Travel Log : The Bowling Green Blues Trio in the Caribbean and Central America
The Bowling Green Blues Trio
April 30 – May 30, 198-
By Dr. Barry Lee Pearson
The tour began with a performance the very first day out, April 30, at the Ambassador’s residence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. May 1, the trio drove to the town of Jacmel. The next day, May 2, we performed a workshop at the Ecole Nationale Des Arts and later that evening we also did a concert at the same venue. In retrospect the public concert was very successful but the workshop needed more planning. On May 2 we also did a television show for the local network. Post Officer Jeffrey Lite as very helpful to the Trio and did a good publicity job.
May 3 we traveled to Jamaica via Miami. Arriving in Jamaica, we were met by Alfred Head. That evening we attended what was described as an informal party which turned out to be a major TV interview, and performance. On May 4 we did a workshop and an evening concert at the University of the West Indies. The event was co-sponsored by a local hospital who used the event as a fund raiser. More publicity would have boosted attendance.
May 5 had the Trio playing for the S.O.S. Children’s Village, and orphanage outside Montego Bay. Sunday, May 6, the Trio performed at a local school in Montego Bay. Overall the events in Jamaica were successful but the co-sponsors were all charitable organizations who seemed to be looking to keep their costs down and to make money off of the group. Also failure to confirm the group’s flight out of Jamaica proved costly and troublesome. The problem derived from the airport’s decision to close down the runway Monday, May 7, thus canceling all morning flight. In order to get to our next performance in Antigua the group was forced to purchase new tickets and fly through Miami. The tickets cost $960 minus the refund on our unused tickets. Customs in Miami delayed us and almost made us miss our flight. As it was, Eastern Airlines lost one of the group’s guitars.
In Antigua we were met by Susan Walker who ably assisted the Trio in Antigua and Dominica. We attended a reception and gave a public concert on May 8. The concert went very well thanks to the thoughtful planning of Brian Salter.
On May 9 we flew to Dominica where we were met by Pearl Christian. Later that evening we met Bill Dickerman. We did a workshop and performance on May 10. Both went exceptionally well thanks to the excellent planning and publicity. The staff in Dominica deserve special credit for their outstanding work. The president came to the concert and spoke with the group. We also did a radio interview and a television show and our concert was covered live by the local TV station.
Friday, May 11, we left Dominica for Grenada but were forced to overnight in Barbados. The airplane needed repairs and the airstrip in Grenada had no lights so no one was allowed to land after six p.m. The group used Grenada per diem for Barbados and left early the next morning.
In Grenada we were met by Sparrow. Once again the airline lost all our luggage forcing us to borrow instruments for the afternoon workshop. Fortunately our instruments arrived in time for the evening concert. The Sunday, May 13, performance for “music lovers” lacked attendance because most of the “music fans” were on leave and in town. Lack of local support was obvious. Altogether the Trio was well received in Grenada, the concerts went well and Mike Morgan proved to be quite helpful.
On May 13 we left Grenada for Guyana via Port of Spain, Trinidad.
That evening we arrived in Guyana and were met by Ed Franco and Neville, who drove us to Georgetown. Following a bit of confusion it was agreed that Monday, May 14, was our free day. Tuesday, May 15 we performed at the Theater Guild. The workshop-performance was well attended and everyone had a fine time. On May 16, we traveled to Linden where we gave a fine performance and made many friends including the mayor. On Thursday, May 17, we gave a concert at the University of Guyana that was very well attended. The next day we played at our hotel for the Rotary Club. Despite somewhat high ticket prices the event sold out and the concert went extremely well. In retrospect our four concerts in Guyana all went well and we made many friends. Special thanks to Ed Franco, Neville, Louise, and the people of Linden.
On Saturday, May 19, we left for Trinidad to overnight. This time we were met by Cora Russ who helped us get to our hotel. We got up at two a.m. the next morning, a few minutes after the band stopped, and caught a four a.m. flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. The Copa flight left late forcing us to miss our connection in Panama and to stay the night. Monday, May 21, our supposed free day, we rose at three a.m. to catch a six a.m. Taca flight. We thought it was a direct flight but as it turned out it made dozens of stops. We were forced to wait in San Salvador for 8 hours but eventually made it to Tegucigalpa, a day late, following a thirteen hour flight.
Despite our exhaustion we went to dinner at Ann Henderson’s home capping our supposed free day, turned travel day. Early the next morning we flew to San Pedro de Sula and drove out to Santa Rosa de Copan. That evening, May 22, we did a concert at a local school co-sponsored by the JayCees. An excellent audience and a good show combined to make it a memorable night. The next night we played in San Pedro de Sula to another big crowd, and to live television coverage. Thursday, May 24, we performed in Tegucigalpa and the next night we played in Choluteca. Despite the excessive travel, four concerts in four cities in four days, our experience was positive, we played well and the response was very good.
Late Saturday, May 26, we flew to Guatemala City and were met by Omie Kerr. Our single performance at the BiNational Center went very well and we made lots of friends. On our free day we visited Antigua with Omie Kerr.
On May 29 we returned to Washington via Miami. All things considered the tour can only be described as a complete success. We made many friends and presented a positive image of the United States as represented by its traditional music. The workshops continue to be a great idea and allow us an inroad into the local communities through the local musicians. They, in turn, advertise our presence in word of mouth, and form the most enthusiastic section of our audience.
We have no complaints with the exception of the notoriously bad air travel. In the future, however, we will need more time between flights. Finally the posts need to be alerted that our free days are supposed to be just that.
We look forward to working with you again.
Yours truly,
Barry Lee Pearson
Bowling Green Blues Trio