Could I Have Been Somewhere In Gilford
Prelude
I spent so much time and effort on this concert recap essay and I still don’t know if I was able to put my feelings into words. Did I get across how much we all laugh? How can I explain how my soul feels when it feels the love of our community? Can I even encapsulate how important and special these connections are for me? The Beth-era from 2020-2025 was enlightening. Everything changes, everything is challenging, but still, every time gets better.
Not only is this a concert review, but the floodgates have opened, allowing me to summarize the last couple years. Kinda like the stereotype of including someone’s life story in the on-line article before an actual recipe and its indigents are shared!
The Mud
Folks were always warning, “don’t get old” and “do it now while you’re young,” I always replied, “old isn’t until we’re 80,” then I found myself in 2018 chatting with Amy Ray and friends after a concert in Medford, Oregon about how things were starting to change, how people in my life were getting older, and how I was starting to feel the loss of loved ones more rapidly. She acknowledge this strange turning point of life and shared encouragement with us in our surreal grief. They played Let Me Go Easy by request that night and she even signed my ticket stub, “Prayers up for Geeze!”
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| 2018 |
“I see my folks are getting on
And I watch their bodies change
I know they see the same in me
And it makes us both feel strange”
- Nick of Time - Bonnie Raitt
Times have only gotten tougher. Most people are going through their own loss, success, travel, journeys, health scares, violence, and the impacts of politically charged decisions around the world. I have felt personally changed by the intensity of the previous two years.
I joked that a portal opened when the downtown of my hometown experienced flash floods in September 2023 and our friends lost their house as the earth around it eroded and the street pavement washed away. They escaped safely and have since relocated, but I’m still looking for how to close the damn portal!
In February 2024, as friends were following the Amy Ray Band between shows up the Pacific North West, we witnessed a woman choking during brunch with her family. After multiple Heimlich maneuver attempts, and CPR on the matriarch by both breakfast patrons and EMT, she devastatingly did not survive. She has stuck with me as I’m sure this experience did for her family as well.
Leading up to this, I had been sick with acute mold poisoning, from the floods. We hadn’t realized until I was packing up the bedroom closet, but water had leaked behind the building’s siding, molding inside the external wall, creeping into the closet. I was spending most of my time working from home, breathing in the spores next to me. The issue was fixed and I was finally able to dry out during trips to Portland, Oregon, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Athens, Greece.
The mental fog was a very real thing and as I was making the decision to move back to Massachusetts from Oregon after 13 years, I was part of the first round of layoffs at my tech job, resulting in a recent career hiatus and responsibility redirect. I did move, and I really miss my friends, apartment and life in Portland. Though I only miss aspects of the tech industry that I was a part of for a decade. Still, unexpected changes are hard, sometimes leaving us to question our worth, analyze what actually matters, and reevaluate our standards.
Unfortunately, since starting around this time, I’ve lost more people in rapid succession then ever before. My high school friends Aisha died of an embolism, and Candy had RSV. Our family friend Bill passed in a house fire. Judi died after injuries from a hit and run after the previously mentioned Amy Ray Band shows. My Uncle Donny was his small town in Vermont’s first Green Burial, and my Great-Aunt Rena was 88. My buddy Stephen passed away after health issues and then soon after was the car accident that took my bestie Beth. Loosing so many people, so young and suddenly, has felt so strange and left me on edge. I miss them all but I know I’ve gained some angels.
“I see the numbers dwindling
Of my enemies and my friends
Still I know it never ends
So I'm passing you this torch
Fight the greed and the federals
Fight the need and the toxic spills
You drink from that wishing well
But may it never quench your thirst
Let me go easy
Won't you let me go easy
You let me go right now”
- Let Me go Easy - Indigo Girls
In 2006, Amy Ray was quoted about her song, Let Me Go Easy. "I wrote this song to honor a friend and comrade, Nilak Butler, who died of ovarian cancer after a long struggle. Her life's work was an immense offering to the causes of environmental justice and indigenous rights, which gave her death even more significance - a death caused by a disease that has been linked to environmental contaminates and spurred on by a lack of public health care. The ideas still stick with me. It's a song that we sing in that spirit every now and then. We pull it out for sacred reasons, so to speak.”
This weekend at the Indigo Girls concert, I was chatting with a mutual friend, Shelly, about our departed Beth, as well as spirituality, tarot cards, free will and talismen. She had a handmade Beth-related ornament on her. I was wearing new green plugs in my ears. The first time Beth and I met, she loved the purple gauges in my ears. She had similar ones, similar glasses and even though she was bleached, a similar haircut. She called us twins! I’d never wore green earrings until now, so I put them in for the show to see what she’d think. Other people wore Beth-made shirts, carried charms from their last Santa Fe trip together and made signs to request a song dedication.
