Square Peg Shows

Last week eight of us from the Square Peg Alliance left our house in a van borrowed from Downhere and set off on an epic adventure. OK, maybe not epic, but very fun nevertheless. We were able to coordinate all of our crazy schedules and play a show in St. Louis before making our way to the Cornerstone Music Festival in Illinois. It was a great reminder of how we all began in music- crowded and laughing in a van driving hours and hours to play a few shows. Being around all of those talented musicians is like a shot of creativity- it makes me want to be a better musician and songwriter. Sitting there at the St. Louis show listening to the rounds of songs was inspiring to say the least. Every one of them is different and every one of them is great. It is the kind of atmosphere where if you want to sing or play on something you just jump up and do it. We stayed with Ben's parents that night and had amazing food, speed scrabble and many laughs.

It was my first time to Cornerstone music festival and I went with some trepidation. Outdoor music festivals have not been on the top of my list to play due to past experiences. When you are a singer-songwriter with two acoustic guitars and people just want to dance and mosh performing can feel futile. As we pulled up and saw a sea of piercings and mohawks I wondered if anyone would care in the least about our music. Well, I am still old and uncool but the experience could not have been better. We had a three and a half hour set before Derek Webb, the other member of the Square Peg Alliance, performed and it was one of the most fun concerts I have ever been a part of. The weather was perfect, the audience listened and was engaged and I got to hear new and old songs from my friends. What a gift. We even got to stay and hear some of Derek's set before heading to the hotel to get a few hours of sleep for the long drive the next day. Thanks to all who came and thanks to Cornerstone for inviting us. I hope we get to do it again next year. If you want to see more pictures of the trip and all the places we ate along the way (tons of useless information!) you can become my facebook friend and check out the Square Peg Alliance Cornerstone album.