Nathan has the voice of an angel. I love to hear him sing!
For the past year he has performed with a local barbershop group. It's the special brotherhood of the coolest guys in town. (Two of them are bishops- the 'awesome' points just skyrocketed, don't you think?)
Each Sunday night they gather for practice. It's delightful to hear their voices swell together and fill the house with beautiful strains of masculine music.
It's such a wonderful group of good men. Good friends like this are one of life's treasures for sure!
They sing a mix of gospel, popular, sacred and classic barbershop songs.
They have performed for various functions in the community, but somehow the wives and families of these men never get to see the performances. To fix this terrible oversight, the men arranged a show just for their families.
We gathered for a potluck picnic with our special friends on a beautifully wooded property.
It was such a special night! Our Littles enjoyed climbing trees, exploring the tree house and wading in the babbling brook bordering the yard. The highlight of the backyard was this wicker swing from India. This was definitely a popular hideout for the evening. The kids would twist the chain to wind it up as far as they could then let the swing spin out of control while the children shrieked in delight.
Unfortunately the camera died before the performance, so the pictures I have are all from the beginning of the evening. You'll have to trust me that it was wonderful.
Families packed the deck, feasting on delicious foods while children romped and played in the woods nearby.
We talked and laughed for an hour before the show began.
The men began their performance as the sun dipped behind the tree line. The music was so beautiful and mesmerizing....unfortunately the cicadas loved it as well.
The noisily buzzing insects joined in the music with gusto, sometimes overriding the men's voices altogether. There must have been hundreds of them residing in these trees.
Perhaps it was their way of speaking approval.
My heart felt so full. I'm so thankful for days like this that add to life's joy.
It's these simple events that make life beautiful.
2 comments:
That was a fun evening.
I thought it was funny that the men sounded so good but weren't sure. Several of them asked me afterward, saying that they had horrible trouble hearing each other in that setting. Outdoors, sound absorbers, noisy children, etc. I said what I could hear sounded excellent, much better than the previous performance I'd heard.
Sadly, I couldn't hear as much as I wanted, since mine were some of the noisy children. I got frustrated trying to listen while Sam ran in and out of the house and Jeff cried on and off. And then Sam got hit by the swing and I had to hand Jeff off to Daniel while I ran to comfort Sam--in the middle of a song. And then Jeff started crying because I had abandoned him...
Fortunately everyone else was kind and forgiving. It's nice attending a concert in a relaxed venue where you can bring kids and other people don't glare at you, because they all brought kids, too.
I would love to start a Sweet Adelines group (barbershop arrangements for women), but that is simply not practical at present. For now, I'm enjoying supporting the men. I LOVE it when they practice here. I get awesome background music while I clean the library.
By the way, my man is the second in from the right. Isn't he cute?
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