened on Broadway. The other is a re-creation -- and pieced-together to be an all-star compilation -- from past years editions of the NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL.

Following that is our chronology of day-by-day event listings, organized by start time.

We're adding more, as it comes-in, and we get to it and through it...

Thanks to New Orleans-based "OffBeat" magazine, we have included many more live online streaming performances that originate from the Big Easy.


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Streaming LIVE THEATRE, FREE, through May 3

Live from New York, nightly through Sunday

Richard Nelson’s new play, “What Do We Need to Talk About?” is being performed online, but live, restoring some of theater’s ephemerality. The production brings the return of the Apples, a theatre family.

Read the New York Times Theatre Section story:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/25/theater/richard-nelson-apple-play-zoom-coronavirus.htm

Watch the video promo:

https://youtu.be/R76oRm76mMM

TIX (free) at:

https://publictheater.org/news-items/buckets/conversations/what-do-we-need-to-talk-about/

The Apples in a scene from “Regular Singing” (2013). Sara Krulwich/The New York Times.

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Last reminder...

Also through Sunday, May 3rd...

WWOZ’s "Jazz Festing In Place" An On-Air Festival Runs Through May 3
WWOZ 90.7 FM in New Orleans is planning to stream Jazz Festing In Place: An On-Air Festival, running 11 a.m.–7 p.m. on April 23–26 and April 30–May 3.

The dates coincide with the postponed New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. And while the archival streaming music includes a few acts that were slated to…
 More, from New Orleans "OffBeat" magazine »


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Friday, May 1st
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THOUGHT FOR TODAY from one born on this date...

"Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."~ Joseph Addison, writer (born May 1, 1672, died 1719)

(our thanks to A.Word.A.Day)
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Friday only...

SPECIAL TODAY... SUPPORT ARTISTS ON BANDCAMP


For all the artists who use it for music distribution, Bandcamp will forgo its share of sales for a 24-hour period that runs from Midnight last night to 11:59 pm Pacific time TONIGHT. The initiative will also repeat on June 5 and July 3, and will last the same hours (always Pacific time) on those days.

Artist DEBRA COWAN, who told us about it, has several fine and fun CDs of sea chanteys / maritime music. She says, "Another reason I love Bandcamp is that I am able to post individual tracks and make them available for free or with a pay-what-you can model. Take a look at what I've got over there. perhaps there is something you haven't heard yet!" Her Digital Downloads - Bandcamp page is:  https://debracowan.bandcamp.com/
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Cyberian events today...

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Fri, May 1:
11 am Pacific --
EMMA'S REVOLUTION  offers Songwriting for Everyone!
Ever wondered what your own songs would sound like? Ready to take your songwriting to a deeper level? Explore the craft of songwriting with warm-up and creativity exercises that will cultivate a playful relationship with words and melody and help you be open to your songs. "We guarantee you'll surprise yourself!" say the presenters. Email Sandy to reserve your spot
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Fri, May 1:
11 am Pacific --
MAY DAY ACTIVISM IN THE HERE AND NOW...
"Support essential workers from home"
 
says Emma Einhorn of MoveOn Civic Action. She writes:
[This] is May Day, which is an internationally recognized day of action meant to show solidarity among working people and marginalized communities across the globe. For millions of people, this means another month of struggling to pay rent, utilities, and expenses, and millions of essential workers continue to risk their lives to provide us with vital services. Republicans in Congress continue to prioritize aid to corporations, so we need to build pressure for them to provide real relief now.
Essential workers are enabling us to shelter in place by putting food on shelves, transporting health workers, ensuring we have clean water, working across our health care system to protect our health and safety, and caring for the elderly and critically ill. And yet, this administration feels more compelled to bail out cruise lines, airlines, and big businesses than the overworked and underpaid workers keeping millions of Americans afloat.
Essential workers must be given the compensation and job protections to reflect the importance of their work. We need an Essential Workers Bill of Rights as part of the next relief package passed by Congress. 
This Friday, can we count on you to show solidarity with essential workers by spreading the word and demanding your elected officials pass an Essential Worker Bill of Rights? Here are a few ways you can get involved:
  • Make a sign or poster and hang it outside your window. Let your neighbors know what an Essential Workers Bill of Rights means to you, and share it on social media with the hashtag #ProtectEssentialWorkers and #PeoplesBailout.
  • Share a picture or video of you and your family talking about what you want to see from an Essential Workers Bill of Rights. Don't forget to include the hashtags #ProtectEssentialWorkers and #PeoplesBailout, and demand action by tagging your representative (you can look them up here) and President Trump.
  • Boycott big businesses that are refusing to support workers, like Amazon, Target, and Whole Foods. Consider finding ways to support small businesses instead.
We're working alongside other partners, including People's Bailout, People's Action, the Indigenous Environmental Network, the Center for Popular Democracy, and the Hip Hop Caucus to flood social media with messages demanding immediate relief now. And be sure to check out the MoveOn Facebook Live page on Friday at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT for a livestream rally to get you in the May Day spirit!
Thanks for all you do.
–Emma, Justin, Arvin, Emily, and the rest of the team
Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with MoveOn?
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Fri, May 1:
2 pm Pacific --
MUCKENTHALER CULTURAL CENTER
 Artist in Residence KATHARINE ZAUN conducts her second FREE online Haiku class.
*  You can join the class with this link:
https://themuck.org/programing/haiku-workshop-adults
*  Her first session not only drew raves from those who attended, it was recognized by the Orange County Museum of Art.
*  And if you want to kill some time between now and her Haiku class, here is a website where some guy boiled each Shakespeare play down to a single Haiku: https://www.shakespearegeek.com/2013/01/the-complete-works-of-william.html
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Fri, May 1:
4 pm Pacific --
LUKE COMBS

