Mustang, Duncan, Perkins, Meeker

Our first four programs of the summer have already come and gone! The rest of my summer schedule is here: http://www.montyharper.com/Schedule.html

I went to Mustang on my own last Thursday the 29th and helped kick their summer program off with the Sugar Free All-Stars! Lisa and Evalyn travelled with me to Duncan on the 5th for a jam-packed performance and a songwriting workshop that afternoon with the teens. Today Lisa and I visited Perkins and Meeker for two more jam-packed shows!

The theme this summer is science! I'm pleased to be able to present my "Songs From the Science Frontier" program at the libraries! The songs were inspired by conversations with scientists about their research, and I present them along with a slideshow that allows me to introduce the kids to the scientists and their work and lets the audience follow along with lyrics on screen. So far I've had a great response. It's going to be a fun summer!!

Lisa has been advancing the slides when she can be with me, so her photo-taking opportunities are limited. Still she's done a fantastic job grabbing some memorable moments with the camera. Enjoy!

Great crowd at Duncan!

An audience member at Duncan helps demonstrate the moves for "Bat Man." 

"Roundy Round" in Duncan.

Posing after the workshop in Duncan. The pirate costume was from a recent trip to Disney!

Snap those toothy jaws in Perkins!

Roundy Round in Perkins

Doing the Stegasaur Swing, Perkins.

"Let me hear you roar!" Perkins.

Seizmosaur Stomp, Perkins.

"Spring those sharpened claws" in Meeker

Catching Up

Here are a slew of photos from last Thursday at Perry and Mustang.

But first I want to share an email with you that I received from one of the dads who saw the show at the Mustang library, and likes to perform my songs himself for his son at home:

"The Mustang Library Show was awesome, loved the show and so did my son. We all love your CD's especially The SLimy Green COncert Thingamuhoochee ... uh yeah, that one. Having the song lyrics with chords on them was a super wonderful Idea.. I really like playing the Silly SOng and Love That Baby (I change the gender in my cover lol) for my son Hunter. I named him after Jimi Hendrix (middle name) and Hunter S Thompson (first name). He must have good musical taste...because he loves your stuff too." - Ron Horschler

Thanks, Ron, emails like that really make my day! I'm glad you and Hunter enjoyed the show and my CDs!

Ron has his own blog, here, with lots of cool music videos. 

Now on to the photos. The first two are from the Perry library, where I performed in the outdoor pavilion. The wind blew my banner down, but other than that it was fun to be outside singing on a sunny morning.

Then it was on to the Mustang library where we met Eric Herman and his family between shows. Eric is another children's musician - in fact if you like my songs, you're sure to like his as well. He's been on the road with his family in their big colorful RV traveling across the country for about four months! If you catch one of his library "bug" shows this summer, you might hear him play one of my songs!

Here's me and Eric:

This is me on the left, then Eric's daughter, Evee, and two other kids watching my daughter Evalyn and Eric's other daughter Becca put on a puppet show. Evee is short for Evelyn, by the way. It's not too often we get two of them in the same room!

For some reason Lisa loves to photograph me during "Silly Song":

Here is Becca dancing during "Pop Up Sit Down," with Evee and Evalyn crouching in the foreground:

Evalyn says she was just happy in this shot:

Oklahoma Storyteller Chester Weems was also in the audience. He took the following photos and sent them to me. This one shows how big the room is!

Here I am signing autographs after the program:

It was a busy day, followed by a busy weekend because I had a Children's Music Network board meeting to attend. Tomorrow, I'll be taping some segments for Tri-City TV in Bartlesville, and I have a 2:00 program at the library in Collinsville. 

I'd better get some sleep!

Mustang

Evalyn was fine today - her stomach thing yesterday seems to have been of the 12 hour variety. We had a great show in Mustang, and she gave one of her best performances yet of "Oklahoma Annie."

See the balloon Evalyn is holding in the top photo? It's a wedding balloon, which the librarian told us had been stuck on the high ceiling of the meeting room for two weeks. It chose today to drift its way down. What's more it came down right behind me while I was singing. Not only that (remember it's a wedding balloon) it chose the "went to town and picked me out a wife" verse of "My Oklahoma Home, It Blowed Away" as the perfect moment to join me on stage. We all got a big chuckle out of that!

Tomorrow, we get the day off, so to speak - that is to say we'll be at home trying to catch up on a million home things that need doing. Next week - Norman, Purcell, Moore, Noble, Newcastle, McLoud, & Tecumseh!

See you at the library!