November 2021

November! Wow, the year is winding down, but there is still some good stuff to look forward to. Here's what we've been up to and what's coming up. Saturday night live-streams: Most Saturday nights since March of 2020 we have played a live-steamed concert on FaceBook, and we will continue to do so in the foreseeable future on any Saturday night that we are free to to do so. Though we will accept in-person concert appearances on a Saturday under the right circumstances, these "Live From Home" concerts are very important to us, and we love how our fans new and old have frequented them and supported them over time. The best way to follow them is to Like or Follow our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RuthAndMaxBloomquistMusic. Also, there is always a link to a fairly recent one on the landing page of our website: https://ruthbloomquist.com, and they are all archived at: https://www.facebook.com/RuthAndMaxBloomquistMusic/live_videos. If you enjoy them or would just like to support us in some way during these difficult times in the music business you can do so at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/RuthBloomquist. THANK YOU! Last month we actually played for live people twice. Once for a Sunday gathering of C3- West Michigan's Inclusive Spiritual Connection in Grand Haven, MI, and once (on a Tuesday) for the Feeding the Soul of the City lunch time concert series at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Muskegon. It felt great to get out and play for live audiences, and both gatherings were very respectful of Covid protocols making it very comfortable to be indoors with a crowd.  Then, for the last five days of October we attended the virtual annual Gathering of the Folk Alliance Region Mid-West (a.k.a. FARM). It's the Mid-West division of Folk Alliance International, and they have been doing a fantastic job of helping the members to learn the ins and outs of performing on-line over the past year and a half or so, as well as encouraging dialog and camaraderie. The gathering was virtual using Zoom and an app called Whova that kept things very well organized. We had opportunities to learn from experts including one-on-one sessions with mentors in a number of areas of the music business and opportunities to showcase what we do via live-streaming. The FARM board of directors and the Conference Director, Annie Capps, are to be congratulated for putting on a wonderful event. Despite the success of this virtual gathering, we have high hopes of seeing all of our fellow FARMers in person next year. In November we are staying local so far with just one opportunity to perform in person. It's for the residents of The Village at the Pines Senior Community in Grand Haven, MI on November 12 at 2:00 in the afternoon. We've played there before and had a great time, so we're really looking forward to it.  In December (so far) we'll be at UM Church of the Dunes in Grand Haven, MI for their Annual Christmas By Candle Light celebration on December 9 a 7:00.This concert will be 30 minutes or so of mostly Holiday material. Thanks for reading. We couldn't do this without you. Happy Thanksgiving! Ruth and Max