Meet the JohnDC AllStars, with special guest Cindy. This is the way I’ve spent a part of the last four or five Memorial Day weekends — playing at Patty’s annual Del Ray Luau. This year’s version was perhaps a little more mellow than past luaus but still featured the potent combination of live music, lots of folks from the Old Town Alexandria bar and restaurant scene, and plenty of food and drink.

For you harp geeks: This is a very typical gig rig for me — I’m playing into an Astatic T3 mic with a Shure CM element, and the white amp in the background is Teresita, my Fender Tweed Deluxe clone. That amp stand I’m using makes all the difference in the world — Teresita projects much, much better when I use that stand.
The amp is mic’d (although you can’t see that) but it really doesn’t need it; the only difference between this and a typical gig is that I didn’t use a delay pedal because I usually need all the punch I can get outdoors.