I'm back from A Long Expected Party 2: There & Back Again at Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky.  I had a brilliant time.

A Look Backward at ALEP 1

Photo by Diann Monroe Marksberry

Three years ago, I wrote that the first ALEP was one of the top 5 weekends of my life.  It was a magical experience.  For three days and nights, we celebrated the works of JRR Tolkien in literature, art, stories, plays, and songs.  It awoke in me my inner hobbit and a passion for this remarkable event.

So the first question is how did ALEP 2 compare?

Was this year's ALEP as good as the last?

Those are tough question.  These two ALEPs were extremely different for me.  The original ALEP happened during a very significant time in my life.  This was the second to last gig of my old band, the Brobdingnagian Bards.  After almost ten years together, we were calling it quits.  We were already thinking about what was ahead for us.

Andrew McKee started playing music with Michelle Hedden that weekend.  I played solo elsewhere during the day.  At night, we joined forces to share our love of Tolkien in musical form.

The very first day was long and exhausting.  So after the Bard's opening set, Andrew and Michelle retired for the evening.  But Bilbo wanted more music.  So I shared a few songs solo.  One was my rendition of “Wild Mountain Thyme“.  You could hear a pin drop by the end of the song.  It was a blissful performance.

The rest of the weekend was spent with a couple friends in a zen-like peace.  I wandered alone beneath the stars to reflect on my past, present and future.  I shared great company at events.  However, I felt like a lot of the weekend was like a breath of air.  I needed to breathe.

New Band, New Craic

Photo by Bernadette Crumb

ALEP 2 was very different.  I recently finished my newest album Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits.  Two of the amazing musicians on the album formed our hobbit band.  Samantha Gillogly is a Berklee College of Music graduate and a master on the fiddle.  Jamie Haeuser played bodhran and added her own stunning harmonies to my songs.  She's also one of my bestest friends.  While the last time was filled with peaceful reflection, this trip was filled with some of the best craic ever!

I felt like I was an integral part of the magic.  I arrived a wee bit late on Wednesday, not so late as to miss opening ceremonies, but late enough.  Samantha arrived about the same time.  We started our evening off practicing some tunes.

You see, Samantha and I wrote some wonderful tunes for Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits.  In fact, those tunes felt like the soundtrack for the entire weekend, bouncy and happy.  Samantha's writing skills are just amazing.  So much so that by the end of the weekend, hobbits of all shapes and sizes were calling out for a Don't Go DANCING with Hobbits CD of hobbit dance tunes.

Samantha lives in Boston and I live in Birmingham.  So we needed to actually practice those wonderful tunes together.  It was a beautiful thing.  I LOVE the tunes on the actual CD, but to hear us recreate them LIVE!  Ahhhh, my friend, it was bliss!!!!

That evening, we shared some of my favorite songs from the album.  It was awesome to hear everyone shout along to “We'll Have a Pint of Stout“, to see the smiles during “Elves“, and to hear the hushed sighs when we finished playing “The Ring of Hope“.

I left that evening wired.  I walked beneath the stars in the cool night air.  Ah, I was home!

Then, it got better.

Best Craic Ever!

Photo by Bernadette Crumb

I don't play many Irish sessions.  It's tough for me because I don't play melodies well on the autoharp.  When I do, I can't play them at full speed.  That means, I basically play a rhythm instrument.  Most Irish sessions don't want a lot of rhythm instruments because it's about the melody.  Add to it, that guitarists use a lot of chording that the basic chromatic autoharp can't do.  Then there's the general lack of time.  All of that means, it's rare that I find a good session I can join.

Yet after leaving the hall, I walked downstairs into the Prancing Pony.  People were gathered together, talking, drinking, catching up from the last ALEP, and relaxing after a long day of travel.  In one corner of the “pub”, Christine Krebs on flute, Josh Simmons on drum, and Samantha Gillogly played some Irish tunes.  It was what's called a “slow session”.  They played one tune.  It built up speed as they learned the tune.

It looked like too much fun.  So I went to my room, grabbed my autoharp and joined them.  We played mostly instrumental tunes.  I would occasionally interject a hobbit drinking song.  Then we played more tunes.  It was a blast!  I crashed late that night, happy.

There & Back Again

Thursday was the first official day of the event.  Breakfast was delicious as was second breakfast.  I got to hear Michael Drout speak.  Michael's panels were one of the many highlights from my first trip.  I couldn't wait to hear him talk again.  He is mesmerizing and knows his Tolkien.  This panel on “There & Back Again” was no different.