*  via Miller Lite’s YouTube, to support the United States Bartender’s Guild National Charity Foundation and its Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.
*  click here:
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Fri, May 1:
4 pm Pacific --
JOHN LEGEND

*  via YouTube, iHeartRadio’s First Responder Fridays.
*  click here:

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Fri, May 1:
5 pm Pacific -- 
“Shut In & Sing” with Doria Roberts, Kim Richey, Raina Rose, & Ellis Delaney
*  via Stageit
*  click here

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Fri, May 1:
5-6 pm Pacific --
Annual "ASHOKAN WORKSHOP" 
event (see 1st listing on Saturday for registration info to watch this).
*  This hour is the WELCOME SESSION
JAY UNGAR & MOLLY MASON play your favorite Scottish tunes - you can play along at home. Tech support available to help you get your Zoom video and audio working nicely.
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Fri, May :
6 pm Pacific -- 
Rhett Miller
9 p.m. ET, 6 PT
*  via Stageit
click here
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Fri, May 1:
10 pm Pacific -- 
Rhye
*  “Corona Sabbath” presented by Diplo & Secular Sabbath
*  We don't know this act. We 'spect they're hard rock, so be warned.
*  click here

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Saturday, May 2nd

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Fri & Sat, May 1 & 2:
Annual "ASHOKAN WORKSHOP" CYBER STRING FLING EDITION, 
with ALISDAIR FRASER & NATALIE HAAS, and MANY other trad string music masters, who would have been teaching this week at the music camp at Ashokan Center in Olivebridge, NY.
*  This is an online "Scottish fiddle & cello workshop experience" with your hosts Alasdair & Natalie plus EMERALD RAE, DONAL SHEETS, and special guests JAY UNGAR & MOLLY MASON.
*  Alisdair says "We're taking it on-line! Or just come and hang out.
*  So we invite you, instrument (or dram!) in hand, to join us. Hope to see you there.
*  Here's a wee video explaining the idea...
*  We miss gathering with kindred spirits! It's been almost seven weeks since we played a concert together and we're as keen as ever to share the tunes and the arrangements and the sheer joy of making music together."
*  You CAN just tune-in and hang out! ♥️GIVE WHAT YOU CAN ♥️to support Ashokan and these amazing instructors. They suggest $50 PER HOUSEHOLD to register but are truly grateful for ANY AMOUNT.
*   FULL SCHEDULE WITH LINKS will be emailed to you w/ registration.
*   PARTICIPATE OR JUST WATCH one or more of the live workshops, jams, concerts, and chats.
*   REGISTER & FULL SCHEDULE at: https://ashokancenter.org/cyber-string-fling/
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Our listings contain the specific "Ashoken" events "translated" to Pacific time  in the Fri & Sat listings, but YOU NEED TO REGISTER to watch any of them.
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Sat, May 2:
7 am-8:15 am Pacific --
Annual "ASHOKAN WORKSHOP" 
event (see 1st listing on Saturday for registration info to watch this).
ALASDAIR FRASER takes you into the MacNittyGritty of creating your own Scottish sound and informing your tunes with energy and life. "We'll also learn a couple of tunes!"
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Sat, May 2:
8:30 am-9:45 am Pacific --
Annual "ASHOKAN WORKSHOP" event (see 1st listing on Saturday for registration info to watch this).
NATALIE HAAS says "All instruments welcome - we will explore accompaniment and arrangement ideas for the two tunes that you learned with Alasdair" in the session just before this.
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Sat, May 2:
9 am Pacific --
Avi Kaplan
*  former Pentatonix member

*  via Instagram
*  click here

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Sat, May 2:
10 am Pacific  --
Last weekend's Band Together Benefit online music festival featuring PJ MortonTank and the BangasJon ClearyStanton MooreIvan Neville and more does a rebroadcast. Tune in here.
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Sat, May 2:
10 am Pacific -- 
Andy Bell (of Ride)
*  via Rough Trade Instagram
*  click here

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Sat, May 2:
10:30 am-noon Pacific --
Annual "ASHOKAN WORKSHOP" event (see 1st listing on Saturday for registration info to watch this).
"MY LIFE IN MUSIC, DISCUSSION & Q&A" is "a relaxed and interactive chat with the teachers. Learn about their lives past and present and ask your own question!"
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Sat, May 2:
12:15 pm-1:30 Pacific --
Annual "ASHOKAN WORKSHOP" event (see 1st listing on Saturday for registration info to watch this).
EMERALD RAE says "Get moving while you play! Learn how to reduce pain and express yourself with stretching, posture work, foot tapping and stage craft."
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Sat, May 2:
1 pm-3 pm Pacific -- 

May 2 Vermont Big SingAlong!
Moore Smiley's live stream series continues this Saturday 5/2 from 4-6pm EDT. 
Might you tune in?
SIX featured artists with close ties to Vermont will connect with Moira live on Instagram one-by-one "to bring a song/chorus/text to teach you, and lead us together in moments of singing & listening from home."
This week's featured artists are:
  • Stefan Amidon & Zara Bode
  • Dave Richardson
  • Katie Trautz
  • Nate Gusakov
  • Zack Dupont
  • and... Moira Smiley
HOW TO WATCH
Share photos/videos of your SingAlong set up by tagging her (@moirasmiley) or use #vtbigsingalong for a little surprise :)

