Tag Archives: featured

“Pack Up” Makes the Possibilities Probable.

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Joe Purdy at Woody Fest

Texas Nexus / Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer

It’s a 3-column list I have worked up — “PACK UP” it’s called. It’s what I have to reference and cling to when getting ready to go to all the music festivals in my life. And there’s a bunch!

Me and Hippie Van head out. She has clean oil, and a clean floor every time. Ready for the road. Of course, she’s packed to the hilt. And for that, I need “Pack Up.”

Clothing:  Lots of bandanas (after all, it gets hot at most of those festivals), but a jacket for those chillier nights. Shoes, boots, rain boots, and of course a boot jack. Heavy shoes and boots, not those flimsy rubber thongs. I wore a pair of leather sandals to one of my first Kerrville Fests, they broke, and it was producer Rod Kennedy who — not so gently — chided me for even thinking those were good on that rocky terrain. At WoodyFest, I (and the other 4 photographers) have to go back and forth between four daytime stages, a couple of churches and nursing homes, and so hard-core walking boots are best there. And believe me, I’ve put the rain boots — we used to call them galoshes — to use many times.

Mary Jane at LJT Festival

And then there’s the camera equipment —  a monopod, a tripod, chargers, extra SD cards, extra batteries, extra camera, plenty of lenses — in fact, all I own. And of course I need my computer to upload those photos and get some of them worked in time to share them while the event is still going on. Again, charge cord, extra batteries for the mouse and keyboard, flash drives, external hard drive. And to tote all that, I have a luggage pull-along. Beyond that, I have to rely on the kindness of strangers to carry my lawn chair.

Essential is my large towel, clearly marked “Photog” with neon yellow duck tape, just in case there’s any question that’s what I do, and it is placed to reserve the best photo vantage-point seat in the house for me. And nowadays I check out a portable Wi-Fi connection from the local library. And there’s a definite need for showers (and I do NOT use that special towel). In lieu of them, I always pack a package of wipes.

Kerrville Folk Festival

Lots of energy powders and liquids. And for food, I take anything I can put in a bowl and cover with milk or slather cream cheese onto. Not about to spend time cooking! There’s too many photos that need to be taken! And I can’t forget my “Show-Off Album” of photos I’ve taken over the years.

After all that, plus clothing, more groceries, meds, and vitamins — really, there is still room for me in Hippie Van.

 

BW Stephenson Annual Songwriters contest – 2023 Details

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BW Stevenson

This from Poor David, who has (of course) Poor David’s Pub in Dallas. And who sponsors the yearly BW Stevenson Singer/Songwriter Contest. Be sure to read the notes at the end of this short article. And online (the link below) is a well-written article about BW and his career.

“WE STARTED IT IN 1989, BEFORE MANY OF YOU SINGER-SONGWRITERS WERE BORN, THE YEAR AFTER HE PASSED AWAY. AND SO IT CONTINUES…

“ENTRY DEADLINE FRIDAY JUNE  2;  SEMIFINALS DATE IS JUNE 7;  and 
FINALS WILL BE ON  JUNE 14. (Go online for details on how to enter, link below) 

“LET ME REMIND YOU OF THE MANY BENEFITS OF ENTERING THIS CONTEST:

1. FIRST PRIZE 1000$ DUE TO THE SPONSORSHIP OF GRAND PIANO MOVERS OF TEXAS
2. 2ND PLACE 300$ DUE TO THE SPONSORSHIP OF GRAND PIANO MOVERS OF TEXAS
3. 3RD PLACE 200$ DUE TO THE SPONSORSHIP OF GRAND PIANO MOVERS OF TEXAS
4. ALL TOP 3 ARE INVITED TO A FREE WEEKEND AT THE PRESTIGIOUS KERRVILLE FOLK FESTIVAL, A FESTIVAL DEDICATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT, NURTURING &, DARE I SAY IT, THE FINANCIAL SUCCESS OF SINGER- SONGWRITERS.

