Cayamo Cruise and Ann Arbor Folk Festival
This Must Be the Place, Reunion Kitchen + Drink, Patty Griffin, Aryna Sabalenka, Toddler Table Turner
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. I hope you enjoy the picks and pics.
Fave Five 18: Cayamo Cruise and Ann Arbor Folk Festival. Maggie’s Magnificent Manuscript (This Must Be the Place), Bountiful Beach Brunch (Reunion Kitchen + Drink), Super Singer-Songwriter (Patty Griffin), Aryna’s Australian Aces (Aryna Sabalenka), and a Toddler Table Turner.
This Saturday will mark the 15th anniversary of the first Cayamo music cruise, held February 4-9, 2008. Billed as a “Journey through song," it was a fantastic experience. Barb and I sailed on the first ten of these cruises, and I joined two more. I won’t be on the 15th edition sailing February 10-17, 2023, but I have many fond memories of the twelve I was on.
When I learned that Patty Griffin would be on the first Cayamo in 2008 along with Shawn Colvin, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, and Brandi Carlile, I knew that Barb and I had to be on it, too. I saw Patty on Cayamo in 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2017. She will return as a headliner on this year’s cruise. In her intimate Q&A session held on the first one, I asked her which artist she would like to see on the second cruise, but she replied that it was too hard a question to answer.
Barb and I attended the 1988 Ann Arbor Folk Festival and it rekindled my love of folk music. It led me to The Ark where I have seen hundreds of shows since then. Due to spending the winters in warmer climates, we are no longer able to attend the January festivals, but the ones were at in the late 80s and early 90s were great.
The 46th festival was held last weekend. Patty was one of the featured performers. She was the headliner for the Friday night show 20 years ago.
Book Best Bet
This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell
Barb loved O’Farrell’s Hamnet so she ordered two more of her books. I brought this one along with us to California and read it over the past week. The story moves all over the world, back and forth across the years, and with a varied cast of unique characters. It is a wonderful, deeply affecting novel, and I loved it.
From Amazon: An irresistible love story, an unforgettable family. Best-selling author Maggie O’Farrell captures an extraordinary marriage with insight and laugh-out-loud humor in what Richard Russo calls “her breakout book.” Perfect for readers of Where’d You Go, Bernadette.
Meet Daniel Sullivan, a man with a complicated life. A New Yorker living in the wilds of Ireland, he has children he never sees in California, a father he loathes in Brooklyn, and a wife, Claudette, who is a reclusive ex–film star given to pulling a gun on anyone who ventures up their driveway. Claudette was once the most glamorous and infamous woman in cinema before she staged her own disappearance and retreated to blissful seclusion in an Irish farmhouse.
But the life Daniel and Claudette have so carefully constructed is about to be disrupted by an unexpected discovery about a woman Daniel lost touch with twenty years ago. This revelation will send him off-course, far away from wife, children, and home. Will his love for Claudette be enough to bring him back?
From Wikipedia: Maggie O'Farrell, RSL (born May 27, 1972 in Coleraine, Northern Ireland), is a novelist from Northern Ireland. Her acclaimed first novel, After You'd Gone, won the Betty Trask Award, and a later one, The Hand That First Held Mine, the 2010 Costa Novel Award. She has twice been shortlisted since for the Costa Novel Award: for Instructions for a Heatwave in 2014 and This Must Be the Place in 2017. She appeared in the Waterstones 25 Authors for the Future. Her memoir I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death reached the top of the Sunday Times bestseller list. Her novel Hamnet won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2020, and the fiction prize at the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Awards.
Restaurant Recommendation
Reunion Kitchen + Drink 1118 E Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
On Saturday, I met Tracy and her family at East Beach in Santa Barbara. After a walk along the water, we met Kathy at this waterfront restaurant for brunch. The setting, service, food, and company were perfect.
I ordered Short Rib Sliders with crispy onions and horseradish cream:
Kathy had Chilaquiles with crispy corn tortillas, salsa ranchero, jack cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, and two fresh eggs over easy:
From the restaurant’s site: When Scott and Rosemary McIntosh heard of a unique restaurant space available in Anaheim Hills, they decided to create and develop their newest concept, Reunion Kitchen + Drink. With over 50 years of combined restaurant experience, the pair knows exactly what it takes to make a new restaurant successful. Their first Reunion Kitchen + Drink location opened in December 2013, the perfect time of year to introduce restaurant goers to their Modern Comfort cuisine.