"I am collecting donations 
through PayPal here to support our featured artists, whose livelihoods (like mine) have been quelled by COVID-19 for the next few months. Please tune in, add your voices to ours, and contribute if you can!" ~ Moira
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Sat, May 2, benefit:
1 pm Pacific -- 
Larkin Poe
*  partly benefits United Way Nashville
*  click here
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Sat, May 2:
1:45 pm-3 pm Pacific --
Annual "ASHOKAN WORKSHOP" 
event (see 1st listing on Saturday for registration info to watch this).
DONAL SHEETS says "Delve into the basics of backup! All Instruments welcome, learn about adding interesting counter parts, chords and rythms to tunes."
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Sat, May 2, benefit:
2 pm Pacific -- 
G. Love
*  via Facebook

*  benefitting the Troubadour
*  click here

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Sat, May 2:
4 pm Pacific -- 
Ben Folds
*  weekly requests

*  via Facebook
*  click here

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Sat, May 2:
4 pm-5:30 pm Pacific --
Annual "ASHOKAN WORKSHOP" 
event (see 1st listing on Saturday for registration info to watch this).
CLOSING CONCERT & JAM. Enjoy a tune or two from each of the staff live from their living rooms followed by a play-along jam session.
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Sat, May 2:
5 pm Pacific -- 
Grand Ole Opry LIVE, this week with GARTH BBROOKS and TRISHA YEARWOOD
*  via the artists’ Facebook page and Circle All Access
*  click here

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Sat, May 2:
5 pm Pacific -- 
Old Crow Medicine Show
"Hartland Hootenanny" featuring Ketch Secor from Old Crow Medicine Show
*  click here

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Sat, May 2, & every Sat:
5 pm Pacific --
ONLINE "DINNER PARTY" CONCERTS with BRAD COLERICK
& Friends.
*  Brad says, "Come meet some friends from down the street or across the country. Throw on your best Hawaiian shirt and your favorite chapeau. Always a good time. Hope to see you soon!"
*  Tix at: http://bradcolerick.com
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Sat, May 2:
5:30 pm Pacific --
PETER HIMMELMAN
 live from NYC
*  He says, "I'm trying out my new sound system tonight. Wish me luck!"
*  "See you soon on my Facebook homepage."
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Sat, May 2:
6:30 pm Pacific --
"GLOBAL UNITY FEST"
 brings a concert by the duo, 
HEART MEDICINE MUSIC, with ANNMARIE SOUL.
*  Billed as "a powerful & and prayerful" experience to the comfort of your own home. All are welcome.
*  Click to join at: https://nyla.naamyoga.com/p/illuminateheartmedicinemusic
*  HEART MEDICINE is the singing duo of ANNMARIE SOUL and KAREN SEVA, blending original songs, mantra and native tribal chants. Together their voices blend in harmonic frequencies creating angelic overtones inviting the listener into a deep musical meditation journey.
*  Their music is a combination of sacred songs and melodies inspired by nature and spirit, interwoven with healing mantras celebrating many traditions. Both celestial and earthly, each song is a gift from the muse of spirit, channeled and lovingly crafted - opening a doorway to the unseen, requesting our presence in a dance with the divine, inviting us into love, and calling our hearts home.
*  This concert is brought to you as part of the "Global Unity Fest" - a festival uniting artists the world over to uplift and inspire.
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Sunday, May 3rd

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Oops! One prepared item got dropped-in a week early. The item below, in red, was supposed to run NEXT Sunday:

It's MOTHERS DAY. 

Remember to phone your quasi-quarantined ma, grandma, and other maternal figures in your life. Or risk a year of hearing about how you don't figure in their lives.
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Today is "World Press Freedom Day"

We offer some thoughts from Brian Stelter, host of "Reliable Sources" on CNN, at this challenging time for struggling independent news outlets, continuing layoffs in most newsrooms, and few advertisers in the face of societal quasi-quarantine and shutdown.

Every year since 1993, May 3 has been World Press Freedom Day, as recognized by the UN and advocacy groups all around the globe. Here are a few of the ways the day will be commemorated this Sunday:

 -- "UNESCO is launching a global campaign on media and social media channels, with a focus on 'Journalism without Fear or Favor' in an increasingly complex media landscape..."

 -- The NYT "is encouraging everyone to support a local news outlet" and providing a database of local publications to make it easier to do...

 -- WaPo is running PSAs to call attention to cases of detained and persecuted journalists...

 -- PEN America is running a "digital honor roll" called "Local Heroes: Journalists Covering Covid-19..."

 -- The Courage Foundation is marking the day by holding a webinar in support of Julian Assange as he fights espionage charges...

 -- Activists in many countries, from Egypt to the Philippines, Algeria to Nigeria, are using the day to call out injustices...

 -- Christiane Amanpour tweeted: "For jailed journalists, Covid-19 could be a death sentence. That's why I'm joining CPJ in the urgent call for world leaders to #FreeThePress. Sign the petition here..."