“PAST WINNERS AND FINALISTS INCLUDE ZANE WILLIAMS, MAX STALLING, MAREN MORRIS, EMILY ELBERT, ELIZABETH WILLS, TROY CARTWRIGHT, ADAM CARROLL, MARK DAVID MANDERS, JACKIE DARLENE, COLIN BOYD, HELENE CRONIN, SCOTT SEAN WHITE, ANDIE KAY JOYNER AND MANY, MANY of high QUALITY OTHERS! LAST YEAR’S WINNER WAS TIM YORK— HE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE SURPRISED AND/OR ELATED! (EXTREMELY HAPPY WAS HE, IN YODA SPEAK).

“OTHER REASONS TO JOIN THIS COMPETITION IS IT INTRODUCES YOU TO A SONGWRITERS COMMUNITY. EVEN IF YOU DON’T MAKE THE SEMIFINALS, YOUR ENTRY FEE GETS YOU FREE PASSAGE INTO THE SEMIS AND THE FINALS TO SEE IF WE,  THE JUDGES, GOT IT RIGHT!

“SO PLEASE, IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO MIGHT BENEFIT FROM THIS COMPETITION, FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO THEM! THIS THE 34TH
ALMOST ANNUAL COMPETITION (NONE IN 2020) & YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT WILL BE THE LAST! ANYONE WANT TO BE THE 34TH & LAST WINNER OF THE BWSMSSC?~

(Signed) “Poor David”

Poor David’s Pub is located at 1313 Botham Jean Boulevard, Dallas, Phone 214-565-1295.  Here’s a link to the the Website  — Poor Davids Pub.com

Local arrests and one conviction

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Scene In Town, The Van Alstyne News do not print suspects’ names until or unless they are indicted or convicted.

Two law enforcement agencies have been busy with felony arrests and convictions. Many details have not been made available, as the local agency’s Public Information Officer (PIO) is swamped with other duties as well.

Van Alstyne PD

March 4 — Police arrested a Van Alstyne man on a single charge of Assault Causes Bodily Injury-Family Violence. Details on this and all arrests made since March 1 have not yet been made available. Grayson County Jail records show that this suspect posted bail of $10,000 in a surety bond with conditions for his release the next day. Jail records also show that this suspect was out on a surety bond w/ conditions for bail at $4,000 on another ACBI-FV charge. That earlier event is reportedly happened four months prior to this one.

March 4  — Police jailed a second Van Alstyne resident on a charge of Assault Causing Bodily Injury, plus unlawfully carrying a weapon and possession of marijuana. His bail was set at a total of $8,000, which he posted for his release the following day.  Unlike the first suspect, this was the first time this suspect has been inside Grayson County Jail.

March 4 — Van Alstyne Police served an arrest warrant, issued by Dallas County, on a Mesquite female. The warrant charges her with Possession of Controlled Substance and carries a $5,000 bail. At the date of this writing (March 9) she has not paid bail nor been transferred to Dallas County, according to jail records.

March 4 — A Van Alstyne officer jailed a Sherman woman on two drug charges, or more specifically, possession of controlled substances. Her bail total $12,000, and she, too remains incarcerated in lieu of bail. 

March 8  — Van Allstyne Police arrested a Van Alstyne female on a charge of Possession or Delivery of Drug Paraphernalia, She received her release later the same day after paying $431 cash fine.

March 8 — A Van Alstyne woman went to jail because of having not paid a previous court-ordered fine. The original charge was for Theft of Property between $500-$1,500, in 2009.  Jail records show that she owed $940 in the previous fine, and that she laid that out and was released the same day.

March 8 — Police jailed a Blue Ridge woman on a charge of Possession of Controlled Substance. She paid her bail set at $5,000 by surety bond for her release.

March 8 — Van Alstyne police jailed a Howe woman on a charge of Driving while Intoxicated 3rd or More Offense. To be released for this offense, the suspect had to pay $20,000 in bail and qualified that with a surety bond with conditions.

Howe PD

Howe PD Chief Carl Hudman reported that on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, a Howe Police Department detective began an investigation into an allegation against 39-year-old Robert Brent Steedman Jr. for sexual abuse of a child. Steedman Jr. was acquainted with  the victim’s mother at the time of the offense, which the victim said happened in Howe between 2017 and 2018. On February 7, Sergeant Keith Milks and Hudman interviewed Steedman Jr. and he confessed to the crime. The officers arrested Steedman Jr. for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child and booked him into the Grayson County Jail.

