Smoky Mountains Reunion, Part 6: The Music

There are oh so many things that I love about our gatherings with my aunt, uncle and cousins, but the one that is going to be the focus of this post is the music. We have some very talented musicians in our family, and listening to them/singing along with them just sets the right atmosphere of relaxation and good times.

One such musician is my cousin, Jim. This man is an amazing guitarist and singer. The wealth of music he knows how to play is astounding. Ever since I was a small child, he's played for us, so when he plays Cats in the Cradle, I am instantly transported to many fond memories of my childhood.

When I was about 7 or 8 years old, my cousin Mary married Patrick. He was an excellent choice for many reasons, but definitely also for his musical talent he brings to our family. ;) This man can sing, play drums and play the guitar, and wow, do Patrick and Jim sound good together.

Miss Megan is one of their biggest fans.

They have a big fan base in our family.

And then there is Will Ferell, whoops!, I mean my cousin Tom, who plays a mean cow bell. That's a good thing, because, as a family, we need more cow bell. :) (This picture was, perhaps, my favorite one of the whole vacation!)

That is no surprise, because this was, perhaps, my favorite SNL skit of all time! (Just to refresh your memory, here's the famous cowbell skit.)

Hanging out with family, relaxing, listening to good music...it doesn't get much better than this!


They even got Evan in on the action, playing on a set of drums that Tom built. This picture, just taken on my phone, doesn't do Evan or the drums justice. Evan was thoroughly enjoying himself, and the drums? With just a few buckets, some wood and nails, Tom built an impressive adjustable drum set. My cousins are talented!

Add John's impressive tamborine skills to the mix...

and we had quite a band!

They have what appears to be a dynamite sound.
However, despite that, we had to say, "WE NEED MORE COWBELL!!"
So Caroline and her Daddy helped us out. ;)

Everyone played something! Here's Evie on the tamborine and Mary on the Bongo drums.

We had a whole percussion section!

This performance was on one of our back balconies. Here's a picture of the whole scene.

Dave, Evan and Seth gave the nightly performances two thumbs up!

So did Mary, Megan and I!

My mom liked the music so much that she waved my Zippo iPhone app. Ha!


Honestly, it was all so much fun!

Gerrard girls, you've got to be proud!