A scintillating charisma settles into the contour of the valley at Driftless Music Gardens. It’s the weekend we’ve all been waiting for; the concert series that marks the return of togetherness, the transitional events between drive-in restrictions and full blown festivals, and (my personal favorite) the opening of the dance floor. This is the moment my fully vaccinated self has been pining for. Keewaydin Farms and Driftless Curiosity are proud sponsors of this long awaited weekend and our team rises early to make sure that VIPs and volunteers have all the fresh local vegetables they can handle. We arrive on “superfan time” to wait for Leftover Salmon and Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. I lay in the hammock like a solar panel, soaking in the sunshine and sounds of laughter, banking energy for the dance floor. When Horseshoes take the stage, I’m magnetized forward. Their raw talent and mesmerism charge the valley air and pull me from my cocoon. I dance to every song, transfixed by free flying fingers up and down instruments and sensing the strike of each chord in the pit of my stomach. Fascination overcomes fatigue and somehow I’m left wanting more when the band bids us goodnight, a testimony to the reenergizing aura that lives in the contour of this curious valley. Thank you Driftless Music Gardens for cultivating this magical space. We grow more than just carrots. We grow community.

~Joy