On Feb. 27, 2023, Steedman Jr. pled guilty in the 397th District Court to Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child (Rape) and he was sentenced to 5 years confinement in the Texas Department of Corrections. Steedman Jr., now of Honey Grove. shows in the Grayson County Jail records to have three count of rape filed against him.

Bob Livingston coming to Wildscape Acres house concert

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Press release

Bob Livingston came to Austin in 1971 with Michael Martin Murphey after playing bass on Murphey’s Geronimo’s Cadillac album. In Austin, Livingston reinvented himself as the Lost Gonzo Band bass-player/singer who toured and recorded with visionary misfits like Jerry Jeff Walker, Murphey, the Lost Gonzo Band, and Ray Wylie Hubbard. They called it the ‘progressive country scare!'”
Livingston has seen a lot of the world since growing up in musically fertile West Texas. Hailing originally from San Antonio, Bob moved to Lubbock as a boy where his interests turned more ‘Cosmic’ than ‘Cowboy’ and prompted him to delve into the music and mysteries of many cultures. Traveling since the 80’s as a Music Ambassador for the US State Department, Livingston has taken Texas music as far afield as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Africa, Vietnam and the Middle East, demonstrating again and again the unique power that music has to build bridges between peoples of the world.

As Livingston says, ‘When all else fails, music prevails’.

These tours earned him the honor of being appointed, “Ambassador of Goodwill,” by the State
of Texas and “Austin’s International Music Ambassador,” by the City of Austin. Bob was inducted into the “West Texas Walk of Fame” in 2018 and the “Texas Music Legends Hall of Fame” in 2016.
This world-traveled view was reflected in Livingston’s 2004 release, Mahatma Gandhi & Sitting Bull (AKA Original Spirit), a romp through the music and lore of both east and west. Next up was Gypsy Alibi ,which was named Album of the Year by the Texas Music Awards in 2011.  2018’s Up the Flatland Stairs drew a great review from ‘Cowboys & Indians Magazine’.
P.S. The Lost Gonzo Band has returned. They have recently played some high profile shows such as the Paramount Theater in Austin, Gruene Hall (oldest dance hall in Texas) in Gruene, Texas, and at the Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion 2022. He also has played many times at WoodyFest and the Kerrville Festivals, among many others. He has graced stages in the McKinney, Durant, Sherman and Denison areas.

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Call 903-583-2661 for reservations. (Seating is limited, so no shows are a no-no; please call in advance to cancel. Concert is $20 per person, cash or check payable to Bob Livingston at the table.

Harmony House is on Wildscape Acres, 10 miles north of Bonham and 65 miles NE of Dallas. As for directions when you call for your reservations.

“Just As I Am”—African Children’s Choir in local concert

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African Children’s Choir members
Courtesy photo

Press Release

The African Children’s Choir melts the hearts of audiences with their charming smiles, beautiful voices, and lively African songs and dances. It is composed of African children, ages 9 to 11 years old. The Choir is a program of a larger international organization called Music for Life, which provides thousands of impoverished children throughout Africa with the education, discipleship, and leadership skills needed to rise above their conditions so they can bring positive, lasting change to their families, communities and countries.

The African Children’s Choir is bringing its talent and joy to the First Christian Church of Van Alstyne at 7 p.m. on March 10. The church is located at 274 S. Waco and its phone number is 903-482-5515. Concerts are free and open to all. A free-will offering is taken at the performance to support African Children’s Choir programs, such as education, care and relief, and development programs.

The “Just As I Am” tour combines traditional hymns with African cultural sounds and a stunning visual story of God’s faithfulness.

Music for Life works in the seven African countries of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. MFL has educated over 52,000 children and impacted the lives of over 100,000 people through its relief and development programs during its history.

The African Children’s Choir has had the privilege to perform before presidents, heads of state and, before her death, Queen Elizabeth II, for her diamond jubilee. The Choir has also had the honor of singing alongside artist such as Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Michael W. Smith, and other inspirational performers.

Promotional support of this community concert is greatly appreciated. By focusing on providing education, the African Children’s Choir is a non-profit, humanitarian, and relief organization dedicated to helping Africa’s most vulnerable children today so they can help Africa tomorrow.