Beth’s Indigo Girls related fan page had grown to 2000 members by her own recruitment and she’s left her impact on all of us. I told Shelly that Beth isn't just the art and items she left behind as a prolific artist, she is the inspiration and motivation I feel she left me with. The stories about how she helped people grow as artists are endless and the declarations of her impact have been overwhelming. I feel it too as I paint and collaborate now with her spirit.
I’ve also been dog sitting, house keeping, personal coaching, caretaking for things around the house for my parents and spent lots of time with Lisa as she’s been dealing with Lymphoma. I can’t always help all my friends and family who are in need, but I try! I have also spent time at the beach, had a poem published for the first time in a long time, and I had to buy a new-to-me Subaru after my Hyundai lease was totaled by an erratic driver who ran a red light this Summer. Also a bit traumatizing. As I navigate so many strange goings-ons, I’ve been hesitant to apply for too many new tech jobs opportunities at the moment because my plate feels full, but I’m on a wild ride. All this to say, the love and connection at a concert means more now than ever - and it meant a lot before!
You're more than the worst thing you've ever known
I'll tell you mine and you tell me yours
And we will know we are more
And remember when you feel you go astray
Who made the rules for us anyway
Yeah we get to be what we wanna be”
- What We Wanna Be - Indigo Girls
The Experience
The music of the Indigo Girls has always been a part of my life as I was born into the world at the same time as their first independent album. My show count is finally in the triple digits. I’ve made music a lifestyle, and I’ve garnered the respect of both Amy and Emily after years of brief, friendly connections. I’ve traveled to cities and venues I wouldn’t have normally visited and I’ve made memories with many wonderful, likeminded people who moved into my heart immediately and will always live there.
I’ve know some of my Indigo-friends since I was 16-years-old, introducing myself on Indigo Girls related fan websites and sharing addresses to send each other bootlegs on CDs. That turned into attending weddings, vacations, and cookouts resulting in almost 25 years of togetherness with my Indigo Family.
 |
| 2004 |
Since Beth died, our group of New England fans have made the effort to spend even more time together, outside of concerts, at events like Beth’s Art Reception of Life, a front-yard cookout in New Hampshire and a hot afternoon in Salem before a Bitch concert. Bitch dedicated the entire show to Beth that night. This summer, with Jessie and Cheri at the lead, even our pre-game tailgating events are bigger than ever before.
I’ve packed a lot of accomplishments, friendships and experiences into my Indigo adjacent lifetime. Nothing makes me able to feel my soul more. I’ve surrounded myself with people who work to create special moments, always in the name of good. It’s bigger than the music and I’m very grateful.
I may have cut back on concerts this year, but I wasn’t going to miss the Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge show at the Bank of NH Pavilion in Gilford, NH. Formally Meadowbrook. I hadn’t seen Indigo there since 2004, but I’ve been attending the Dave Matthews Band shows here since the pandemic. The venue, right on Lake Winnipesaukee, with easy parking, a capacity of 9000, a backstage village and private food catering for the artists, is magical. It’s got a rich history and my friend, Jerry could tell you more.
The Kubota Prime-1 Parking Lot opened at 4:30 and our group were some of the first to arrive. Multiple cars of friends, one mega pop up tent / two grills courtesy of Cheri Singalong, chairs / countless coolers courtesy of Jessie, and endless food - grilled meats, burgers, snacks, fruits, sweets. Laura G brought the “Muddy Buddy’s and tall glass of sweet tea.” Our spreads get more serious each year. I joked to our friend, Chris, “we’ve come a long way since getting in line at 5am on the sidewalk in Lowell, MA!” It was perfect and gorgeous. We ate, listened to music and caught up while we tailgated until the clouds rolled in and the sky opened up.
It poured! It hailed! It got 15 gleeful people to huddle under a tent together! The venue issued a shelter in place until the thunder and lightening was far enough afar. I just kept thinking, "uh oh, this is how scary documentaries start!"
We pulled the food in, now getting wet.
“Is that a sausage?!” We had also called the women who were huddled under my Subaru’s tailgate over to share our tent. One of the women was peeking around but not in reach of the table.
“Sure is!” My mom stabbed the rain-sausage with a plastic fork. Take one, pass it down! We even did a dixie cup toast with Rose wine that Heather and Mikey B had gifted us. They couldn’t make the show, but were there in spirit.
