Thank you Town of Ashland!

I love driving through town during the month of August and being welcomed to town by the Bluemont in Ashland banner! It's been in the same location on Route 54 west just before Route 1 for the past eight summers and we appreciate it very much. Thanks Town of Ashland for supporting Bluemont so well! Make sure you check out the banner each week for details about the band playing... can't wait to see the Hula Honeys!

so you may still be wondering about the new location...

I had the pleasure of spending the evening a few nights ago with my friends Jen and Ann at our new location, just in front of the Blackwell Auditorium on the campus of Randolph-Macon College.  We met there to check things out, specifically, the lighting, the sun, the lawn and the brick area just in front of the steps where the bands will play.  We were curious about the shade and wanted to figure out the new layout for the volunteer tables, community group tables, lanterns and how the seating might feel.  After spending about three hours there, the best way I can summarize all that we learned is: It's going to be wonderful!!  No doubt about it, we will miss being on the lawn at The Center as it has been our home for the past eight years and we are so thankful. However, our new location will be super great too- you'll see! Plenty of lawn for blankets and dancing (in your bare feet if you like!), plenty of brick space for your chairs (if you'd rather) and dancing too, beautiful large trees to provide lots of shade and drum roll please...indoor restrooms! (no more port-o-potties lurking behind trees!) So, as always, the concerts will be held outside unless the weather has other plans and if so, it's just a quick move right inside the auditorium. What could be easier?! If you're local and you have a chance, walk on by there and check it out! We think you'll like it too!

Our first concert of the summer: The Hula Honeys!

What a great way to start our ninth summer of concerts:
The Hula Honeys!  Come on over to Randolph-Macon's Blackwell Auditorium and sit in the grass or on the beautiful brick plaza and enjoy some music under the stars!

The Hula Honeys are known for performing the enchanting music of Hawaii’s territorial days, songs that take you back to Boat Days and Waikiki’s golden era. Blending vintage Hapa Haole songs with hip jazz classics, they create a swinging sweet sound all their own. Winners of the prestigious Na Hoku Hano Hano award 2010 for best Hawaiian Jazz album "Girl Talk."

The Hula Honeys have played at The Kennedy Millennium Center Stage, various Ukulele Festivals, and regularly perform in their hometown of Maui where they are also DJ Friday afternoons on Mana'o Radio.

For their Bluemont concerts, the Hula Honeys will be joined by bassist Ralph Gordon and multi-instrumentalist Marcy Marxer.
You can check out more about them as well as listen to a few songs on their website: http://www.thehulahoneys.com/

so, you may be wondering...why the change in venue? Glad you asked!

Change is good, right? of course! This summer, our concert series will continue to be outside (as long as the weather behaves) but has moved just a few blocks away from our previous location of the Hanover Arts and Activities Center, to just in front of the Blackwell Auditorium on the grounds of  Randolph-Macon College.

We have been honored to share the lawn with The Center for the past eight years and have had many wonderful evenings under the stars. We are more than grateful to have been able to "borrow" the lawn on Sunday evenings and use the building to host our musicians, feed them and store equipment. Thank you Hanover Arts and Activities Center so much!

The decision to move locations has followed many discussions with Bluemont staff, The Center, the Town of Ashland and Randolph-Macon College and certainly was not an easy one.  By changing location, our concerts can be held on the front steps of the auditorium, eliminating the need for weekly set up and take down of the large tent and stage, port-o-potties (whew!) and will provide quick access to our rain location which happens to be the auditorium, just behind the steps. How easy is that?!

So, come on over to Blackwell Auditorium, on the campus of Randolph-Macon College and enjoy some music under the starts each Sunday evening in August. You'll still find some grass for your dancing toes and now a hard surface if you'd prefer to pop your chair there.
See you soon!

Bluemont Season Nine: this summer, just around the corner on the campus of Randolph-Macon College!

Tell us what YOU think!

