Brandi Carlile in Bayfield

We took a little trip last weekend to Bayfield, Wisconsin. Bayfield is a fun destination all on it's own, but we made the trip to go to a concert at the Big Top Chautauqua that is on a ski hill near Bayfield. Our oldest, Brian brought his friend Dan to see the show. We arrived late Friday night so we would have some time to spend touring around Bayfield. This is Brian on the left and Dan on the right, on a ferry boat to visit a nearby island.

Madeline Island is one of the Apostile Islands near Bayfield. It is a beautiful and serene area, known for it's port on Lake Superior, sailing, and apple orchards. The late summer flowers were blooming when we were there.

We wandered around the island for a while...and then caught the ferry back to Bayfield.

Before we knew it, it was time to head to the Big Top.

Brian and his friend Dan...Dan was rocking some fierce plaid....and a cool hat.

The Big Top is a wonderful place to see a show. Almost outdoors, big crowds but it feels small. Great venue. My only complaint at this show were some of the fans...fans that stood for the entire show...thankfully not in front of us.....and fans that talked and then sang off key for most of the show. Seriously? If you have to talk loudly enough to drown out the performers, maybe it's not the best place for a conversation. It's a concert, not a bar. And the singing along part...sometimes it's ok, sometimes it's awesome...but when you pay good money to see a performer live, aren't you there to listen to the music and not someone that drank too much sitting behind you? I guess I turned and looked at them one too many times...they referred to me as the "church mom". Whatever. Sorry...venting over.

On to the show.

The opening act for Brandi Carlile was the Watson Twins. I wasn't familiar with them....their performance was a pleasant surprise.

Twin sisters...both played guitar at times....their harmonies were amazing.

Siblings voices can sound so fantastic together. Listening to twins was a special treat. They joked about performing before Brandi Carlile's band, because Brandi has twin men as her backup....their harmonies were amazing too.

Then it was time for Brandi. What a dynamic performer.

Her voice is wonderful....

...her band is awesome. The twins, the Hanseroth Twins, added so much with out taking over...and that's pretty tough to do.

There was a drummer and a man playing the cello.....but Brandi all on her own was a special treat too.

Here is one of her videos from Youtube.

The show seemed to be wrapping up, but then the Hanseroth Twins came out for an encore. They did "Sounds of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel. Wow.

Here's a Youtube version. I told ya they were good!



After the show Brandi and the Twins signed autographs. She was so genuine and personable.

They asked that no posed shots be taken just to save time...so you'll only see Brian and Dan's profiles....but it's fun to see Brandi and the Twins interacting with the guys.

They liked the "Born to Folk" shirt that Brian had made and was wearing.

They liked Dan's hat...and his plaid too I think.

Dan asked Brandi if she would sign a pick...one of the twins dug one out of his pocket and handed it to her to sign....which she did.

And then Dan brought it over to Brian and handed it to him as a gift. That act of kindness and friendship was the icing on the cake of a wonderful weekend. I'm thankful for my oldest son, for his taste in music, and most of all his taste in friends. I am one lucky mom. I don't think that the talker / singers behind us realized that being a church mom isn't such a bad thing after all.