“Where are the cups?” My mom asked across the tightly packed group of people.
“Over here in this big, old blue bag!” I replied in her direction, turning quickly to see Sheri Potter, wearing a big blue poncho, standing right where I was pointing!
“What’d you call me?!” She proclaimed and we all laughed.
Once the storm passed over, it was already time to clean up. The outside of the coolers were muddy, the chairs were saturated, my whiskey was watered down and my abandoned burger was sitting in a puddle on a soggy plate. Luckily, we hadn’t opened up all the chip bags.
Props to Cheri’s daughter, Amber really hauled-butt cleaning up!
Then, a rainbow came out. Thanks, Beth. Still bringing us together.
Cheers!
“Dark clouds are coming in like an army
Soon the sky will open up and disarm me…
Come back here and shut the door
I'm stacking sandbags against the river of your trouble…
Come on home”
- Come on Home - Indigo Girls
At any event, I’m always getting pulled between people and stories, in the best way, but I always want more time. Sometimes I take tons of photos - sometimes I don’t always take enough pictures! Time flies when we’re having fun! Today was no different. I got to meet both Bobby’s other half, and Heather D’s wife this time around. We had another laugh when Lisa and Heather reunited, Lisa ironically hollering,
“Where the hell have ya been?” when it has been Lisa absent from the shows. It’s a fact that you’ll always leave in stitches after hanging out with Lisa, Kim and Maria.
Last summer, Lisa couldn’t attend any concerts due to her battle with Lymphoma. She hadn’t been to an Indigo show since December 2023 in Concord, NH. She’s doing so well, yet the struggle continues, but live music can be healing. She was craving a concert real bad. Kim and Maria were amazing in their help to get her there and we had a fun sleep over that night. The Bank of NH Pavilion staff was also so very incredible. Peter went above and beyond all night for Lisa. He use to work at Disney, so it was top quality care with attentiveness, seat upgrades, wheelchairs and golf carts! I’ve missed her so much at the shows and this was a night to remember!
Melissa Etheridge and Indigo both gave the venue praise! My friend Jerry, who would literally give you the shirt off his back, works at the venue and alway soaks in the compliments from the bands.
Melissa and Indigo have each been playing in Gilford for decades and commented on the growth. Melissa said every time she comes back, it gets bigger. She recounted seeing the stage go up, the overhang erected, the seats installed, the lawn sprawl, the concourse grow and the back stage village and food catering get more impressive over the years. She was full of love and gratitude for our special place on the lake, and Jerry told me all his stories too.
Emily even said, “We love this venue! The people who run it are the best! The food is wonderful and the hospitality is just, it’s a wonderful place to be! And I hope you feel the love we feel for all of y’all. Now y’all join us! Thanks a million!” And then she launched into Closer to Fine!
“I’m trying to tell you something about my life
Maybe give you insight between black and white
And the best thing you’ve ever done for me
Is to help me take my life less seriously
It’s only life after all.”
- Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls
Time after time, I spill my feelings to my best friend, Carly and she is always able to so succinctly surmise it for me. She’s always better than Chat GPT and it was no different this time!
“Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls are still the same, badass, talented women that they’ve always been, but Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are no longer just a duo; they’ve brought back the whole band to fearlessly challenge ageism, political bullshit, and to continue marching to the beat of their own drum.” - Carly
Amy and Emily have been playing with UK’s Carol Issacs (keys, accordion), and Clare Kenny (bass) since 1999 - they were each part of Sinead O’Connor’s band. Carol smiled a lot and Clare was mysterious under her hat and hair. Next, both from NYC, Lucy Roche has been on vocals since 2008, and Lyris Hung on violin since 2012. Even though Jeff Fielder (Seattle) has been playing guitar/mandolin/dobro with Amy Ray since 2012, he was added to the Indigo Girls’ lineup in 2023 when the band reunited. Lastly, TK Johnson out of LA is the newest addition on drums. We love her already and it’s only been one tour.
“Indigo attracts so many good people to them! The friendships of the folks in the band are so special and their community of fans so tangibly reflect who they are at their core—incredible, feeling, deep thinkers and poets with strong values. Their current Yes We Are Tour is about everyone—the band, the crew, the venue staff, and all the people who love each other and are genuinely excited to see each other. No matter how far apart we are all sitting from each other, we still feel close in the experience of it all—as if no time had passed since the last time.” - Carly
Carly and I just celebrated our 22 year friend-iversary outside the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom where we met and chatted with Trina Meade on the back steps. She and her wife, Sarah have joined me for multiple Indigo Girls shows, and we even saw them with Melissa last summer together, but we brought along our lovely friend Mimi this time. Mimi has always loved the music, and now she understands our community.
