A new configuration of Mark Schatz & Friends went to perform at a festival in the UK this past June. The call initially came for me and Footworks. When it became clear that there was not the kind of budget available to bring the dance group we agreed to part of the group’s band and Eileen. It was quite a versatile configuration.

Danny Knicely switched off between guitar, mandolin and fiddle and provided both lead and harmony singing. His brother Neil played bass and guitar and provided some vocal support as well including some nice sibling harmony. I went back and forth between banjo and bass. We featured Eileen as a vocalist which was very exciting because she’s one of my favorite singers who most of the time is too involved with the dance group to give this aspect of her overflowing talents as much attention as it deserves.

Of course she and I both busted loose with some flatfooting in our sets and I rendered a lively hambone version of Cindy which turned into a fun hambone/steppin’ jam.

Eileen taught two long clogging workshops in the unseasonably warm afternoons, I taught a hambone and banjo workshop, and Danny taught a guitar and mandolin workshop. We all felt like we made a significant contribution to the small and lively A-1 Festival of Music and Dance outside of Peterborough, England. We fortunately had a little time early on the day we flew out to walk downtown and marvel at a breathtaking middle-age cathedral.