It wasn’t long before Reunion Kitchen + Drink became recognized as one of the top restaurants in Orange County. With such success brought a second Reunion Kitchen + Drink location in 2016, this time closer to the coast in Laguna Beach. Today, the Reunion Kitchen + Drink brand has expanded to a total of 3 locations, following the opening of the newest Santa Barbara location just steps from the sand on East Beach.
Marvelous Musician
I first heard Patty on WUMB in Boston and bought her albums. In a chat with a group of friends I met on Cayamo cruises, we each chose a Mount Rushmore of favorite female singer-songwriters. My choices were Patty Griffin, Nanci Griffith, Kim Richey, and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
In addition to four times on Cayamo, I have seen Patty at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor on April 28, 2005; at Power Center for The Performing Arts in Ann Arbor on October 10, 2015; at The Ark in Ann Arbor on November 7, 2016; and at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on April 17, 2019.
From Wikipedia: Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964 in Old Town, Maine) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs have been covered by numerous musicians, including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, Kelly Clarkson, Rory Block, Dave Hause, Sugarland, Bette Midler, and The Chicks. In 2007, Griffin received the Artist of the Year award from the Americana Music Association, and her album Children Running Through won the award for Best Album. In 2011, Griffin's album Downtown Church won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album, and her 2019 self-titled album won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.
“Useless Desires”
Singer-Songwriters Set Sail on Cayamo Cruise by Craig Shelburne
Feb. 7: What is it about Patty Griffin's music that affects me so much? I discovered her during a tender time in my life, so I guess I allow myself to feel vulnerable when she sings. I have noticed one thing about myself on this cruise: When I recognize the first few chords of a sad song in concert, I clench my fists, look down for a second and brace myself. I have long felt a deep, personal connection with her songs, so it's emotionally overwhelming to be in a theater of folks who love her just as much as I do. Emmylou Harris, who got on the boat today, sang a few songs with her, too. Griffin often says that "Heavenly Day" is her first love song, but I always think of "When It Don't Come Easy" as the true reflection of an ideal relationship, and it chokes me up every time.
“Mary” (with Shawn Colvin and Emmylou Harris) on Cayamo 2008
Artists returned to Hill Auditorium on Saturday night for the first time since 2020 for the 46th Ann Arbor Folk Festival. The festival took a two-year hiatus, with a virtual show in 2021 and a canceled event in 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Performers included Grammy award-winning Patty Griffin.
“Rain”
My Playlist
Sports Star
I was impressed by Sabalenka’s performance in the final of the Australian Open over the weekend. She was a very deserving champion.
From Wikipedia: Aryna Siarhiejeŭna Sabalenka (born May 5, 1998 in Minsk, Belarus) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and world No. 1 in doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Sabalenka has won one major singles title, at the 2023 Australian Open, and two major doubles titles, at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open, both partnering with Elise Mertens. She has won 18 career titles in total, twelve in singles and six in doubles.
Sabalenka was relatively unknown until 2017 when she rose to prominence by leading the Belarus Fed Cup team to a runner-up finish with Aliaksandra Sasnovich, despite both of them being ranked outside the top 75 at the time. Following the 2017 Fed Cup, she began having more success on the WTA Tour, reaching four finals in 2018 and achieving eight top ten victories. Sabalenka continued to excel in singles in 2019 with three titles in China, highlighted by a defence of her Wuhan Open title at the Premier 5 level and by winning the WTA Elite Trophy at the end of the year. She finished both 2018 and 2019 ranked No. 11 in the world in singles. Sabalenka also began playing doubles regularly in 2019. With Mertens as her partner, she completed the Sunshine Double by winning the two Premier Mandatory tournaments in March, the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open. After the US Open doubles title later in the year, she also qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time.
Sabalenka has a very aggressive style of play, often accumulating high numbers of winners and unforced errors. With her height, she also has a very powerful serve.
'Speechless' Sabalenka wins Australian Open for first Slam crown by Daniel Hicks
"I fought so hard to win this one. I think the tennis was great. I really enjoyed this battle."
The finale was a captivating match of brutal groundstrokes, precision serving and wonderful rallies from two players at the top of their game. It was a fitting end to two weeks of drama and shocks at Melbourne Park.
"I need a few more days to realize what just happened," Sabalenka told Australia's Channel Nine. "Oh my god, I'm speechless, to be honest."
Picture Pun
What does Julian bring to the table? A scooter, that’s what.
