Listening To.......Nora Jane Struthers and the Bootleggers

Mark and Kate have gone to Boone for the day to visit Mark's folks. Due to being so hugely pregnant, plus a little bout with a cold this week (yes indeed, I did jinx myself a few days ago by claiming to have avoided the germfest....sigh) I'm staying home. It's funny how I'll look forward to these rare pockets of solitude, and then, once I find myself actually in them I'm sort of all at odds, not quite knowing what to do with so much free time. Oh, there's plenty to do of course: vacuum, dust, clean out the refrigerator, and all those fun, domestic duties that are much easier to do without the "help" of a two year old. Maybe later.....

Right now, I'm pretty busy, listening to the music of Nora Jane Struthers, an artist I discovered just this morning. Mark brought in a copy of what I thought was this week's Take Five (the entertainment guide in our local paper), and as I leafed through it, an announcement for a Nora Jane Struthers show caught my attention. I think it was her pretty vintage dress and 40s style hair that made me stop and check it out. Anyway, the announcement said, show tonight at the Madison County Arts Council. Hmm. I haven't been out anywhere lately, much less to a concert. By myself. I've never had a problem going to movies and shows by myself, but something about being 36 weeks pregnant leaves you feeling a bit vulnerable and well, it's hard to blend into the crowd, and people fuss over you, which is sometimes downright embarassing, however well intentioned. Still, I had made up my mind that I was going to go anyway. Then I checked the venue website, and it turns out the show was last Saturday. Mark had given me an old paper. What a dirty trick.

Ah well. It's probably better to stay home and curl up with a good book and a cup of tea tonight anyway. And the upside of it is, I've discovered a talented new artist whose music and style I'm absolutely loving. This is Americana music at its best: a rootsy fusion of bluegrass, old time, and folk that is simultaneously all of these things and yet still fresh and unique. Her lyrics weave together the past and the present with a grace and elegance comparable to Gillian Welch. The album is pretty amazing, featuring stellar musicians like Tim O'Brien and Stuart Duncan. Next time she comes to town, I hope I have the current paper! Definitely an artist worth checking out.