After a week at home to catch up with the kiddos and try to catch up in my office, I head out to Wisconsin to start it up again. The first stop is on Wednesday at Onalaska Middle and High Schools, where I’ll be conducting a day of master classes and rehearsals with their concert and jazz bands- before the band and I get to do a concert side by side with the students. This work is so much fun and rewarding for the students and us alike, I always try to incorporate these into tours. Of course, it’s difficult to squeeze into the already packed schedules at the schools, and to procure enough funding to make it happen due to the current school budget crunches– but it’s something I believe in. Thanks to the Onalaska HS Band Boosters for their support of this education!
From there, the boys and I will glide over to La Crosse, where we’ll be performing at Oktoberfest USA on Thursday and Friday. This is a biggie–and as of the writing of this newsletter, in the top 5 Oktoberfests in the country according to the poll being conducted by USA Today (In fact this morning, when I looked at the list- The Alex Meixner Band plays at the top 3 events in the country! Let’s see if those 3 stay up there!!! Though, there are so many others that are really awesome…)
We then hit the happy highway out to Indiana, PA – where we’ll be performing for our great friends- Danny and Lynette Yarnick at Yarnick’s Farm. We’ll be playing from 6-9pm and enjoying some awesome food. There’s fun for the whole family, so c’mon down to the farm!
Sunday brings us to the Reading Liederkranz (which is going back and forth with New Braunfels, Texas’ Wurstfest for the #1 and #2 slots on that aforementioned poll). This is the first year that we’re closing the festival on Sunday (instead of playing Friday night)- but I have a good feeling it’ll be a full house– the Reading peeps know how to party!!
There are a few tickets available for the Ace in the Hole daytime Oktoberfest shows on Oct 6-7-8-9 in Garfield and Paterson, NJ open for individuals and small groups. If you’re looking for a nice luncheon and show in a wonderful hall, give my buddy Tommy Walker a call and c’mon over.
In the meantime–there are some really awesome projects brewing for me as well as with the band. Keep an eye on the website and social media to see the new stuff– in addition to celebrating all of the awesome upcoming Oktoberfests. (We’ll be in NJ, NY and PA through Oct 18 and then a quick run to Oklahoma and Texas)
Happy Oktoberfest!!!