So I usually chronicle my musical adventures on this blog, but between the three-month-long heatwave and the adventures themselves, it just dawned on me that I had totally neglected to keep up. So I’ll hopefully be catching up over the next few days, starting with this post. #NHAMFest26 took place on August 27, with an animated and retrostrange pre-fest evening on the 26th, CELEBRATING CREATIVE HUMANS AND FRIENDLY HANGOUTS as the (n)hamster who made it all happen described the event, which saw a non-stop series of artists perform from 5am to 1am the next morning (UTC time).

I’m not supposed to play favorites, but I’m only human and I have to say that Sound Of The Void (@Firesledge@piaille.fr), Johann Bourquenez (@johann@masto.bike), control.org (@controlfreak@social.control.org) and (big surprise) @bgm@musicians.today and his son George were particular highlights for me (no offense to the others whom I also greatly enjoyed).

I participated too, by helping with organization and backstage logistics, and by playing my own set, because it generally takes about a year for me to forget how stressful it was the last time. And as usual, I was paralyzed with stage fright from start to finish because I think playing live is totally incompatible with my brand of offbeatness. Mentally, I was relatively serene, even though I hadn’t been able to learn my songs properly due to the uninterrupted crushing heat, but my body begged to differ and tried to sabotage the whole thing. Nevertheless, I muddled through acoustic versions of the songs from my latest album, offbeat, and even brought out the ukulele to play my smash hit, Ukulele Bonk to close out the set, and the kind audience was very supportive.

The whole festival, despite tricky logistics, went off with nary a hitch, I managed to catch all but 2 or 3 acts (out of 20 or so), a lot of people showed up, and the vibe in the interactive chat was fantastic all the way through.

Until the next time I forget how traumatic it is.

Thank you to those who attended and/or watched the replay of my set and sent kind and supportive words my way. I really appreciate it! Several more recordings are available on the NHAM Live Performances page.

And a huge thank you to the (n)hamster for the huge amount of work he put in to make this happen!

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Announcing a livestream after the fact is pretty dumb, but spoons.

Be that as it may, like last August, I was asked to participate in Radio Free Fedi Fest 25, #RFFF25, which is still ongoing as of this writing. Prepping was complicated because of the worst June heatwave on record (unintentional pun), and because this livestream was preceded a week earlier by the NHAM Mixtape livestream for #RFFF25, which I managed technically and co-hosted with Sam (@ethicalrevolution@climatejustice.social).

My legendary stage fright also showed up for the gig, but it actually mostly dissipated after the first song (as did my voice).

Still, a lot of people came to listen and seemed happy with the show.

Here’s what I played:

Cities EP - Entangled - Let Me Off - Bercée d’illusions - Cities Interlude - I’m Staying Home This Christmas¹ Bonkwave - The Rite of Bonk - C’est quoi (le Bonkwave) ? - La sieste/Don’t Mind Me - Bonkwave medley * Radio Bonkwave Jingle * Happy Bonk Day² * Martian Kazoo Polka³ * Hi It’s Spring⁴ - Anagram Encore - Living The Dream

¹ Written by Deborah Pickett (@futzle@old.mermaid.town) ² Written by @keefmarshall@mastodon.online ³ Music by @keefmarshall@mastodon.online ⁴ Written by 8 year old Sam

My heartfelt thanks to @radiofreefedi@musician.social and The Hamster, and to all of you who tuned in.

Unlike last year, I didn’t forget to record the stream, so if you missed it (how could you?!), the raw, unedited recording is available in the Live Performances section of NHAMtv.

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I’m thrilled to be part of the #Fediwave Live Artist Streaming Series, brainchild of the fabulous Radio Free Fedi.

Be sure to tune in Wednesday August 8, 2024 at 19h00, rugged scrublands time (UTC+2), for some fine franglophone musical creations performed solo, #live and unplugged for the first time ever in public!

Thanks for tuning in everyone!

This just in: SKNOB Smashes Unplugged Performance for RFF!

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