Every year, on the Monday after the second weekend of June, we host an assortment of friends who have survived the Mystic Sea Music Festival and/or are local friends all of who stagger on down to enjoy each other’s company at the Griswold Inn’s fine establishment – and to get you to join them in song.  This coming Monday – the 16th – will be the event for 2014; we’ll start at our usual time (8p) but in the “covered bridge” room.  You may wish to make reservations for dinner, but after dinner the room generally opens up for non-dinner crowd persons to fill in.  You will hear professional and amateur performers alike and you will find it worth your while to come, enjoy, join in.  Last year was tremendous and come help us make this year better still!

So this coming month will be a busy one for us and we hope that you’ll enjoy the time with us, too!  The second weekend of the month will be the annual Sea Music Festival in Mystic, and the Monday immediately afterwards (the 16th) is OUR annual “Survivor’s Night” in which musicians who are still around and kicking after days of activity in Mystic would make their way over to Essex and join us in the back room for an evening of sampling various songs and tunes by performers aside from us.  We have been encouraging local folk/acoustic acts to join us in the same vein, largely because coming to us on a Monday evening can be difficult for the tired acts in Mystic, and you will catch some of our actual followers getting up to shine!

Rick will be away on Monday the 9th, he performing at the New Canaan Historical Society for their annual meeting.  But he’ll be back for Survivor’s Night.  And then we’ve a performance up in Salem, Massachusetts for the Peabody Essex Museum’s British Pub Night on Thursday, the 19th.

We’ve a couple of private parties, too… As you know, we’re quite available for those!

This is also the start of the fife and drum muster season which usually brings over our family and friends from Europe who make it a point to stop in and join all of you in singing with us; so an opportunity to make new friends!

So, keep us on your calendar and spread the word!

Happy Birthday to our Facebook correspondent Kari Muzer… On Monday the 26th I just know you’ll all come down to fete our girl in style!

The Jovial Crew will be performing at O’Rourke’s in Warwick, Rhode Island on Saturday, the 24th, from 2 to 5p.   For those of you who travel from the east to see us, here is a chance to catch us closer to your home!

Tomorrow – the 12th of May – will be our Dan’s last day with us.  He is getting married to his very lovely Chrissy and will be relocating to NYC for another job, still in the music and stage line.  He has dazzled us with not only his musical prowess on the keyboard and the speed at which he has become such a performer on the anglo-style concertina, but that he has held onto his humble, one-of-the guys, pleased to just hang with ya approach that makes you want him to sit at your table as much as you cannot wait for his next performance!  While he may run on up once or twice if time permits, this is the passing of another era and you really should come down to celebrate this wonderful guy and our luck at having him around while we did!

Dan Pardo and Jos Morneault – concertinas in duet – 3 May 2014

Easter Sunday – morning news yielded this report –> Man Gets Stuck in Porthole at Bar in Essex. Lesson to be learned… Evacuated via properly labeled exits to protect your girth…

Aside from our regular Monday appearances, you have two more opportunities to come sing with us in the coming month.

• 9 May – Friday.  From 8:30 – 10:30, Rick Spencer and Joseph Morneault as LongSplice will be providing some historical colour in the tap room; mostly ballads and performed songs instead of the chanteys and call-and-response songs you’re familiar with on Mondays.
• 10 May – Saturday (the very next night).  The Jovial Crew will give a command performance from 8p – 11p in our usual taproom.  We really encourage you to come join us… and if you have any historical garb a-la- RevWar through War of 1812, please feel encouraged to put it on for the evening!  We’re to host a bunch of reenactors and give them a serious taste of our Monday night flavour!  Pass the word!

I know the other guys will bust my chops for my latin above, mais ils peuvent bec mon chou!

FInally spring has arrived!  But not without effort, considering yesterday’s rain/sleet/snow storm!  But next Monday the 7th is an auspicious occasion – Cliff will be back with us after two weeks of holiday and it is also the actual 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 (in this case, 1814) raid on Pettipaug (Essex) by British sailors and Marines who then burned the ship in the cove to the waterline and very briefly occupied the town – Jerry Roberts should be joining us to sing his song composed about that event, and I think it a good and momentous occasion to gather and celebrate our local historical colour!  One might go so far as to regard this as our 4th of July!

And don’t forget to look in on the events for the 1814 Commemoration!

It was a quieter holiday than last year and yet we all had a terrific time!  Our queen Cait did her duties to admiration, raising money for cancer research and the benefit 100 mile bike ride she’ll be participating in come the spring, and we warmly thank our guest musicians who stepped up to entertain us with their talents – Thomas WoLF, Dan Pardo, Brian Schiller, Terri Klein, Dave Lefkin… Now comes the bleary-eyed morning and a return to the work week… Cliff will be away on holiday for a couple of weeks but there’ll be three of us one week and then we’ll include a guest on the following Monday, so stay tuned. Come see photos from the two events here… If you have any photos to share, please contact me!  Thank you to all who came out either or both days and supported us!

It’s that time of year again, kicking off the start of warmer weather (Please God!!), the return of the snow birds, and the “official season” of good music!  Even our man Tim is back, so at both of these performances there will be four of us!  These are the events that you won’t want to miss and we want to see you at!

Saturday, 15 March – The Ivory, Deep River, from 6:30 to 10PM.  Start your celebrations with us in Deep River on Saturday… Such a good way to blow off some steam by throwing your head back to sing with us!

Then after you have rested on Sunday, come on out on Monday, 17 March – The Griswold Inn, Essex, from 6:30 to 10PM.  Our weekly venue!  We may be in the larger back room for the dinner crowd but you know how it gets when dinner is done.  Come help us raise the roof!

Permit us to present our Jovial Queen of 2014, Cait Clark!  She was crowned last night the 10th of Feb. with all due ceremony; tiara, sash, bouquet, certificate all presented by Capt. Cliff Haslam and overseen by the bandmates. Her duties will include promoting our upcoming St-Pat’s gigs and other performance venues over the course of the year.  Cait is an entrepreneur, hand crafting knit wear for you and your child, and you can see her Etsy Shop via this link.