"Camp Hill?"
that was the most common response to us asking other people, "hey, have you ever heard of Camp Hill, Alabama?" we even talked with people from Alabama, and they hadn't heard of Camp Hill. the allure was palpable. we arrived at The Panorama around 5, and it...man. okay, i'm a blues head, right? love the delta blues. this was like being in my juke joint fantasy.
the story goes: The Panorama used to be a truck stop-slash-restaurant, the restaurant commonly known as The Steer Inn. the place was dormant since the 90's, until a man i only know as "Burke" and his sister Andrea bought the place, put in a lot of work, and re-opened The Panorama as a music venue (now known as The Sound Lounge).
Camp Hill is a little town 20 minutes outside of Auburn (population of roughly 1,000), with a black female liberal representative, and an art scene on the cusp of turning into something special. the roots are there, it's now a matter of momentum.
we performed with Chad Mueller (Catfish Jenkins) and -- as i was still in a dizzying haze about how much i loved the space -- he said, "i went to Dark Horse Brewery a few weeks back and brought a keg of Crooked Tree, it's in the front." Michigan beer too, bruh? sheeeeeeeeit.
Heidi made Irish stew.
the Roky Erikson documentary was playing on a loop on the tv.
i was drunk on pure enjoyment of Camp Hill (and a little of that Crooked Tree).
i just spotted two alpaca's cross the street.
Camp Hill, y'all.
