So a few weeks ago, my dear friend and collaborator, Ginny Mac, invited me to attend the annual Bob Wills Day music festival in Turkey, TX – a gorgeous little town known for being the birth place of Bob Wills, who if you don't know, is considered the father and co-founder of Western Swing music. Western Swing, to me, is this amazing melting pot of swing music (1920s-40s popular music), traditional country, cowboy-folk music, blues, and many other styles. It kind of reminds me a lot of Django Reinhardt's music—with regard to its origin (with combining regional folk music with popular music of the time). While I was there, we performed at The Church of Western Swing, picked some tunes at various jam sessions (many I didn't know–a good thing!), made some new friends, explored the town, and had many laughs in-between. I loved getting to know the Western Swing community and family. What a beautiful music built by beautiful people – I hope to return in years to come!