"Journalism, press freedom and Covid-19"

This new UNESCO report sizes up some of the impacts of the pandemic on the press. Among them:

 -- "A dangerous 'disinfodemic' has arisen"

 -- "Against soaring demand for verified information, independent media have risen to the challenge"

 -- "Technology companies are taking action, but more transparency is needed"

 -- "Some regulatory measures have led to new restrictions of human rights"

 -- "To keep the public informed, journalists are putting their own safety at risk"

 -- "The economic impact of Covid-19 may pose an existential threat to journalism"

 -- "Amid the crisis, there are new opportunities to stand up for journalism"


Coronavirus crackdown?

VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports: "Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Sunday, activists are warning that the coronavirus emergency has seen governments around the world crack down on journalists' ability to do their jobs at a time when transparency is more vital than ever. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, along with Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and many other rights organizations, is calling on governments to maintain openness and protect the freedom of the press..."
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THOUGHT FOR TODAY from one born on this date...

 "One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being."
~ May Sarton (born May 3, 1912, died 1995), author of 17 collections of poetry, 19 novels, 11 journals, and two children's books.
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Sunday's events...
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Happy birthday to Geo. McCalip, American techno geek, meme-maker, founder of self-help legal sites, and acoustic musician.

He shares birthdays today with two giants who have passed-on. For those stories we turn to Garrison Keillor:

It's the birthday of folk singer Pete Seeger, born in New York City (1919). His mother was a violinist and his father was a musicologist. As a teenager, he rebelled against his parents' love of music and decided he wanted to be a painter. But the first time he heard the sound of a banjo at the Folk Song and Dance Festival in Asheville, North Carolina, he fell in love with folk music. He dropped out of Harvard and rode the rails across America in the middle of the Great Depression, picking up folk songs and learning banjo techniques from farmers, workers, and mountaineers. He wrote:

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

[Egads. Garrison left-out the rest of it. You see, the song asks "Where have all young girls  gone?" And answers, "gone to young men, every one." It then asks where the young men have gone, and answers gone to soldiers. Then, to where have all the soldiers gone, iy answers, gone to graveyards. The flowers grow on the graves,  from where the young girls pick them. And on and on in a cycle. Until our time, when the young girls, too, might go off as soldiers. Pete's memory required adding that.]

Garrison does have more!

And it's the birthday of philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, (books by this author) born in Florence (1469). He was a statesman and ambassador, but the regime he worked for was overthrown, and in 1513 he was accused of conspiring against the government. He was thrown into prison and tortured. When the government finally released him, he went into exile and wrote The Prince (1532). In The Prince, he described how an ideal ruler should accept that he lives in an immoral world and use whatever means he can to secure order. He wrote, "Since it is difficult to join them together, it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking."
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Sunday's Cyberian Concentry...
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Sun, May 3:
9 am Pacific --
Todd Snider
*  via Twitch
*  click here
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Sun, May 3:
Noon Pacific --
BUDDY MONDLOCK
 plays a facebook live concert at:
*  Buddy tells us, "I've been spending a fair bit of time at my dining room table, looking out the window there. Just outside is a bird feeder with a little yellow top on it.
     "Sometimes a squirrel on it too! But after I chase him off (he's kind of a hoarder) I've been seeing lots of other wondrous creatures. We take them for granted sometimes but birds still seem to me like little miracles with feathers.
     "My favorite is the Carolina Wren. Deep russet brown and carmel colored with a jaunty tail and a white eyebrow, small but always curious (and unintimidated - I saw one chasing a Blue Jay the other day), he sings like Caruso lighting up the back of the hall.
     "He's full of personality but they all are, really. A female Grosbeak showed up the other day being followed around by three males. She got there first and repelled all comers, dandies though they may be with their rose red hearts on their chests. 'I'll deal with you later boys, but right now I'm eating!' It's kind of amazing to me, the things you notice when you have time to just look for awhile.
     "I'm not exactly Caruso (or even a Carolina Wren) but I'll be appearing in a window near you on Sunday. A digital window, that is.
     "Normally on the first Sunday in May, I'd be up in Chicago celebrating the birthday of my friend Ethel. She's turning 103 this time!
     "So I'll be singing a few in her honor including a Tom Dundee song (we both miss him a lot) and 'The Kid.' She gave me a gentle scolding after a show one time when I left it out of the set. 'Always play the hit, kid.' You got it, Ethel!
     "So open up a window for me Sunday, I'm gonna sing for you!"
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Sun, May 3; LATE ADDITION
Noon Pacific -- 
ALICE HOWE and FREEBO, in conjunction with PHILADELPHIA FOLK SONG SOCIETY, play a 90-minute ticketed show, and you must have a Facebook account to watch. 
*  FREEBO tells us, "One of the special aspects of the show will be that, after the show, Alice and I will be doing a 30-minute Zoom hangout where you can talk to us in real time, ask us questions about songs, life, politics, the 'new normal'…whatever you'd like. That zoom link will be made available during our show."
*  Here’s the Facebook event link for the show itself:                  
https://www.facebook.com/events/680244299419589/ * The link to access the ticket page directly is here.

