April 25, 2003 Concertina Festival, Merrill, Wisconsin
After hearing reports from club members about how much fun they had at Dan and Sue Gruetzmacher's annual Concertina Festival in Merrill, about 18 of us decided to give it a try. For our day trip, we rented a party bus with lounge seating (Plenty of elbow room for playing concertinas) and a galley. We played almost non-stop on the four-hour trip there and another four on the way back. At the Festival, we got to play two sets and invited anyone who wanted to join in. There were at least a dozen takers. We heard some pretty amazing performers that day. The highlight for me was when Dan Gruetzmacher finished his set and went into the bar. There he was sitting on a bar stool next to a jovial fellow with an accordian. They were playing together, when the accoridanist yelled "B-flat," and they both transposed on the fly. They both began shouting out new keys to challenge the other. Transposing on the concertina is difficult, but Gruetzmacher had no problems. Then one yelled out the name of a new song, and they both shifted gears yet again, laughing and smiling at the challenge. This musical jousting went on for at least 20 minutes. One-upsmanship at its finest.

This is the back of the bus as seen from the galley. Concertinas were being passed around as people took turns playing. This shot was taken in the early morning, which explains why there was no beer.

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