Bear Valley

Yesterday we had our rehearsal at the Red Lion, the same place where Ron's big band plays each month. The four singers are all Broadway guys; one told me that he'd been in Chorus Line in New York. I talked to another one about Music Circus; the star of our Sweeney Todd is a friend of his. Music Circus has a great reputation in New York, partly because they pay so well. "If I could get a job in Sacramento for the summer, I'd be a happy chorus boy."
We rode to Bear Valley in a little bus. More like a shuttle, really. We had to fit all of our equipment plus fifteen people, so every seat was full.
When we got to the lodge, we had to unload our own equipment and then truck it 300 yards to the tent.
I found out that Brad Larson (the Steinway tuner in Sacramento) is staying here for the whole festival, tuning for the concerts.
I brought my keyboard. It's a lot more work -- if I'd been playing the festival piano I wouldn't have to bring anything -- but for a show like this, digital piano makes a lot more sense. You can control the sound a lot better and they need synth strings for one song.