Sweet Reunion with Rundgren at Tromp Festival in Eindhoven!!

ETHEL just returned from a week in The Netherlands, where we performed opening night at the Tromp Festival. What a thrill it was to reunite with our old friend Todd Rundgren!!!  We had so much fun revisiting old favorites like Soul Brother, Pretending to Care, and Black Maria... it was also exhilarating to play songs from Todd's latest album, Arena, for the first time. Many, many thanks to the brilliant Paul Brantley for his arrangements of Flamingo, Zen Archer, and Courage. It was wonderful to feel the enthusiasm and love coming from Todd's fans... great vibes all around!

We also made some fabulous new friends: percussionist Colin Currie and composer Steve Martland. Colin joined us on marimba for the world premiere of Steve Martland's piece, Starry Night. On the day of the show, Colin spontaneously offered to play drums on the Rundgren set!! Not only did he learn all the music in a matter of hours, but he performed it with power and flare. Colin is an amazingly dynamic and flexible musician - it was a joy working with him.

We also had a great time performing on VPRO (Dutch TV), and reconnecting with many of the wonderful friends and musicians that we met last June during TruckStop™ Mundial. Holland is certainly a great place for music and musicians!!! We look forward to our next visit...