December is here. How did that happen so quickly?! Hope you are staying warm and dry and enjoying the wonders that the seasons bring. Well, some rain is really wonderful…

Carl Thor and yours truly talking tunes for Contra in the Couve!

I want to invite you to come shake a leg at the Contra in the Couve! on December 12th. I don’t often play for contras, but how could I resist the opportunity to play for old buddy David Kaynor at the 4th anniversary of this community dance, backed up by the charming and able Carl Thor on the pianola? Check out the calendar for details. And come play some Quebec or Cajun music at the jam sessions (Quebec Dec. 2nd, Cajun Dec. 21st). Look on the home page for more information about these events, and in the resources for some great Quebecois tunes.

I’m in prep mode right now, gearing up for recording a new album with Johnny Connolly and Dan Compton, tearing a tonsil with new band Dejolis (Dejah Leger and Josie Mendelsohn), woodshedding my Cajun repertory for playing with Suzy Thompson and Port de Berk, and raising some musical hell with Crankset String Band (both in preparation for next month’s Portland Old Time Music Gathering).

News Flash: Le Bruit Court Dans la Ville (with guitar and vocal wizard André Marchand and harmonica, accordion, vocal master and Life of the Party Normand Miron) have been hired to staff at the 2015 Festival of American Folklife! More on that later.

Here’s wishing you all the best for a peaceful and festive end of year,

Lisa