Kansas City Bluegrass
Little Flower House Concert #36
At the January house concert and the first concert of 2023, one of the most creative and note-worthy bluegrass groups in the Midwest was featured: The Matchsellers. While the band is out of Kansas City, MO, and performs as a quartet, they sometimes tour as a duet. We were fortunate that this amazing duo stopped through Indianapolis on their Midwest tour to play for us at this intimate house concert. And, lots of guests, both regular attendees, and newcomers, showed up to see them perform! So many, that some guests sat on the floor and there was standing room only.
Believe it or not, there were so many in attendance that the heat in the house was turned off. Even though it was 30 degrees outside, it was 70 degrees in the house and we had to open the windows to cool things off – That is a house concert first! However, there was room for everyone because we squeezed in, got cozy, and it truly was a joyous time. Several guests commented that it was one of their favorite house concerts they had been to – wow!
Andrew Morris, originally from Warsaw, IN, was on guitar, mandolin, and banjo. Julie Bates from Kansas City, MO was on fiddle and guitar. Not only did they switch instruments between songs frequently to keep their sound unique, but they also sang together in playful, communicative harmonies. They performed a super fun and entertaining show for Little Flower House Concert listeners.
Andrew had a silly and very humorous way of addressing the crowd. And, he also, in good fun (of course), had a witty way of teasing his bandmate Julie. Her thoughtful and clever responses to his teasing kept guests laughing throughout their entire performance.
One guest even commented, “I thought I was going to a music concert… I didn’t realize there was a comedy show included!”
Musician Comments…
“Playing Little Flower was a great experience. We had a packed house filled with some of our friends and fans and some people we had never met before. The crowd was excellent, everything was easy-going and comfortable. Kati (the host) has created a great place for old friends and new friends to come together. I only wish we could be there more often, as performers or as listeners!”
~ Andrew Moore & Jule Bates
Pigeon and Dove
One of the most fun parts of the evening was when The Matchsellers played their song “Pigeon and Dove”. Not only was the song itself great, but this one was a crowd favorite for a reason! Before Andrew and Julie started to play this tune, they asked for 2 guest volunteers. The volunteers were handed a bag and told to “put on” whatever was in the bag at a certain point in the song when prompted. Andrew told the volunteers, “Your queue will be obvious. When I say ‘“piece of crap” you’ll know.” No one knew what to expect. But, inside the bag was a pigeon and a dove mask!
The Little Flower House Concert guest volunteers came through for everyone. They put on the masks and danced around to the rest of the song. It was so funny to see this and it truly made for a unique and magical time! While most of my photos of this occurrence turned out a little blurry, one guest submitted the photo below and you can watch The Matchsellers video of this tune to get an idea. Or, watch the house concert live stream to see our pigeon and dove in action. This tune starts right at the 2-hour mark. It truly made for a memorable time. Our pigeon and dove volunteers were simply fantastic!
Here are the main lyrics of the song:
“I can’t believe that a pigeon and a dove are the very same bird.
If you translate them into German they come out as the same word.
Taube that’s the word in German for both a pigeon and a dove.
One is a flying rat and one’s a symbol for peace and love…”
Surprise Jam Session
There happened to be several talented Indiana musicians in attendance at this house concert. We are lucky to have so much talent in the Midwest! The Matchsellers knew a few of these musicians and invited them to play towards the end of their concert. Thus, guests got to enjoy a full bluegrass quartet which included guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and vocals. Getting this instrumentation all together in one room created a surprise jam session at the end of the evening. It was quite the evening of music.
Food and Drinks for Everyone
Our official food vendor, Weiner Dreams, always brings the best food! Local, small business owner, Smitty has the best hotdogs around and he brings all the yummy toppings too. Plus, this time he had homemade broccoli cheese soup. It was delicious. He sets up in the kitchen breakfast nook so all of the house concert guests can grab a snack and no one leaves hungry.
There were plenty of drinks to share too thanks to our drink partners. Thank you again to Black Acre, Upland, and Mark Gasper Presents for generously donating drinks for guests to enjoy at every house concert. Guests are always welcome to bring their own, but there’s also plenty to share.
Because of the special and intimate setting, not only are house concerts one of the best ways to see live performances… they also allow for deep connections to be made between humans. It’s the perfect way to meet with neighbors and make new friends. See you next time!
