Once everyone had all their luggage, computers, snacks and what-nots on the bus, the bays were shut and we headed up the road towards Greyville, Il. It would be a fairly short drive and we arrived around 12:30. Before we got to the venue, we pulled into a sub-way and got some sandwiches to hold us over. Several local policemen were in line with us, so I asked one if he could keep the women off of me during the show. He laughed and said he would do his best. He did a great job..Not one bothered me. lol

When we arrived at the venue, we had about a half hour before load-in, so I got off the bus and walked over to mingle with some of the sound crew. They had some pics in several photo albums that had been taken of Shenandoah years ago, when they had run sound for us. We all looked so young, Marty was still with us, so was good ol' Ralph and I still had my long hair. Wow, time does fly.

After soundcheck, they brought us barbeque but I declined because I was still full from my recent chicken teriyaki sandwich.

After the rest finished eating, the runner offered to take anyone to the hotel if they wanted to go. I decided to hang around the venue and watch the festivities. They had a parade that crossed the intersection down the street and several other acts that would be preforming on the main stage. I always like these small town festivals so much better than the bigger, more impersonal venues. After wandering around the town square for a little while and checking out some of the other acts and parade, I chilled on the bus till showtime.

Shenandoah hit the stage at 7:30 pm and we kicked into our 75 minute set to a fairly large audience. Jeff Allen, our fill-in bassist, was holding his own and seemed to be enjoying sharing the stage with us. I had a slight hiccup with my bottom keyboard when we started, "Moon Over Georgia". When I brought the fader up for the string sound, I noticed it was a half step off from my electric piano sound. I yanked that fader down so fast, it's a wonder I didn't break it. I know Bart, out front thought, what on earth is that! lol Then....Halfway through "Mama Knows", a policeman walked up on the stage with a little girl in his arms and demanded we stop in the middle of the song. It tool us a second to realize what he was wanting. He told the audience that she was lost and asked if her parents were out there. No one responded, so he left the stage with her and we resumed the show. I think she and her parents were reunited but it sure changed the mood and energy of the show. I agree, he needed to find out who her parents were but he could have waited one more minute, until the song was finished...just my opinion...she was obviously in safe hands. I heard he stopped the show last year also, in the middle of a song, with the Bellamy Brothers..same deal...same cop. Anyway, the show moved on and we were done about 8:45.

We left the stage and some went to the bus for a minute before we would all head to the autograph table. While in line, a fan set a glass case down on the table, that had an old set list and a Shenandoah ball cap in it. They were both signed by us back in the late 90's. These were personal treasures to him and his wife. I reached down to pick up the hat and Jim Seales, our guitarist, yells, "No, Don't touch that!"..lol It was like I had been reaching to touch some rare, old artifact, that would crumble, if one's fingers touched it. Autograph lines are an interesting phenomena to me. After signing T-shirts, hats, shirts, dollar bills, bandanas and you name it, we took pictures with all who wanted them, before heading back to our home away from home.

Once on the bus, we waited on Jim Seales, who had gone down the street to purchase a Wishing Well he had seen earlier. After about 20 minutes, he came back with it...It was fairly large and had to be loaded down in one of the bays. This would be a surprise for his wife, Donna Kay. They have been doing a lot of landscaping and this would make a great yard ornament. You never know what you treasures you'll find out here on the road.

With the bus all loaded and goodbyes said to the promoters and crew, the wheels started rolling towards Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Once again, another country music adventure had been had by all.

Stan Munsey