Last night was so beautiful. So amazing. Simply breathtaking.

I went to the Wildflower Festival. I bought the tickets for my mom as a Mother's Day gift, and it turned out to be quite a present!!

We got to the venue a bit early, so parking was easy. The night was gorgeous, which was a blessing, because all day I had thought it would rain. I am the queen of buying great tickets, and these were fabulous! My mom bought a coffee, and I bought a tie-dye tee shirt ((I'm wearing it now)). I adore it. We went to our seats, and saw that we were in the center section, about 16 rows from the stage. I've only been closer once, and that was to see The Cure. :0)

First out was Judy Collins. She has the voice of an angel. She was magnificent. I couldn't believe that she was so close. It was surreal.

Next out was Roger McGuinn. I am so in love with him. He's such an amazing talent...he told great stories, and I know he looked at me. He was singing to me. I actually left the concert telling my mom that I wish I could be Roger McGuinn. He's so great!! The crowd gave him a long and well deserved standing ovation. Words do no justice. He is a legend.

Janis Ian came out next. She was so powerful and passionate. She sang 'At Seventeen' and I had the burning sensation of tears building up in my eyes. She was mindblowing. That little lady can really rock. Folk Rock. She even called Britney Spears a slut. MY HERO!

Then, the King himself came out. RICHIE HAVENS!! I have longed to see Richie for such a long time. He is sooooo amazing. I love him. He evokes a spirit inside of me. It's too much to tell. Wow, he was outstanding. Enough said!!

Intermission came, and I went out to the Janis Ian/Richie Havens meet and greet. I was just feet away from meeting my heroes! Regretfully, I didn't approach Janis Ian. I stood there, watching her. Such a presence. She was terrific.

There was a plethora of people to see Richie, so I didn't want to lose my spot. My mom bought me a cd so he could sign it. It was finally my turn, and I stood there and took in his being. Some lady was talking to him, so I had time to just collect my thoughts. Too bad when he turned his attention to me, eye to eye, I melted. I became a shaking, giggling fan. I don't really know what I said to him. He took my hands into his and spoke to me. So amazing!! We talked for what was to me an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes. He signed my cd, "To Carry, A friend forever, Richie Havens"

Okay, so he spelled my name wrong. WHO CARES?!?!

I SPOKE TO RICHIE HAVENS, AND HE SPOKE TO ME!!!!

I floated back to my seat, and Judy Collins was on stage singing 'The City of New Orleans'. I was wandering back to my seat, singing with her. :0)

The concert was soo great. I can't say enough.

At the end, the all sang together. 'Just Like a Woman' ((Richie was lead)), 'Turn! Turn! Turn! ((Roger was lead)), 'AMAZING GRACE'!!! ((Judy sang first, then everyone plus the crowd, then the ladies, then Richie and Roger....)) 'Amazing Grace' was absolutely the highlight of the night. It was transcendental, and powerful. I even cried. Such spirit...wow. That was a trip!

The night ended with Janis on lead singing 'These Boots Were Made for Walking'. They all played close together, and even walked off the stage as they played. HUGE standing ovation, and the house lights came up.

Did I say it was amazing?!?! IT WAS!!!

Wow, I'm still soaring...

Wow Carry! What a great time - thanks for sharing it!

thanks,,,that was fun to read..

Kerry, That is an awesome lineup of folk and folk-rock greats/legends.
I envy you. You now have a memory to cherish for the next hundred years!
One can't help but feel a part of the spirit you experienced just by reading your post.
Your mom has quite a daughter to be proud of!

Oh, my.

I think I'm still in love with Roger McGuinn's guitar.

-Z
who now is REALLY happy

One of the best things I've read here so far, Kerry. You put us all right there with you.

I thought I was the only person in the world who took my mom to see a concert---took her to see Arlo once. My mom is only 20 years older than me, so she liked it. Years later, I took my kids to see Arlo---3 generations!

Would be interested in knowing how many of your friends in your age group like this kind of music?

Thanks everyone for reading my post. After I put it up, I wasn't sure if I should have.
Star, Todd...rock on!
Levi, those are some of the kindest words I've ever had directed toward me! Thanks!
Zowie...I saw the guitar up close and personal!
Thanks, Joe! I must say that I do have some friends who like certain artists of this genre, but not to the extent that I do. It's mostly people just figuring out that there was music before Mtv. Give them time...with my encouragement/influence, they'll come around! LOL

Where I work, Kerry, we have a lot of turnover & everybody who leaves is replaced by a recent college grad. My coworkers are getting younger & younger than me.

