Our 10th Annual Harvest Moon Concert was more than a concert. It was the celebration of a love story.
Claire and Paul Johnson had been dating for close to a year when Paul privately approached Mike Pritchard, Mark Wallney, and Mike Boyd about performing in Paul’s living room.
Claire loved The Hat Trick’s version of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon”, and Paul arranged to have The Hat Trick and a group of friends waiting in the living room when Paul and Claire pulled up to the house on a date – the date of the actual Harvest Moon on September 22, 2010.
Claire had no idea anything was going on, and when Claire and Paul walked into the living room, The Hat Trick was playing Harvest Moon, and the room was full of friends!
That was the First Ever Harvest Moon concert, and it was a special date. After that first concert, Paul and Claire have continued to host an annual Harvest Moon concert – featuring either The Hat Trick, or in later years, Mike Pritchard and Mark Wallney – every year on the Friday closest to the actual date of each year’s official Harvest Moon.
So that’s the story of our annual Harvest Moon concerts. It has always been a meaningful anniversary in our love story, and is a reminder of love for each other, life, and friends.
Fast forward to 2019, and we saw the opportunity to make this year’s 10th Annual Harvest Moon Concert even more special!
For the first time ever, we hosted the FULL HAT TRICK BAND – including Mike Pritchard, Mark Wallney, Mike Boyd, AND drummer Bobby McDowell!
And we wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted to come could attend, so we reserved a beautiful venue that could accommodate the full band plus as many of our friends as possible.
So the 10th Annual Harvest Moon Concert was held at a beautiful spot in south Lubbock owned by Robert Rogers, called Art Canyon.
Robert graciously provided free Barbeque meal, and many of our guests brought along side items to serve with the BBQ.
In summary, the weather was perfect, and a stunningly gorgeous sunset bookended the orange-glowing full Harvest Moon rising on the other horizon. Perhaps as many as 130 of our friends enjoyed the most amazing Harvest Moon concert ever, with the full Hat Trick band playing in perfect harmony, and never missing a beat the entire evening.
Some quotes from the evening:
“BEST EVER”
“PERFECT EVENING”
“COULDN’T HAVE BEEN BETTER!”
another outstanding performance by our dear friends Mike Pritchard and Mark Wallney, who got this whole thing started in the first place with their better-than-original performances of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon”, which they would always play with a dedication to Claire every time Claire and Paul went on a date anywhere Mike and Mark were playing. Their performance of this romantic and seasonally appropriate song sets the stage for a relaxing evening of undeniable musical and vocal talent.