Monday Night was Music Night

I had planned to go to Bristol's Nova Scotia Hotel Folk Club for ages and was dismayed to find on arrival that the the little upstairs room was full to the brim and at first I was turned away. Later, a few more people were squeezed in and I was lucky to be able to stand by a wall and near to an electric fan. The guest artist last night was Michael Chapman who entertained us until after 11 o'clock with some of his songs and fantastic guitar playing. Toward the end of the final set he was joined by Keith Warmington [one of our larger than life BBC Radio Bristol presenters] on harmonica.
Standing there, among many other appreciative people on a hot evening , I was reminded of a time, different location, different genre, when I visited the Preservation Hall in New Orleans where generations of traditional jazz musicians have played to audiences just as appreciative. Michael Chapman has been performing since the 60's and his gravelly voice and generally grizzled appearance compared in my memory with the old guys I saw in New Orleans back in 1972. I hope he continues for many more years and I am pleased to see that the Preservation Hall has survived the floods and is thriving again and still costs very little [$8] entry.