I got asked to come up and sing! That’s my dream come true. There is not a time in my life, where when watching live musicians, part of me doesn’t think ‘Man I hope they’ll need someone to come up and sing!’ Now that I’m typing it out loud, I’m wondering if that’s normal?

At any rate, it happened!

For context, there is an amazing musical movement happening in Salt Lake City. Hot House West is a new non-profit committed to creating community through their love of acoustic swing music. The Swing Renaissance nights are my favorite night of the month and I’ve already put the dates in my calendar for the full year. I never want to miss one.

There is a large (I think 17-piece) big band on stage, all that brass, the fiddle, the guitars – It’s heaven! I’m wildly impressed by the caliber of musicians right here in little ol’ SLC.

It’s held at Clubhouse, an historic building on South Temple. The night is filled with extraordinary live music and free swing dance lessons. They bring in a food truck, have a bar (you know, for hydration) and it’s absolutely delightful in every way.

So, the March swing night was dedicated to western swing – a personal favorite of mine. After my first Hot House night, I emailed the organizer to say ‘what did I just experience and how can I be a part of it?’ He was very nice to respond, he introduced himself the following month, then, much to my surprise and delight, he asked me if I wanted to join them to sing Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight.”

“YES!” (which was also code for ‘are you freakin’ kidding me?!?!!?!)

Thank you Hot House West!