I am listening to Cesaria Evora at the moment while my little one dances beside me, swaying her little body back and forth with the rhythm… she and I both love this music… it takes me back to another land… the beats, the melodies, the harmonies… ah… you want to be in a coast city… close to the ocean, sitting in an outdoor cafe, people watching…

I am reflecting on the beauty of our show on Feb. 28th… Cesaria is perfect background music for my musings…

The show was fantastic. What else can I say? Try to imagine a theatre packed full of excited people (we sold out!), sitting on the edge of their seats, anticipating the show… you could just feel the energy in the theatre…. it was incredible.

River, Chris and Eliot started the show with an amazing instrumental piece… as I was backstage listening to it, I was smiling… overwhelmed at the wonder of it all: Armenian folk music here in the South… who would have ever predicted such a moment?!

I sang all my favourites… it is so hard to choose what I will sing, since I love the songs so much… but I started with Groong… always deeply moving for me to sing… I have to give it everything in my soul for that song to be truly real. And the show went on from there… the crowd was with me at every twist and turn… I could sense it… they clapped with such enthusiasm…they cried… the crowd from Atlanta – can you believe they drove all the way from Atlanta for this show! – were so into the show… such pure joy… their energy was contagious… Gakavig had us all dancing, as did Arev, Arev… a room full of mostly non-Armenians dancing and clapping to the songs of an ancient land… oh, Grandma, do you see all this?!

I wish you were here… the audience now knows what Hayastan means…! I share the story of Narineh with them and sing them this song that means so much to me…

Oh… we had such a fun time… River, Chris and Eliot were out of this world… you should have heard their solos, their interplay with one another, their take on my songs was just breathtaking… you guys are the best! I loved, absolutely loved singing for everyone… I loved seeing my mom and dad… I love it when they are in the audience and I see their beaming faces looking at me intently… my husband, best friend was up in the balcony, looking down on us… I know he was praying for me…

My favourite part of the show was probably near the end, when I was waiting backstage, while the guys were playing a couple of songs on their own… I was thanking God for an amazing show… just having a sweet time with my Father… when down the hall, my husband appeared, walking towards me, and he came down and sat down beside me on the steps… and we just sat together and smiled.

Thank you to everyone for making the 28th such a memorable show…

Can’t wait for the next one… we’ll keep you posted…

Back to some dancing with my little one…

Tags: Arev Arev, Armenian folk music, Gakavig, Groong, Hayastan, music, Musicians, Narineh