Sunday in the Park with Kennett

This past Sunday felt truly like the last day of summer – a cool breeze was rustling both hair and leaves, the last of the bumblebees were humming around, sitting on the lips of plastic cups, and the sun was shining vibrantly while two tremendous music acts were performing quiet sound checks. Anson B Nixon park was empty save a few early birds, but by the time 3:00 pm rolled around, the small clustering of cars in the parking lot had grown from a few to five hundred!

Flying Fish Brewing Company had provided the brews for the afternoon in the park, and volunteers from the Longwood Rotary, along with the usual KSQ volunteer group (Dan McShane, Mary & Lizzy Hutchins, me, Abby Morgan, Claire Murray, etc) were eagerly checking IDs and pouring drafts of their Octoberfish and their Summer Ale – yum! We all had a lovely seat at the top of the hill, perfect for sipping beers, chatting and snacking on melon with basil, salsa and quacamole – all from the Kennett Square Farmers Market!

Birdie Busch and her West Philadelphian band went on first and killed it – her voice is fun and playful and at times, so energizing that I felt a little bit of euphoria wash over me. Abby made a beeline for the WXPN table to buy her newest album, Patterns of Saturn – that’s next on my ‘cd’s to purchase’ list! We tried to get a few photos, but they’re a bit blurry – we’ll make sure to scoot closer next time!

Birdie Busch

Here’s a video of Birdie and the band playing a pretty little tune – I should also mention that I am quite possibly the shakiest videographer of all time.

Next up was The Low Anthem, a Rhode Island based trio composed of Ben Knox Miller, Jeff Prystowski, and Jocie Adams. The three dabble in the usual tri-band suspects, but also throw in a little banjo, clarinet, trombone, and cell phone feedback for good measure. During their warmly welcome set, the cool wind picked up and the light hit its peak and the entire park was glowing – the combination of slow, lingering melodies and the warm sun on everyone’s faces made for a perfect afternoon.

Beautiful day

Jocie & her clarinet

cellphone frenzy

The Low Anthem

And our lovely volunteers – everyone worked together very well and we were all very grateful for such an amazing opportunity to come together once again in this lovely borough and support one another. Thanks, everyone!