* FREEBO adds, "For those of you who've never seen us together, I think you'll really enjoy Alice's harmonies on my songs, my fretless bass playing and harmonies on her's, and the interaction and patter between us...always a blast. For those of you who have heard us together before, you know what you're in for! Again, this show will only be streamed in a private group on FaceBook, and you'll need to purchase a ticket ahead of time."
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Sun, May 3:
1 pm Pacific -- 
O.A.R. 
weekly show
*  via Instagram

*  click here
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Sun, May 3:
1:30 pm Pacific -- 
Sarah Shook
*  live on the Men’s Health magazine Instagram page
*  click here

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Sun, May 3:
2 pm Pacific -- 
“The Roots of Gram Parsons,” co-hosted by Ronnie Mack and Pamela Des Barres, with Jesse Dayton, Mike Stinson, Albert Lee, Jon Corneal and more
*  via Stellar Shows
*  click here

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Sun, May 3:
2 pm Pacific -- 
Judith Owen
*  via YouTube
*  click here
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Sun, May 3, late addition:
2 pm Pacific --
ANDY & RENEE
Livestream Concert
* on Youtube: https://youtu.be/ENZ3j1Qir5s
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Sun, May 3, benefit:
3 pm Pacific  --
Twin Peaks
*  benefits National Alliance on Mental Illness
*  click here
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Sun, May 3:
5 pm Pacific  --
American Aquarium
*  via Instagram
*  click here
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Sun, May 3, on tv:
8 pm-9 pm Pacific -- 
"SATURDAY NIGHT OPRY" is a re-run of last night's "Grand Ole Opry LIVE," this week with GARTH BROOKS and TRISHA YEARWOOD
*  via Circle TV entertainment network, broadcast in L.A. on KDOC.
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Listen through this week...


From Sunday, May 3 through Friday, May 8, the L.A. Master Chorale's weekly online offering features a rare favorite composition, Maurice Duruflé's "Requiem," conducted by Jenny Wong. Listen here.
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Monday, May 4th

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THOUGHT FOR TODAY from one born on this date...

"It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence."
~ William Kingdon Clifford, mathematician and philosopher (born May 4, 1845, died 1879)
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First time ever, you can watch the Supreme Court, LIVE

7 am Pacific : Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V. Oral Argument
The Supreme Court for the first time in history hears oral argument via teleconference. The case concerns a popular travel reservation company’s fight to trademark its website, booking.com, C-SPAN, C-SPAN Radio & C-SPAN.org

8 am Pacific : Review of Supreme Court Oral Argument in Patent & Trademark v. Booking.com
The National Constitution Center hosts a panel discussion reviewing the Supreme Court oral argument in Patent & Trademark v. Booking.com, C-SPAN C-SPAN.org
- - -
"Change is afoot at the Supreme Court," C-SPAN's general counsel Bruce Collins writes: "On Monday, the court will, for the first time, allow the news media to provide audio coverage of its oral arguments as they happen. So far, it is only for 10 arguments conducted by teleconference in May, but it is live coverage, which is the bedrock of television journalism."

C-SPAN and other networks have long been arguing for greater public accessibility to the court. And now, with the justices working from home to stay safe, "the court is giving the public live access to its arguments for the month of May. All of them will air live across C-SPAN’s platforms," Collins notes. Other networks will tap into the live feed too... Especially when arguments are heard on May 12 about Trump's tax records...  as CNN's Brian Stelter notes.

 >> Adam Liptak's Monday NYT headline: "Virus Pushes a Staid Supreme Court Into Revolutionary Changes"
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On this day, a half-century ago...

Everyone knows the Neil Young song, "Ohio" with its haunting, echoing line, "Four dead in Ohio." Neil wrote the song after seeing things in the news. Turns out someone else who would become famous was actually there.

JOE WALSH STATEMENT ON KENT STATE UNIVERSITY -- MAY 4 2020

"Today is May 4th and it marks 50 years since the shooting at Kent State University. Those of us who were there remember that day graphically, when our classmates, our friends, got shot down.  We were naive young people who had left our parents nest and were just starting our lives by going to college and furthering our education. And we were peacefully demonstrating but because of a total dysfunctional authority trying to handle a situation they didn't understand,  it mutated into elevated emotions and anger, chaos and fear escalated into violence. It was a long time ago but the reason it is so important and should be remembered is because history repeats itself - and we are as divided as a country now as we were then - and people demonstrating have no chance against people with guns.  The solution then, as it is now, is to be able to peacefully assemble and understand each other and accept our differences, without fear, without hatred, without violence."  

~ Joe Walsh  

#KentStateMay4

The Kent State shootings were both a flashpoint in the anti-Vietnam War movement and in legendary guitarist Joe Walsh's career. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer from the Eagles, James Gang, and his solo band, was a student at Kent State in 1970 when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd of unarmed students protesting the war. History remembers it as the Kent State Massacre.

JOE WALSH and DAVID CROSBY were set to play a benefit concert together at Kent State this past Saturday night, but the Coronavirus shutdown got in the way. Read about that here: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/david-crosby-joe-walsh-kent-state-50th-anniversary-954868/

 Margaret Sullivan's Monday column looks both backward and forward: "50 years ago, a local newspaper dominated the story of the Kent State tragedy. Could that still happen?" (WaPo)
Robert Giles, the subject of Sullivan's story on the Kent State anniversary, is out with a new book about the shootings, titled "When Truth Mattered..."

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"Star Wars" Day

It began several years back when some wag realized today's date lent itself to saying, "May the fourth be with you."

Okay, like the original three movies, it was cute. For awhile.

