Thank you to everyone who made it out to ThorpeWood on Sunday afternoon for our fantastic concert featuring Ruut and Luke Brindley. We promised it would be an afternoon to remember, and we didn’t disappoint! Many came to spend that wonderful time with us and to help us raise money to support ThorpeWood – thank you so very much! For those of you who made it – and for those who were unable to come out – we wanted to share a few of the pictures captured during the concert.
Before we begin, we have to give a big thank you to Don Frame – a true friend to ThorpeWood and a fabulous photographer as well! Don was kind enough to share the photos that he took on Sunday afternoon, and we have to say, he really captured some amazing shots. He is truly talented with the lens, and we encourage you to check out his website to learn more about him. And thank you again, Don, for sharing your talent with ThorpeWood, and our readers.
And a shout out to Todd Walker who provided the sound for the concert under some pretty challenging circumstances. Many thanks, Todd!!!
And now, onto the pictures!
Here is a picture of Ruut, performing on ThorpeWood’s 120 year old Steinway baby grand piano, in front of the embers of a cozy fire.
It was so much fun to hear Ruut during the sound check on several occasions say, “I love this Steinway!” and then she would just sit and listen to the purity of the notes traveling into the space of the cathedral ceiling. At one point during the performance, Ruut asked if we could raise the piano lid to the full up position to get more piano sound out of the Steinway and oh my goodness was that a thrilling moment as the sound danced from the piano.
Ruut has been playing and recording for about 10 years. Her song choice for the concert was from both her popular classics and her newer material featured on her new CD, Glimpse.
Ruut says of her new album: “Experiencing motherhood has made me realize how quickly life is passing, and that I need to live in every moment. I’m not too worried about the outcome anymore. I just want to write and sing about what has meaning to me – being human, finding and holding onto love, and the journey that brings us face to face with our most authentic selves. If a song doesn’t resonate with me, I won’t sing it. Life is too short to compromise. That’s what these songs are all about – awakening and remembering that life passes in a glimpse. I hope my words and my voice can play a part in that invaluable discovery.”
And oh my golly did Ruut deliver …no doubt that this was her best performance at ThorpeWood to date. Ruut’s band added so much liveliness and background to the concert. Ruut’s band – Brian Mirsch on drums, Matt Berry on bass, and Frank Grocholski on guitar – did an outstanding job of giving an added dimension to Ruut’s songs. Most impressive was how this band played to support Ruut’s solo artist sound …I’m still not sure how they did that but I was there and they did. Here is a picture of Ruut at the Steinway with band members, Matthew on guitar and Brian on drums behind.
Didn’t we say that a concert at ThorpeWood is unlike a concert anyplace else? Where else can you see an artist in such an intimate setting and be surrounded by nature in all its glory, with a roaring fire to boot? Wonderful.
What a fitting opening act for Ruut, Luke Brindley from Reston, VA was. 
He was fantastic. It was good to get to know Luke through his music which is deeply influenced by his family. We learned a great deal more about Luke …Luke and his two brothers own Jammin Java in Vienna, VA. Here is an excerpt from their website:
“Jammin Java found its unique identity as well. Year after year, Pollstar Magazine recognizes the club as one of the Top 100 Venues in the world according to ticket sales, and we sell the most tickets of any club our size anywhere. We also have the most active children’s music concert series of any nightclub around. Countless national publications have featured Jammin Java too, including Paste Magazine who named us one of the “Top 40 Music Venues” in the country. We have also built an incredible network of support from an international community of artists, fans, managers and agents who love what we do here.”
A memorable moment occurred during Luke’s performance was when he was checking-in with the audience to make sure that they were enjoying the sound and staying with him, Luke said that he could not get over performing during day-light hours in contrast to the industry norm of late night hours with strong spot-lights flooding the stage, making it hard to see anyone in the audience. The ThorpeWood experience for these musicians was quite the opposite – and there they were … their audience in full living color on a gorgeous sunny Sunday afternoon.
Spectacular.
And here are all of the artists, taking a moment to pose for us on the stairs.
They were such a great group of performers, and even more importantly, a great group of people. We so enjoyed our time with them and look forward to the next time we can bring you more music on the mountain! With talent and sound as outstanding as this, the only regret is that we didn’t fill the Lodge. Here’s hoping the word gets out and next time around it is a SOLD OUT performance.