HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL FRIENDS AND FAMILY

New Year's Day was amazing. This RV park (La Hacienda) used to be where Freddy Powers lived when he wasn't on the road......he used to play with Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and others with his band ("Stop the Truck"). Actually, Freddy is an unsung hero having penned over 30 country hits and even showed Ray Charles how to play some of his songs. Well, for a few years now, La Hacienda RV Park have hosted an all-day, New years day, jam session. Artists from all over Austin, Tennessee and Texas coming to pay tribute and join Freddy. 

The session started at 2 pm and went through till 11pm nobody did more than 3 songs, so you can imagine how many artists/bands there were.  What a talent show..bluegrass, folk, country, blues. Big double basses, all types of acoustic some electric guitars, all types of singers....some solo, some duet, some groups, all quality and entertaining. It was so good Derek decided he couldn't even consider bringing out his guitar!!!! Freddy who is now 81 was there for the whole piece. He suffers from advanced Parkinson's, is confined to a wheelchair and looks very frail. he is only a shadow of his former self. Yet despite all this, and only a few days since his last stint in hospital, at about 10:30pm he was taken to the stage area to join his old band and he managed to whisper out a verse on one of this big songs, gasping but remarkably in key and on pitch. I'll tell you hardly a dry eye in the 150 or so crowd. Incredible! So look up to see who Freddy is and be amazed.
Apart form the music, the food was amazing. the whole shindig was called a "pickin' party". The RV park provided black-eyed peas, cabbage, ham and beef brisket, and everyone brought something to share.... what a spread.. we ate all day, met lots of people and enjoyed the roaring fire. A great start to 2013.