But now, after years of relentless overexploitation and endless monetization and sequels and prequels and clones cranked-out like sausages, we are more than ready to see the whole menagerie retired. Because it's time for Hollywood to find SOME kind of original idea. And to stop making any "space" movies that violate the laws of physics. As in, for god sakes, there is no sound in the vacuum of space. Not even audible explosions.

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Today's cyber events
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Mon, May 4 -- applications open:
9 am Pacific -- 
"Relief Fund for L.A. County Visual Artists" application period begins, accepted from May 4 at 9 am PDT until May 25 at 5 pm PDT. 
*  The fund is a collaborative effort to support the region’s visual artists who are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
*  It is funded by California Community Foundation (CCF) together with the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts, the Sam Francis Foundation, and the Shepard and Amanda Fairey Foundation. CCI is administering the Fund.
*  The Relief Fund for L.A. County Visual Artists is distributing $655,000 to help the region’s visual artists who represent the various and diverse communities of Los Angeles County.
*  Info from Monica Hubbard's "Wired Women" Pasadena.
*  Learn more here.
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Mon, May 4, benefit:
1 pm Pacific -- 
Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal
*  via the New York Guitar Festival’s Facebook channel, exploring the music of Reverent Gary Davis, the start of a 12-day series with various artists benefitting MusiCares
click here

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Mon, May 4:
3 pm Pacific  --
The Mastersons
weekly show

*  via Facebook
click here

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BENEFIT from New Orleans & elsewhere, via Cyberia
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Mon, May 4:
4 pm Pacific -- 
Questlove
*  via Northwell Health’s YouTube and Questlove’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
*  click here: 
https://youtu.be/qwG5Cv_46lo

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Mon, May 4:
4:30 pm Pacific -- 
Emmet Cohen
*  modern jazz pianist, weekly, via Quobuz’s Facebook page
click here:
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Mon, May 4:
5 pm Pacific -- 
Robbie Fulks
*  via Facebook
click here

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Mon, May 4:
6 pm Pacific -- 
Grace Potter
weekly show

*  via YouTube
*  click here

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Tuesday, May 5th

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Today's news and events (from here onward) are updated in the May 5th edition! 

So, go there, already!

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Tuesday's online concert, etc, action

(as far as we got here before we went to the new edition and added more there)
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Tue, May 5:
Available through today's performance... 
"What Do We Need to Talk About" -- If you love theater, head to The Public Theater website which says, "The Public Theater is theater of, by, and for all people. Artist-driven, radically inclusive, and fundamentally democratic, The Public continues the work of its visionary founder Joe Papp as a civic institution engaging, both on-stage and off, with some of the most important ideas and social issues of today." 
* Public Theater has some wonderful plays available, including this one made especially for these coronavirus times. But this one is available only through May 5.
*  Learn more here.
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Tue, May 5:
9 am Pacific -- 
"The 'New Normal' FREE webinar series"  continues live, presented by HutDogs.
Join in Tuesday, May 5 at 9 am Pacific for part 2 of their look at Eventbrite. "We are excited to have a representative from Eventbrite as a guest speaker," say the helpful HutDogs technogeeks.

You can register for Tuesday's webinar at:

*  When you register, let them know what you would like to learn more about.
WATCH previous sessions on-demand at: https://www.hutdogs.com/the-new-normal-webinars/
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Tue, May 5:
1 pm Pacific -- 
Amythyst Kiah*  via the New York Guitar Festival’s Facebook channel, exploring the music of Reverent Gary Davis, the start of a 12-day series with various artists benefitting MusiCares
*  click here
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Tue, May 5:
5 pm Pacific -- 
"Go Fact Yourself,” a special first-time-ever live video edition of the hit quiz show podcast "that makes smart celebrities look dumb... and then smart again," as “Ask Me Another” host Ophira Eisenberg and singer-songwriter-podcaster Jonathan Coulton are in the hot seats for the show’s debut on KPPC's virtual stage. Hosts J. Keith van Straaten and Helen Hong invite super-secret guest experts to try to stump Ophira and Jonathan in their self-proclaimed areas of expertise. Info from Monica Hubbard's "Wired Women" Pasadena. Tune-in to KPPC online, here.
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Tue, May 5:
6 pm Pacific -- 
Switchfoot
weekly show

*  via YouTube
*  click here
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Tue, May 5:
6 pm Pacific -- 
"MALONE AT HOME 6" is BOB MALONE's sixth live cyber concert.
*  A member of JOHN FOGERTY's band and formidable performing/recording artist with his own band, Bob always delivers a fine fun show.
*  Bob says, "I'll be playing some more tunes for you on StageIt. 
*  "Tuesday (5/5) was the night I was supposed to be playing NYC, so I'll be throwing in a couple of New York songs. It's also Cinco De Mayo, so keep the tequila close at hand - that is, of course, if you weren't doing that already. And keep the requests coming - it's been fun excavating the back catalog."
TICKETS HERE - "Pay as little or as much as you want!"

Bob says, "The Malone At Home playlist has just been added to my YouTube channel. Here's one of Karen Nash (that's my wife!) and I harmonizing on Lyle Lovett's "Closing Time," which we've been singing together, well, since before we were married. Be sure to subscribe while you're there - we'll be adding videos weekly!"



















