A busy week and weekend, the focal point being Beth McDonald's concert at the Avalon Theatre on Saturday night. Shhhhh... don't tell Beth I posted this :) The "green room" is not exactly near the stage, and feels about 6 floors down. If you would have asked Beth a year ago if she had any plans of performing again, she would have said "no" - while smiling at you. Actually, I think she knew that she wasn't "finished", she just wasn't making plans. When the Avalon Theatre reached out to Beth for a return engagement (originally scheduled for February, and cancelled by the blizzard), she had no show, no band, and still no plans - but she did say yes. What followed was a roller coaster ride that resulted in Beth hiring my band (after she hired other musicians on her own, along with me, for the February show, and I was the only one “standing” on the new date after the cancellation), and then, in literally a number of weeks, putting a new CD together of all original material (some of it written during the process). Suffice to say, we've been busy (as life, and numerous other projects, continued while we all scurried around trying to nail this down). What emerged from all this was a solid camaraderie, a genuine team effort, a wonderful new CD ("Take it from Me"), and a performance that warmed the hearts of all who attended. Beth is back - but don't ask her about her plans. If you do, she'll probably smile at you...

PS - Beth - If you found this, take comfort in knowing that this blog is among the lesser travelled "Joe Holt" pages on-line, and be glad I didn't post the photo on Facebook :) Well, now that I think about it, I could post a link...