The Sights and Sounds tour officially started on November 6th with a performance at a retirement home. Last time I played for a large group of old people, they turned their hearing aids off, so I began to worry that the same thing would happen here. After we began playing, I realized my fears were unjustified. I also later realized this was the first sign that nothing on this trip would follow my expectations.

When we were not performing, everyone typically did one of two things: sleep, or wish they were asleep. As someone who hates taking naps, I found myself turning into a very wishful thinker. The days, especially the first one, seemed to stretch on. Not to say they were boring, but when you’re running on minimal sleep, everything seems to stretch on.

After our show on the first day, we went to the park in Meridian where the Jimmie Rodgers museum and, more importantly, a very old carousel were located. I was part of the first group that rode the carousel that day. If you ever get the chance to ride a century-old carousel while Kids Bop plays in the background, I highly recommend it.

After the carousel, we visited the Jimmie Rodgers museum. Now, for those unaware, Jimmie Rodgers is a seminal country musician from Mississippi; he was, in fact, so influential that decades after his death, famous musicians were willing to contribute their autographs to a giant quilt. How do I know this? Because I witnessed, nay, experienced it in all of its bizarre glory. The woman who helps run the museum gets very excited about this quilt; if there was no deadline for us to get to other places sometimes I think we might have never left.

Our second performance was in Gulfport at a Veterans’ Day festival. It went very well, spectacularly well, even. However, no matter how well we may have done, the one thing I will never forget is the man dressed as a Confederate general. Why was he there? Why was he dressed as a Confederate? Does he normally dress that way, or was it an occasional thing? Also, why am I so intrigued by this? What does that say about me as a person? These are the deep thoughts I have while on stage.

Later that day, we visited the 100 Men Hall, a famous blues venue in Bay St. Louis. The owners talked to us about how they had produced a live album from recordings they made while there; one of them mentioned how it had been her dream for years and how excited she was to finally have it happen. Outside the building, a for sale sign accumulated rain.

While the days were long and the bus rides were longer, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience on this trip. All the exhaustion, all the food I had no desire to eat yet still felt bad for not eating, all the places we visited, and all the performances we had will stay in my memories for a long time to come. Thank you to all those that made this trip possible, and I hope I get to come along with the Sights and Sounds tour next year.