Joan Baez

O.......M.......G...... Kay and I just returned from attending an outdoor concert under stars with Joan Baez. The concert was held on the main lawn at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. What a weekend we have had, we are staying in a B&B on Ponce de Leon ln, close to Piedmont Park, Atlanta. The owner bumped us up to a better suite and after we settled in we left for the concert arriving at the Gardens about 6pm, they let us park next to the gate, since we have the Kia Soul, (neat car). Everyone was sitting on the curb waiting patiently for the gates to open at 7pm, no cutting in line, everyone being good boys and girls. Once they let us into the park after checking bags we took a spot about 30 ft from the stage. We had arranged to pick up our dinner at the park and plopped ourselves down on the nice soft grassy lawn eating our meal waiting for the concert to begin. At about 8 pm Joan walked out on stage and it was an incredible 2 hours performance. We had bought new chairs which had to be low seated, so we pretty much had to stretch our legs out and let our feet play with the soft grass as the daylight faded.

Her voice was still crystal clear and strong as she opened with "I Believe in God" with her guitar, simply an amazing song which brought me to tears, it was so powerful. With the daylight fading and the birds and bats flying, the cicada singing on a clear, hot Atlanta night, the evening could not have been any better. After singing about 27 songs she ended the concert singing "Amazing Grace", accappella. As this was the first time I had ever seen Joan in concert and had really listened to her songs, I was blown away with her performance. What an incredible experience for Kay and I to feel connected as the small, older crowd sang 'The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down" and "Amazing Grace" loudly with her. Just Wow!