In 2022, I stepped into the role of booking artists for the monthly coffeehouse. At the end of the season, I began to turn ideas over in my head about how best to retain the coffeehouse format while bringing something fresh to the event. For those of you who are newer members, we strive to support traditional genres of American acoustic music borne out of our collective history, as stated in our mission statement.
As a longtime fan of Jim Parkers Songwriters Series, I envisioned bringing this same concept to HTMA but with the focus being the Blues genre, in the round. In our community, we were fortunate to have an internationally recognized Blues impresario who I needed to seek out for guidance if this were to succeed. A few days later, Microwave Dave Gallaher and I ran into one another at Star Market and greeted each other as we always had with a big “Hey Neighbor.”
We chatted for a moment, and I told him what I had on my mind. When I finished talking, Dave simply asked, “What can I do to help.” Not long after, in what felt like a fever dream, here I was, walking into the Nook on a Thursday evening, someone who had been a huge fan of his since the 80’s, agreement in hand. I was pinching myself in disbelief that such an amazingly talented singer songwriter who had entertained thousands from all over the world was interested in inking an agreement to collaborate on a Blues project that I hoped would be the beginning of something fresh for HTMA.
Thus, the First Annual Acoustic Night of Blues In the Round was held on June 27, 2023. The coffeehouse was still being held in the Olde Church at the Burritt, with what looked like a full house, Dave set the groove, opening the show with a scorching song, accompanied by that deep growling voice that could just as easily turn soft and meditative, but not on this night! This night seemed to cast a palpable magical spell over the audience as the evening wore on, with appreciative applause echoing off those old wooden rafters.
Year Two – 2024 They say you can’t recreate the same magic twice. I’m not sure that’s accurate. Once again, Dave held sway to an eager and receptive audience to create an evening which felt like it held as much energy as Year One.
Year Three, 2025 – Back at the Nook, when Dave took his break, I approached him and said “Hey, let’s get a woman onstage this year. He replied - “Absolutely, I’ve got just the person, Jess Goggans from Mentone.” A few months later, on June 18, Jess rolled into town, jumped onstage, strapped on her acoustic guitar, threw her head back and out came such a beautiful mix of soaring, electrifying vocals that defied classification.
Year Four – 2026 Late January, I gave Dave a holler and said, “Dave, let’s get Jess back again” and so it was. I headed to the Nook the following Thursday. When I arrived, I didn’t see his van, it seemed odd, Dave was good about staying in touch, it might be 3: 00a.m but he would always get in touch, it crossed my mind that I hoped he was okay.
The next night, my phone began to light up with friends asking if I was aware of the very sad news of the loss of our friend. About 11p I got a text from Jess, she was in utter disbelief as I was, over the loss of this uniquely remarkable human. But over time, Jess, along with Mike Roberts agreed that the best way to honor Microwave Dave, would be to continue what he helped launch.
So on Wednesday, June 17, on what will be the 4th Annual Acoustic Night of the Blues in the Round, I would like to invite you to join us as we pay tribute, share stories and songs in celebration of our friend, Dave Gallaher, a true master of the Blues but a man who brought joy to everyone he met. Beep Beep.
Jani Cross Carter, Performance Chair (from our June newsletter)