Last year I spent the summer solstice tromping around town with a keyboard in tow. NYC does this thing called Make Music NY; musicians apply to play free shows outside, all over the city. I think I played 4 shows that day, ending with an in-the-round music circle, as the sun set behind us over the river.
This year I spent the solstice inside, at a wonderful songwriting conference in Nashville; we were still indoors listening to music long after the sun had set. Around midnight or so a group of us did make it outside into the sticky night, and played a round of whatever songs we could think of, while we still could think.
And then the next day we gathered for a low-key potluck in the hot June sun. We played a little, ate a little, and lounged as languidly as possible in the southern heat.
Not a traditional solstice celebration, I suppose, but all the elements were there, for me: sun, music, feeling alive, being with wonderful people. May we all have more days like that, however low or high the sun is in the sky.