Melissa Etheridge
1. All American Girl
2. Angels Would Fall
3. Royal Station 4/16 (VIDEO)
4. I Wanna Come Over -> Red Wine Supernova (VIDEO)
5. No Souvenirs
6. Brave & Crazy
7. Yes I Am (VIDEO)
8. Born Under a Bad Sign (VIDEO)
9. Come to My Window
10. Bring Me Some Water
11. I’m The Only One
12. Like the Way I Do (VIDEO)
Mom and I use to watch Melissa’s Live and Alone concert DVD at our old house. Now, all these years later, we’ve seen her multiple times in just the last year - even with our friend, Andrea on my 38th birthday! Etheridge always puts on a great rock show and her band always sounds crystal clear.
Mom loves when Melissa plays her drum solo during Like the Way I Do and I always love the energy of Bring Me Some Water and when she covers Chappell Roan’s Red Wine Supernova in the middle of I Want To Come Over. I’m just always surprised not so many people know the song! Last summer, when I went to Bethel, NY to see the first round of Melissa with Indigo Girls, the young lady parked next to us had her family listen to The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess album in full. It was my first listen in it’s entirety as well, as I tried to secure a ticket on my phone for the show I was already at in the parking lot for, and it was the perfect soundtrack to that afternoon.
“Baby, why don’t you come over?
Red wine supernova
Falling into me
I don’t care that you’re a stoner
Red wine supernova
Fall right into me”
- Red Wine Supernova - Chappell Roan
Even though Melissa’s last four songs are usually the same, you never know what else she’s going to play. It’s great to get a different mix of songs and eras during each set. I really enjoy her MEmphis Rock and Soul album and finally got to see some representation of it with her cover of Born Under a Bad Sign by William Bell and Booker T. Jones. She tore it up!
I also had never seen Angels, Royal Station or Yes I Am before! This year, the co-headlining tour is titled Yes We Are, after the old Melissa anthem, speaking to all the things. Yes we are woman, we are rockers, we are citizens of this planet, we are gay, we are deserving, we are witches, we are creatives, we are activists, we are good, and we are not backing down.
“Come lay your body beside me
To dream, to sleep with the lamb
To the question your eyes seem to send
Am I your passion, your promise, your end?
I say, I am
Yes, I am”
- Yes I Am - Melissa Etheridge
“Summer’s over!” Melissa declared after a couple songs, to which the crowd jeered,
“No,” and “Don’t say that!”
“Okay, okay, I won’t! It’s not over yet… you still have this weekend.”
Laughter ensued. At least we can take a joke. My dad said he would have yelled something out about football season, and he’s right - doesn’t Melissa love football?!
Indigo Girls
1. Kid Fears with Melissa Etheridge (VIDEO)
2. Fill It Up Again (VIDEO)
3. Chickenman (VIDEO)
4. Trouble (VIDEO)
5. Second Time Around with Clay Cook (VIDEO)
6. Pendulum Swinger
7. Go (VIDEO)
8. Power of Two
9. From this Room (VIDEO)
10. Get out the Map (VIDEO)
11. Scooter Boys (VIDEO)
12. Soft Line - Lucy
13. Midnight Train to Georgia (VIDEO)
14. Deconstruction (VIDEO)
15. Shame on You >
16. Galileo (VIDEO)
17. Laramie (VIDEO)
18. Closer to Fine (VIDEO)
The Yes We Are tour comes riding in after the success of 2023 where we saw Indigo Girls heavily featured in movies like Barbie, Glitter and Doom, and Alexandria Bombach’s documentary, It’s Only Life After All. Back in the limelight after multiple New York Times articles, co-headling tours commenced with Dar Williams, Neko Case, Amos Lee, Morgan Wade, and now two summers with Melissa Etheridge!
When they took to the stage and Kid Fears started, I kissed Lisa on the head and Mom and I ran back to our seats. The fullness of the band is emotional and got me all choked up right off the bat. Melissa even comes out and sings the Michael Stipe part! Sometimes they all also share the stage for Baby You Can Sleep While I Drive during Melissa’s set.
Both Fill It Up Again, and Trouble with the band always set a fun tone in the beginning of the show. Lots of voices on stage equal sweet harmonies!
Emily and Jeff both tore it up during Chickenman and Laramie alike. Amy had angry hair in her eyes during an early-in-the-set Go too, and I think I saw smoke coming off all the guitar strings.