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Wednesday, May 6th

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Wed, May 6: 
1 pm Pacific -- 
Fantastic Negrito*  via the New York Guitar Festival’s Facebook channel, exploring the music of Reverent Gary Davis, the start of a 12-day series with various artists benefitting MusiCares
*  click here

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Wed, May 6:
2 pm Pacific -- 
Robyn Hitchcock and Rhett Miller
*  via Paste’s YouTube
*  click here

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Wed, May 6:
5 pm Pacific -- 
"Whiskey Sour Happy Hour" with Ed Helms and artists TBA
*  presented by the Bluegrass Situation

*  via Facebook
*  click here

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Thursday, May 7th

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Thu, May 7:
1 pm Pacific -- 
Bill Frisell*  via the New York Guitar Festival’s Facebook channel, exploring the music of Reverent Gary Davis, the start of a 12-day series with various artists benefitting MusiCares
*  click here

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Thu, May 7:
5 pm Pacific -- 
Robbie Fulks
*  via Mercury Lounge Tulsa’s Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
click here

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Friday, May 8th

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Fri, May 8:
1 pm Pacific -- 
Don Flemons*  via the New York Guitar Festival’s Facebook channel, exploring the music of Reverent Gary Davis, the start of a 12-day series with various artists benefitting MusiCares
*  click here
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Fri, May 8:
1 pm Pacific -- 
Hayes Carll and Tommy Emmanuel
via Paste’s YouTube

*  click here
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Fri, May 8:
Time tba
Monthly "NORTHWEST SEAPORT CHANTEY SING" 
*  The long-running monthly chantey sing at Seattle's maritime museum has successfully gone online. 
*  There were 75 participants in April, hailing from as far afield as Alaska, Maryland, and Denmark.  
*  The next online chantey sing is May 8.  Get an invite by registering for their maritime music emails here.
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Saturday, May 9th

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Sat, May 9th:
5 pm Pacific -- 
Allison Moorer
*  via Facebook
*  click here

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Sat, May 9th:
5 pm Pacific -- 
" GRAND OLE OPRY" LIVE, this week with BLAKE SHELTON & GWEN STEFANI, TRACE ADKINS and DUSTIN LYNCH
*  via Circle Media’s Facebook
*  click here

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Sat, May 9th:
6 pm Pacific -- 
Brandy Clark
*  via Martin Guitars’ Facebook
*  click here

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Sunday, May 10th

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Sun, May 10, on tv:
8 pm-9 pm Pacific -- 
"SATURDAY NIGHT OPRY" is a re-run of last night's "Grand Ole Opry LIVE," this week with BLAKE SHELTON & GWEN STEFANI, TRACE ADKINS and DUSTIN LYNCH
*  via Circle TV entertainment network, broadcast in L.A. on KDOC.
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Thanks for joining us here at the Acoustic Americana Music Guide!

CHECK BACK HERE for more events, added until a new edition takes over... the basic url always takes you to our latest word.

With a few fine exceptions... most artists are not giving much notice (hint-hint, swift kick in the ass!) before they suddenly decide to do a cyber show. We have been keeping up the best we can...

"One does what one can." ~ The phrase everybody hears from our editor.

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_________________________________________________

We have lots of MUSIC NEWS
features in the works, and they'll
be along as we get them dressed,
shoes tied, cowlicks combed down,
bowties cranked straight, 
and strings tuned.


Find a comfortable spot by the 

wood stove -- you'll prob'ly need to 
grab the cards for solitaire, since you 
can't have somebody over for a round 
of checkers. But we'll be along...
directly, from a safe social distance.
Direct from Cyberia.
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On to the necessary boilerplate...

Boilerplate? What "boilerplate"? Where's the main pressure gauge? And the firebox? How do you add water so it won't blow-up?

Who came up with that goofy term for the basic essential informational stuff? ...obviously some dumbass...

Alright already, it's right down there...

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LEGALESE, CONTACTING US, 'N SUCH...
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Direct to the Guide's current editions /

MOBILE-DEVICE-FRIENDLY

editions load quickly at


Or at

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CONTACT US -- Post Comments / Send Questions / say Howdy at:

Tiedtothetracks (at) Hotmail (dot) com
.
OR USE THE COMMENTS FUNCTION on the Blogspot site.
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Entire contents copyright © 2020, 

Lawrence Wines & Tied to the Tracks.

All rights reserved.

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♪ The ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE endeavors to bring you NEWS – and views of interest to artists everywhere – more specifically to musicians and the creative community and music makers -- and fans of acoustic and Folk-Americana music. That includes both traditional and innovative forms. From the deepest roots to today’s acoustic renaissance, that’s our beat. We provide a wealth of resources, including a HUGE catalog of acoustic-friendly venues (now undergoing a major update), and inside info on FESTIVALS and select performances in Southern California in venues from the monumentally large to the intimately small and cozy. We cover workshops, conferences, and other events for artists and folks in the music industry, and all kinds o’ things in the world of acoustic and Americana and accessible classical music. From washtub bass to musical spoons to oboe to viola to banjo to squeezebox, from Djangostyle to new-fangled-old-time string band music, from sweet Cajun fiddle to bluegrass and pre-bluegrass Appalachian mountain music to all the swamp water roots of the blues and the bright lights of where the music is headed now.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Thanks for sittin' a spell. The cyber porch'll be here anytime you come back from the road.
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We'll be back again soon with music news and more "News of the Non-Trumpcentric Universe." (c)
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Til we catch ya again on the flip side 
in this new decade...
as Buford the Wonder Dog looks on 
and in our best Kathy Baker
"Hee Haw" voice: "THAT's all!"