This conversation actually took place last year between me & a coworker:

"I'm going to see Arlo Guthrie in concert tonight."
(Silence)
"You know, Alice's Restaurant? It was a song & a movie?"
"Never heard of it, man."
"He did City of New Orleans. It was a hit song."
"Never heard of it, man."
"His father was Woody Guthrie."
"Don't know him, man."
"Woody wrote This Land is Your Land. You musta sung it in 3rd grade music class?"
"Not me, man."
"Arlo played at Woodstock."
"I've heard of THAT!"

Hahaha...welcome to my world, joe!
More often than not, people don't know who certain musicians/songs/etc. are. I constantly give my sister pop quizzes for each song on the radio. Sure does make for some interesting car rides! LOL!
There are a lot of people who are...second-generation fans. ((For lack of a better term)). They are all around, but mostly hiding in the woodwork.
In most instances, people can ((obviously)) recognize huge events ((Woodstock)) or big name bands ((Beatles)).
A true second-generation fan--to me--would have to know Arlo!

Kerry,

You too have been blessed with the "Seeds of Life" from Richie Havens.

"Don't take nothing but a dream"

It's a good thing he was at Woodstock or it would take much longer to explain things to people.

Kerry, tahnk you for sharing and I am so glad you and your Mother got to share such a wonderful event...

This combination setlist report and experience shared of the Judy Collins Wildflower Festival is the result of Kerry sharing her experience which infected me with the curiousity to experience it for myself. Had she not have posted what she did, I probably never would have bothered with it. So I credit her with every word here. This is just my way of saying thanks and allowing me to share with you what I believe was the very last show of this tour. Rumor has it that all the remaining scheduled dates of this tour have been cancelled. I don't know why, I just hope and pray that it's not a health-related reason with any of the gang.
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Any similarities between my accounts and Kerry's are purely coincidentally Arlo's fault! It was Friday, Aug. 3rd, under the stars at Starlight Theater. After reading Kerry's post, I checked to see if the Festival was coming to town here. It was! Cool! I asked my daughter Bree if she would be interested in going. Some skepticism at first. I had her read Kerry's post, and she said, "Let's go!" It also qualified as a semi-late birthday present from me to her. A quick call to the ticket office got us 2 seats, about 40 ft. back from center stage. We too, arrived a little early, which gave us plenty time to buy some lemondade and cotton candy, toss some pennies in the fountain, take in the surrounding artwork. We took our seats and began analyzing the aging hippies other than myself who were still coming in taking their seats. A magical spirit of yesteryear was trying to find its way into the atmosphere of the venue. The weather.... couldn't have been more perfect. At 7:35, Judy Collins gracefully walked out on stage wearing a very cool outfit of white dress jacket with white slacks, a white blouse with silver sparkle and light pink dress boots. After receiving a very warm welcome from the audience, she started her set off with playing "Both Sides Now" on her 12 string with accompaniment on piano from Russell Walden. Her next song was a beautiful acappella called, "Kerry Dancers." This lady still has an amazing voice. Her next song was "Someday Soon." She told some funny stories and jokes in between songs. Judy, don't you know that folksingers are supposed to stop right in the middle of a song to tell a story ? Judy then welcomed out legendary Byrd, Roger McGuinn. King of the Rickenbacker guitar whose legendary trademark sound is rooted so deeply in folk-rock history. Roger walked out, seemingly in very good mood sporting a goatee, wearing a black vest, plaid shirt, black pants, black shoes. (sock color - n/a). He picked up the Ricky and after a short intro, he started his set off with "My Back Pages." He then told the story of Dylan and Mr. Tambourine Man, he played it Dylan style first, then McGuinn style. He told the story of "Ballad Of Easy Rider" which led right into the song, followed by "John, The Revelator" which required audience participation, followed by "The Bells Of Rhymney" with respect to Pete Seeger, prior to. His next song was "Eight Miles High" which developed into a rather lengthy, yet very impressive display of Roger's incredible acoustical talent which brought the audience to its feet in a standing ovation. His next song was, "So You Want To Be A Rock n' Roll Star." Next up, a little lady somewhat small in stature was invited out on to the stage by Roger. Enter... Janis Ian. If you've never seen Janis perform live before, as I have never, and you expect her to just stand there in one spot singing a few mellow folk songs.... WRONG !!! Think again ! Kerry said this lady can rock and rock she does ! She plays a very loud guitar! She plays a customized Janis Ian signature model acoustic made by Santa Cruz. This sweet little lady is truly a crowd pleaser! She was wearing an orangish-red button shirt with small black print and black stretch pants, white socks and black shoes. She started her set off with "Society's Child" followed by "At Seventeen" followed by "Take No Prisoners" which was taken into areas of acoustical territory where few, if any woman have trespassed before. Janis commenced to display her extraordinary fretboard wizardry for what seemed like 20-25 minutes. She played with authority and she knew what she was doing when she personified the spirit of Jimi Hendrix, commanding special effects of feedback and wah pedal. She had brought the audience to their feet, cheering for more. She left with Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'". Last solo performer, but certainly not in any way, the least, Janis welcomed out Richie Havens. The crowd stood up. Richie was wearing a bluish-purple, silkish-like, full length African robe and his traditional giant rings on every finger. He opened up with "All Along The Watchtower" followed by "San Fransisco Bay Blues" followed by "The Klan" (?) followed by ... ha, two other songs that got by me. After those two mystery songs was, "Here Comes The Sun" followed by "God Bless The Child" followed by "Freedom"....it was Woodstock '69 Revisited for the duration of this song. He ended by jumping way up and doing an amazing leg kick. WOW ! We just saw Richie Havens at his best, in perfect form.