I saw Indigo Girls do Amy’s solo song Laramie at my very first show in 2002 on the Become You Tour, and I’ve been present to some real rockin’ versions with Amy with Kaia and Melissa from the Butchies. But to hear Amy talk about Matthew Sheppard at a venue this huge was really moving.
Amy said, “Y’all are amazing. We’re gonna do a really old song. I wrote this for Matthew Sheppard while I was deriving through Wyoming. I’m gonna send this out to all the trans, and the queer and the non binary kids out there. I’ve been thinking about them and their families - hoping their families support them. And to their teachers! And to the librarians! All the people who help them feel like they should feel, which is one hundred percent. We love them! We love our kids."
Second Time Around was a real standout with Jeff and Clay Cook (from Zak Brown Band) adding strings! What a cool guest appearance! Emily and Amy are both friends with the guys from Zak Brown Band. Amy told the crowd she was out back shooting hoops before the show when she heard a familiar voice say something like, “hey, can I jump in?” She thought, “wait, I know that voice” and looked up to see her good friend Clay Cook! “You’ve gotta play with us tonight!” So typical - everyone always joins in!
We got a couple good “fuck-its!” during Pendulum Swinger and Shame on You. Maryna and I commented on lots of eye contact from Amy during Shame! It’s so nice to be seen and feel mutual respect. It was also amazing to finally meet Maryna in person! She made the trek across the Americas and we could finally hug! I caught her grooving in some of my videos. Next time, we have more catching up to do about Real Housewives culture! She’s so smart and I love hearing her thoughts on the world.
I’m always hard on Power of Two since I’ve heard it so many times. And I’m not in love. But I must admit that transitioning from Power of Two into From This Room made for a sensitive, chill moment in the middle of their dynamic show. From This Room is off Amy’s latest solo release, If It All Goes South and the addition of Emily and the Indigo band gives it a different depth. I love that Amy isn’t afraid to share songs.
Scooter Boys, or anything off Shaming of the Sun is always going to be a highlight for me as its my favorite album of all time. Scooter Boys was also a favorite of the woman sitting next to us, Chris, and her husband, Chris! She understood the assignment and we rocked.
Chris is a Melissa fan and also loves U2! Her amazement made me chuckle, “You know all these people down here?!” She asked when I brought her down front to meet our crew in between sets. Yes, we do. Lots of love in the room.
Lucy Roche sang her song, Soft Line. I might not have placed it directly after Scooter Boys but it’s pretty! It’s not often anyone in the band wears red, and especially not at the same time. So I joked that the red shirt Lucy had is the same shirt I’ve seen on stage before, getting passed around the band!
Emily took the lead for Deconstruction, which is a great addition to the tour with full band, but drummer, TK Johnson stole the lead for the majority of Midnight Train to Georgia, trading vocals at the end with Emily, while Amy, Lyris and Lucy sang and danced backup! We loved it!
“Whoo whoo!
I’d rather live in his world
Then live without him in mine”
- Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight
Emily’s quintessential hits, Get Out The Map, Galileo, and Closer To Fine always put a pep in everyone’s step and the even the heavens above can usually hear us sing!
Amy and Emily look happy and healthy. They are pacing themselves through this 80-show tour and have even incorporated an entire new tour wardrobe this time around mixed with new and vintage pieces, reflecting the location of, and adding extra attitude to, each show. August 29, 2025 left me wanting more and overwhelmed with delight for days, as always.
“At some point, IG and Melissa might decide not to tour anymore. They could retire but fans will always have the memories of what was, so nights like this make me feel so grateful for what is.” - Carly
I’m still flooded with joyful visions of Jessie’s friendship bracelets, dragging Sarah into the “men’s” room, vibrating balloons, Cheri’s Dad with a cigar under a pride umbrella, Susan/Chris/Michelle waving from afar, Kelly Z slinking and dancing around with Melissa’s drum stick being so nice to my mom, Jeff handing out setlists, and the look of surprise on Mom’s face when she turned around and saw the size of the venue from the 5th row!
Mom and I ate at the Sugar Shack in Thornton, NH the next morning and almost stayed in town for the Bonnie Raitt show. Mom’s usually not that spontaneous, but I regret not pushing to stay! I try not to regret much in life, but I always regret the concerts I don’t go to. However, I am most fulfilled after each concert I do attend. I hope I’ve been able to put that into words.
“Keep supporting live music, and keep supporting aging artists. Art should not be measured by perfection; it should be measured by what we gain because of it and how it changes the world and our hearts.” - Carly
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