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Here's a reprint of important info from one of our February editions:

COVID-19 Coronavirus PRACTICAL PRECAUTIONS

(good for avoiding the "regular" flu & colds, too) 

Compiled from medical and emergency responder databases and interview comments. Copy and paste into your phone / post / print / share.

•  Coronavirus lives on inorganic surfaces anywhere from two hours to NINE DAYS; it all seems dependent on temperature, unless it is killed by disinfectant. When tests revealed that, even health care workers were surprised. It brings more emphasis to many of the following points.

•  Get the flu vaccine -- ordinary flu will likely mimic Coronavirus, so avoid being ostracized and quarantined.

•  Wash your hands, a lot: scrub for 20 seconds and wash them often.

•  Stop shaking hands. Don't do "fist bumps" because that's still hand-to-hand contact. And don't become a mad elbow-bumper, because of the next point.

•  Cough into the inside of your elbow, ANY TIME you cough.

•  Keep your hands away from your face -- touching your nostrils, eyes, or mouth brings-in every germ your hands picked-up.

•  Get a little bottle of hand sanitizer on a miniature carabiner. Clip it to your belt loop or purse strap and use it frequently. (Be sure you snap the lid shut, or it'll drain all over your clothes.) You can refill it from the pump bottle by the sink.

• Make your own hand sanitizer if the stores are out. Formula, from a doctor who makes it with her kids: two parts isopropyl alcohol (drugstore alcohol, at least 70% alcohol), one part aloe vera gel, a dash of any essential oil. Works just ss well as store bought stuff.

• Stay home if you're sick -- even if you don't get paid, DON'T be the "Typhoid Mary" that brings a pandemic of this or ANYTHING contagious. If you're "taking one for the team," make it the big team -- ALL of us.

•  Don't be a transporter. Immediately remove shoes inside your front door and change clothes when you get home. Don't plunk-down on the couch until you shed what you were wearing at work or in the store or on the bus or in the coffee bar. Stop tracking everything from the sidewalk onto your kitchen and bathroom floors and your rug.

•  Be mindful of your car. Everything you touch, everywhere, is on your steering wheel. Everywhere you sit is on your car seat. Keep 'em disinfected -- Clorox wipe the wheel, Lysol spray the seats, often.

•  Everything you wear goes in the hamper. No multi-day wearings between washings.

•  Keep track of where Coronavirus and other flus are headed, the latest ways to avoid contagion, and what symptoms go with what disease, by putting the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL in your favorites: www.cdc.gov

•  Call your doctor or public health officials if you become symptomatic, and DON'T "just go" to the doctor or urgent care or ER; everybody else in the waiting room does not have what you have, and vice-versa.

•  Wear a mask when you go to the doctor (remember, everybody else in the waiting room does not have what you have, and vice-versa) -- the check-in counter will give you a surgical mask if you ask, or maybe even tell you it's mandatory. 

•  Don't buy-up all tbe masks that medical responders need. Nearly all the masks in the stores are Dust Masks, made to keep carpenters and other tradesmen from inhaling sawdust. Expecting those to protect you from tiny viruses is like trying to filter water with a tennis racket. Plus, wearing masks everywhere is not a good idea -- without training and lots of practice, you'll contaminate the thing and then breathe a stewpot of microorganisms up-close and personal.


•  Get proper nutrition and plenty of sleep to support your immune system. THAT is THE best way to stay healthy.

•   REALLY IMPORTANT: Think about what you routinely ignore:

   ~  your phone or tablet, which you constantly handle while you're touching everything else in the big, wide world, then keep handling when you're eating (keep your devices disinfected).

   ~  the Kleenex or cloth hankie you pull out of your pocket -- this time your nose or eye gets the side your dirty finger got last time (yeah, duh!)

   ~  door handles & knobs, especially "pull-to-exit" on the restroom door, and all door handles you grab or push.

   ~  gas pump handles -- whatever was deposited on them is now on your steering wheel, and marinading on your hands as you snack while driving.

   ~  restaurant menus, salt and pepper shakers, ketchup and mustard and hot sauce bottles that every unwashed hand touches. Same goes for bins of packaged condiments at fast foodies  or convenience store / gas stations (Use 'em, then use your hand sanitizer.)

   ~  lunch buffet serving spoons, spatulas, tongs that every unwashed hand uses in the food bins (your freshly-washed hands just got contaminated). And if sneeze guard glass panes aren't at the right height or aren't clean, demand a refund and leave.

   ~ coins in change and money, in general -- coins and folding money are germ transit systems. (Back to your little bottle of hand sanitizer.)

   ~ airline & train tray tables -- who knows when they were last cleaned and to what extent? When we saw a baby being changed on one... (bring a little plastic box of Clorox wipes when you travel).


   ~  bring your own food on the airplane -- you're probably doing that, anyway, since they stopped feeding you back when they started charging for carry-on luggage and made you ride with your knees in your armpits. Flight attendants have tested positive -- their hands pour drinks, dispense snacks, and pick-up everybody's garbage. 

   ~  remember to think and act consciously. There is an acute need to be mindful of others, so neither be paranoid reactive nor obliviously ignorant. There was great advice in the old cop show at the end of every briefing: "Be careful out there."

Read AND SHARE The Guide's complete feature story on the COVID-19 Coronavirus in the edition at: https://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2020/02/leap-day-weekend-leaping-into.html

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