It’s time for another front porch concert!  This event—the TJC Spring Jam and Recital—will be the fourth Front Porch concert I’ve hosted (I think), and I’ve learned quite a bit from the others, especially the last Spooktacular.

This year, instead of inviting another band to open the concert, I decided to make the first portion into a recital for my private music students.  I’ve been teaching private lessons for years, but have never done a recital, so it was high-time to give my students and opportunity to share their considerable talents.

The recital element also brings with it a built-in audience:  the students naturally come with their parents—and, potentially, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, family friends, etc.  More people means more merch sales, and possibly more tips and donations.

For this one, though, I’m not playing up the moneymaking aspect too heavily.  Yes, I hope to recoup some of my expenses for food and such, but the point is more to celebrate the hard work and talents of my private students.  If I sell some t-shirts and paintings, well, all the better.

A few parents have already pitched in a few bucks to the cause, and a couple are planning to bring some treats.  One parents is making desserts; a grandmother (of my two Chinese students) is going to make some delicious Chinese dishes.  I’ll be grilling hot dogs, though I hope to hand that off to a willing volunteer.  My mom is making Rotel dip, and I’ve already bought a few massive bags of chips—and lots of drinks!

I’m also bringing back the birdhouse painting from last year’s event, which seemed to be a hit.  I am loaded down with art supplies, and I have a big birdhouse that I think I will give away as the grand prize to the winner of the birdhouse painting, along with some brushes and paints.

The only major challenge tomorrow, besides getting all these kids on and off my front porch to play their songs, is the weather.  The forecast is calling for a loooooong morning and afternoon of rain and thunderstorms.  Fortunately, it appears the rain is slowing down substantially around 5 PM, so hopefully by 6 PM it will mostly be gone.  I’m going to look into putting down a couple of tarps on the lawn once the rain stops, and I will probably move most of the food inside to the kitchen.

The challenge now is to get the house presentable.  I have quite a few old boxes, as I have a great deal of items delivered to the house (living in the country, I look for opportunities to avoid driving into town for items).  I need to break those down for recycling, or at least move them to my shed.  I also need to make sure the kitchen is spotless—a more difficult task than usual, as my dishwasher has a broken part.  D’oh!

Regardless, barring a last-minute cancellation due to inclement weather—pray for clear skies!—I think we’re going to have a good time.  My buddy John and I will do a set of tunes after the recital portion, but I’m going to encourage him to keep it short.  I’d like to wrap everything up around 8 PM, instead of our usual 9:30 PM (far too late), so folks have an opportunity to get some rest and relaxation after the event.

Be on the lookout for a review of the event next Saturday!

Happy Listening!

—TPP