I grabbed my lunch.  Then Bilbo, Pippin and I hiked down to the Brandywine River (or whatever it's really called) for our wee cruise.  It felt like the journey of our four hero hobbits leaving the shire.  We were light-hearted and playful… at least until we realized we were gonna miss our boat.  Then we ran like the Black Riders were hot on our tails.

Photo by Trish Troupe

The boat ride was lovely.  The hike back to the Shire was tiring.  By the time I returned to my hovel, I was ready for a nap.  That became a regular theme for the trip, the afternoon snooze.  The snooze was short-lived that day though.  Jamie Haeuser arrived not to long after I laid down.  We got together and practiced a bit for the evening's entertainment.

An Evening with the Elves

I told Bilbo Baggins that I would also teach dance this weekend.  I did a lot of ballroom dancing back in college, but that was nearly 20 years ago.  I also danced now and then at various Renaissance festivals, but it's been a while.  However, at the last ALEP, I remember thinking, “How cool would it be if we had more people dancing at Bilbo's Birthday party!”

While my dance instruction is dated, I really wanted something to happen.  So right before Elf Night started,  I gave a wee bit o'instruction on a basic round dance and polka.  It was nice…and fun… but just wait til you hear about Friday!

Photo by Alexandra-Felicity King

That evening, we ate to the sound of Irish harp.  We watched the sun set behind the hall.  We celebrated the elves with a costume pageant that I MC'd.  There were some funny reenactments from the Lord of the Rings movies, dramatic readings, an Elf choir, poems, and even some music by Christine and Samantha.  Samantha was lured in and then blew away everyone with a solo violin performance of “Lagan Love”.  Finally, Samantha, Jamie and I played music together to round out the evening, including a well-acted performance by Bilbo to the song “A Well-Dressed Hobbit”.  The song left Bilbo in a heap on the stage.

There & Back to the Prancing Pony

Did I mention the pub entertainment?  It was even better that night.  Jamie and I headed over to the pub first thing.  We played song after song until Christine arrived.  Then tune after song.  Then Samantha arrived.  We played tune after song after tune.  The evening was filled with music, sing-alongs, drinking, and wild hobbit revelry.  It was a blast!

On the Steps of Rohan

Friday was the day of the Rohirrim.  The staying up late, getting up early routine was starting to wear me out.  Glassy-eyed, I went to Jef Murray‘s panel on “Fanning the Secret Fire: Sub-Creation as a Spiritual Journey”.  It was a mind-opening panel.

It got me thinking about the previous ALEP which was so relaxing and peaceful.  At that early hour (10:30am), I was tired.  Yet, it still awakened in me some creative memories.  I feel like I haven't created much recently.  Creativity comes and goes with what you feed it.  So I was really excited an hour later when the dance began.

There was a great turnout for my first dance class.  Once again, I taught my wee round dance.  I followed that up with the Korobushka.  Then came the super-secret hobbit dance…

Creating the Super-Secret Hobbit Dance

Photo by Lisa Whitaker

The idea began the day before I left for ALEP.  I was practicing some of the dance steps with my wife, Gwen.  We were both tired after several stressful days of our daughter's heart surgery.  But I told Bilbo I would teach dance.  So dangit, I better figure out what we're doing.

After practicing the aforementioned dances, I was left with trying to come up with a dance for “Wildflowers of Party Field”.  I was tired.  I couldn't think of one.  So Gwen said, “Why don't you create a dance when you get there?”

*thunk*

Duh! What a great idea!

“I don't have dance for this next tune,” I said back in the Shire.  “Do you want to create a dance with me?”

By then, the dance blood was rushing through our bodies.  “Yes!” was the universal response.  Then I felt like we had entered Knight's Tale.

“Alight, stand across from your partner… Bowwww.”

Away, we danced, step-by-step, as Samantha and Jamie patiently sat in the cold wind waiting for this dance to come alive.  It was brilliant!  Fun, joyful, hobbity.  I couldn't wait until Bilbo's big party on Saturday to dance it.

