So protocol demands handwritten personal acknowledgements on fancy cards from the local paperie shop. But this is the blogger world, so the equivalent is an open letter for all my readers to see just how deeply appreciative I am. Plus, pens cause carpel tunnel and the resulting wrist brace would cover my very precious ID bracelet. That said:

First, thank you to the folks at Live in the Vineyard. What an incredible festival, and completely owing to a slate of outstanding people–most notably Bobbii Hach-Jacobs, Clair Parr, Sean Ramm from LITV and Starwood’s Paige Francis. They deserve their success because they’re not only brilliant at what they do, but they’re good people. I am so thankful to have them in my life and so truly inspired by them as individuals. (It helps that they see KKS as a news worthy voice in the music arena, something that endears them even more deeply to me! Coming from them, it’s one of my biggest and most prized compliments to date.)

Next, I owe an enormous thank you to Ranu Rajkarnikar of Meg Connolly Communications. A public relations guru matched in her professional capacity only by the awesomeness of her personality. You know those times when you email and email and you wonder what someone is like in real life and then they turn out to be your new favorite friend? Yeah, that was this. I cannot wait to steal her away to Casellula during my next NYC trip. Her confidence in KKS, shared dedication in her work, professionalism, and friendly face are just a few traits of the many I admire.

Lastly, thank you to the artists. At the heart of every music and performance event are the artists who slug away for years to make music that someone, anyone will listen to. And we listeners should count ourselves lucky when we come across those who make the kind of amazing music that Live in the Vineyard highlights, even after their careers have soared with record sales and Grammy nominations.

Thank you all from the bottom of my snare drum.

Brent