<center>********* INTERMISSION********* </center>
Time to go meet wildwoman Janis, up close and personal! The long waiting line did not bother us. We would wait. It took no time for us before we found ourselves standing right in front of Janis Ian. I took a deep breath and vowed not to faint. Her face was lit up with one big happy smile. Janis is one of the most humblest, most genuine, most down-to-earth human beings I have ever met. She has this natural, intoxicating spirit about her that makes you feel very comfortable and at ease when talking to her.
We shook hands, we talked, we laughed. Bree and Janis talked about Britney Spears. Janis commented, "Oh, I get compared to her all the time!" I still remain confused though, on how the conversation went from Britney Spears to Arlo Guthrie ! "He's such a good guy! You tell him he owes me a phone call, or at least an e-mail, will ya?", asked Janis. "Janis, I will definately pass that on to him, I promise!" I replied. She autographed the only thing we had for her to sign, which was a one dollar bill. We watched as she magically transformed the value of that dollar into a priceless souvenier for Bree to treasure forever. Bree and I experienced the floating phenomenom that Kerry described as we navigated over the crowd back to our seats.

<center>******** SHOWTIME *********</center>

Judy Walks back out on stage, with same style outfit only this time she is pretty in pink. She opens up the 2nd half of the show with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" injecting a few bars from "Leaving On A Jet Plane" followed by "My Funny Valentine" followed by "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" followed by "City Of New Orleans" which didn't get sung without audience participation while Russell, remember Russell? played an impressive piano arrangement of CONO. Judy then asks Russell if it's OK if she take a turn at the piano. Russell consented. She sings and plays "Blizzard". The whole gang, Roger, Janis, & Richie are invited back out on stage to help sing, in four-part harmony, "Thank You." McGuinn then picks up Rick and they all sing, "Turn! Turn! Turn!" (audience sings too) Hey, it's not everyday Bree and I get to sing in harmony with Judy Collins, Roger McGuinn, Janis Ian & Richie Havens. Kerry know what I'm talkin' about.
We could sense the magical evening was drawing to its close within the next few songs. The four legendary greats left us with Dylan's, "Just Like A Woman" followed by a very moving "Amazing Grace" where everybody sang it just like Kerry described. It sent chills up and down our spine during this song. We had to make sure that Richie Havens got to see us before we left the venue. There he was, signing autographs as we were heading out. When it came our turn, we were greeted by a true friend indeed! He was instantly, our brother! It was awesome to behold his prescence standing before us. We had him too, autograph a one dollar bill to add to Bree's priceless collection. A silly joke about Woodstock '69 made Richie burst out loud in laughter which had us all going. How can I put a price on that evening ? Simply put... You can't.
Kerry, Bree and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sending us to witness and be a part of this magical gathering of true folk heros! THANKS!

Levi~

I am so glad that my words influenced you to that extent. I thank you for posting your experience, which made mine so much better because of your touching dedication.

I think it was a wonderful festival to unite the generations. I went with my mother, and you with your daughter. I hope Bree had an amazing time! Sure sounds like she did!

Why didn't I think of having Janis sign a dollar? I didn't even say a word to her. Not because I didn't want to, but moreover, what does one say to someone so powerful? I'm lucky I didn't pass out in the midst of rambling to Richie Havens!

The rest of the Wildflower Festival has been cancelled? That news simply breaks my heart. That was one of the most magical evenings I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

Again, thank you, Levi, for your gracious post. You have made my day! I am so glad you had the chance to experience the show as I did!