Royal Command Performance and the Circle of Fire

It's funny how these evenings at ALEP come together.  It's such a simple thing, and yet, it kind of blows my mind.  I guess it's because it's not just Bilbo and Gandalf, the primary organizers, who create the evening magic.  Many, many people get involved.  Some act.  Some tell stories.  Some sing.  Some take pictures.  Most wear costumes.  Some simply smile and laugh.  We all have our parts.

Photo by Lisa Whitaker

The temperature dropped that evening.  Yet, it didn't drop our spirits.  Samantha, Jamie and I kicked off the evening with music.  That was followed by some more dramatic performances, some songs from Lord of the Rings, the Musical.  Then as the cold chill crept in, Gandalf lowered the temperature with the Circle of Fire and some ghost stories.

Jamie and I closed the evening with my own chilling story, “O'er the Way“, one of the first folk story songs I wrote.  Then we sang Rie Sheridan Rose‘s song “Raise a Glass in Parting“.  Silence fell over the Hall.

Then we raced back to the Prancing Pony to warm our cockles with music, drink and song.  We warmed quickly and played more music through the evening.

The Party Goes Ever On

I must say, that Bilbo Baggins knows how to throw a party.  By Saturday… what are those lyrics again?

I left Hobbiton a few days later.
My head it was swollen and sore.
It felt like a dwarven anvil
After a terrible war.
from the song “Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits“

Photo by Brooke Fox

I was finally starting to feel the exhaustion catch up with me.  It didn't stop me though.  I started the cold morning off with my fellow ALEPers with dance.  We practiced what we had learned.  Thank goodness, Mary Condon wrote down the dance steps so my brain didn't have to remember our super-secret dance.  Then we learned another couple dances.  There's nothing like dance to get your blood pumping.  It was in the 40s.  We needed it.

Christine, Samantha, Jamie and I practiced a few tunes for Bilbo's Party during lunch.  After some downtime that afternoon, we crossed the Shire to the Party Tree for Bilbo's party.

Don't Go Dancing With Hobbits… Unless You Need to Stay Warm

Photo by Lisa Whitaker

Ah!  How I missed that Party Tree!  The weather was the coldest it had been, yet our spirits were warmer.  Hobbits gathered for the archery tournament.  They stood outside of Bag End and took pictures.  They cuddled under blankets and warm spirits.  We were happy… blissfully happy.  This was our last night together of Tolkien joy, but it wasn't really.  The road goes ever on.

So as the archery tournament came to a close.  Samantha, Jamie, Christine, and I climbed up on stage and started playing our hobbit tunes.  Christine picked some great titles that sounded like they were written for hobbits (“Da Underhill” and whatnot).  It was cold.  So while we waited for food, we danced.

I don't think I mentioned it yet, but I love dancing about as much as I love playing music.  I've long wanted to actually have my own band to play for dancers.

Look.  There underneath the dim lights.  Hobbits were dancing to the music… and dance steps that I helped create.  We made this together.  All of us.  That dream of playing music for dancers… it happened.  I can't begin to tell you how amazingly happy that made me.

Yes, it was cold.  Yes, this was a our last night.  And yes, the journey was just beginning.

We ate dinner.  Then we played some more music.  Once again, Bilbo took the stage while I sang “A Well-Dressed Hobbit” to the riotous laughter of all.  There was an auction, followed by a hobbit choir.  Good cheer filled the air as hobbits held hands and sang songs.

A World Worth Saving

Thirty minutes later we were back at the Pony singing more songs together.  It was like out of a movie.  Just imagine for a minute one of those scenes from the Lord of the Rings with music, laughter, dance, beer, cheer, and song.  That was it.

In one my Michael Drout's panels, he talked about Middle-earth as “A World Worth Saving”.  To see all of these Tolkien geeks gathered together to share our geekery as one…  It was just amazing.

I couldn't help but think this whole event was an almost religious experience.  It was like we were at a church revival, sharing praise of the JRR Tolkien's writings.  We were touched and changed.

So you ask me was how did it compare?  Was it at least as good as before?

It was.  And then some.  It was an experience of a lifetime… a moment in time that will be told in tales and sung about by bards for years to come.  The stories… and dances will live on.  The songs will be sung.  The memories will be immortalized in our dreams.  We shall remember the Shire with smiles on our faces, joy in our hearts, and longing for ALEP 3!

I want to thank everyone who helped make that happen… which happened to be everyone in our little Shire!  A special thanks to Bilbo and Gandalf for making it happen.  I can't wait until “next year”!

Photo by Kelly Gable.