Big Taylor Plays for Habitat for Humanity

Saturday May 16th, 10 am - 6 pm marks Morristown Tennessee's Annual Spring Craft and Acoustic Music Festival, sponsored by the Downtown Merchants Association.

And I've got to play a damn solo performance since Lee Roy (my slide, accordion and second guitar player, as well as backup vocalist) is unable to attend. (He's doing 11 months and 29 days, but we expect he'll be out a little early, maybe by the 4th of July with good behavior).

This Springfest is an annual event held in the historic (there was a Civil War fire fight here) downtown area. They rope off the old part of town prohibiting vehicular traffic and exhibitors display arts, crafts (quilting, tatting, basketweaving, coopering, spinning, etc) and antiques; downtown merchants sport their wares on the sidewalks, and of course there is food - either snacks and beverages from street vendors (including home made ice cream), or fine dining in the several downtown restaurants.

For activities the police department will show off its bicycle corps and K-9 unit; there'll be clowns and face painting, garden plants and flowers for sale, of course clog dancing, and gymnastics and karate demonstrations. But most importantly we got acoustic music going on.

I (Big Taylor) will be playing from 12 noon to 2:30 PM at the Main Street Coffee House, and bring plenty of money. This is a charity gig for the "Habitat for Humanity" which is a fine organization (they helped out a friend of mine) that builds or reclaims housing for folks that can't afford to purchase a home. Volunteers from Habitat scrounge up the materials, money, and land, then do the construction work. Since I have a bad back and my hands are too delicate for heavy work, I instead will be singing and playing the guitar, and begging for your money. And don't think you can just sit there and drink four $2.00 cups of coffee and not put any money in my guitar case! Understand people, this is for a really good cause.

My sponsor is a special lady, Cindy Monk, a Realtor at Coldwell Banker Realty House.

Songs I've got planned:

Mississippi Blues - Willy Brown
Mississippi River Blues - Big Bill Broonzy
Prodigal Son - Josh White
Cindy Mae
Fallen Comrade Blues
No Matter What You Do
Read About Your Savior
Hound Dog Blues
Bad Luck Man
Red River Blues - Little Son Jackson
Whiskey Headed Man - Tommy McClennon
Suspicious [Maybe. Maybe not. This is a "family oriented" festival, and I've already been warned.

Other headliners that day include: "Pict Ou", (Celtic Band - bagpipes, fiddle, pennywhistle, bodhran, etc), "Something Like That" (Bean & Bailey - Acoustic Comedy Songs); "Guy and Evan Carrawan" (Hammered dulcimer, banjo, guitar); "Harp City" (Howard Heifner & Jessica Lynch on guitar and harmonica play American Gospel); "Won Heart" (Southern Gospel Singers); "Paul Wade" (Harmonica); and "Chris Durman w. Exit 65" (Local folksinger with members of an unplugged Knoxville rock band).

So come everyone, we'll have a big time in Morristown, Tennessee!

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