We are so lucky to have the most wonderful volunteers on the planet who help with everything for Bluemont in Ashland including sound, set-up, outreach, hosting the bands, flyer/poster distribution, e-mailing, fundraising, flower arrangements, and lantern set-up- just to name a few things that make it possible to have our concerts on the lawn each summer!  This year, starting with last weeks music, two of our favorite volunteers, Ann Glave and Jeremy Witt developed and distributed mini-surveys to find out what YOU think! We asked questions relating to membership, concert location, concert days and times, outreach and provided a comments section as well.  We are so happy to have received so many positive comments and want to say THANK YOU for taking the time to complete a survey if you were on the lawn last week. If you haven't completed one yet, look for Jeremy (shorter, great hair and very nice!) walking around handing them out or visit us at the Friends Table and we'll give you one ourselves! See you soon!

Our 3rd Concert is this weekend with King Teddy!

Our 3rd concert is just a few days away and we're ready to put on our dancing shoes for a little swing music with King Teddy, Swing for the Modern Age!  King Teddy was recently nominated for Best Swing Band at the Wammie Awards (Washington Area Music Association). King Teddy's original music reflects the brief period when swing was becoming early rock and roll. The sound is Beatles meets Prima, making for feel-good music. 
Check out more about their music and the band by visiting their website:
http://www.kingteddy.com/index.html

We can't wait to get our swing on! Come on out and dance on the grass under the stars this Sunday, August 19 at 7:00!

Community Group Spotlight

Rachel and Roger Reynolds, Co-Founders CJ's Thumbs Up Foundation

We are so glad to be friends with Rachel and Roger Reynolds of CJ's Thumbs Up Foundation and honored to be able to help support their mission:

To provide financial assistance to families of children with chronic and life threatening illnesses through individual giving and partnerships with organizations that share similar goals.

To find out more about their story and help support their wonderful organization, visit http://www.cjstuf.org/

We welcome Rachel and Roger back to Bluemont this Sunday, August 19 so please visit their table, buy a goodie and talk to them about ways to lend your support. Thanks!

Congratulations Lily!

Congratulations to Lily Dunning, Bluemont's New Executive Director! We love her so much and can't imagine a more perfect fit as she takes over all the day to day operations of all of the Bluemont communities.  Her dad, Peter Dunning tells us he is taking a bit more time to be with his family- hmmm, we loved seeing him last Sunday though! Lily is working incredibly hard with all the Bluemont Communities, especially focusing on fundraising and community involvement.  To meet Lily, come on out to one of our concerts and we'll introduce you! You'll love her as much as we do!

Elizabeth, co-chair and wonderful Lily!

Our 2nd concert is here and we're so excited to welcome The Guy Mendilow Band back to Ashland!

It's here! Sunday, August 12 is our 2nd concert of the summer and we are more than excited to welcome The Guy Mendilow Band back to the Center of the Universe!  These amazing performers have visited Bluemont in Ashland previously so we know first hand how wonderful they are and how much you'll enjoy their music first hand! To learn a little more about the band and listen to some of their unique musical gifts, visit their website  http://www.guymendilow.com/about/in-concert.html.
Come early and have a picnic on the lawn, listen to a local performer and have a chance at winning a door prize at intermission from one of our generous local businesses, buy some dessert from a local community group and most importantly, have a wonderful evening with friends and family under the stars! See you soon for The Guy Mendilow Band!

Trackside Grill is Open Late on Sundays!

Are you hungry when you leave a Bluemont in Ashland concert?  Do you wish that you could pop in and have a bite of dinner or a later night snack after dancing on the lawn to awesome music under the stars? Well, you're in luck! Our friends at the Trackside Grill are staying open a bit later "after the show" on Sundays in August following eat concert. The Trackside Grill is just a walk across the lawn, one block from the concert and is a perfect way to end a perfect summer evening. So go ahead- take a walk across the tracks for a burger or a salad- and do it every week if you like! We think Bluemont and the Trackside Grill make a terrific pair. You do know that great music + great food = much happiness, don't you?!