Troubadours At The 4th Of July

As a professional singer songwriter Kevin had been on the top for many years but fame and fortune had come at a price . He had been used by many people who he thought were friends . His wife took off with another guy and his kids seemed to have made their own lives without him .

Kevin left the big time music scene and retired in a Slackback , a small corner of the USA that was a harbour from the storm of life and also a place whee he could do what he did best write songs and create music .

The friendly small town attitude kept Kevin happily hidden away from those who might come around looking for another reason to inflict hurt on his life .

Silently cradled away between Uprock Ridge and Eagles Nest Mountain, Kevin lived in a cabin with a dog happy to be cut off from the world .

He only ventured out once each month to get provisions and once every fourth of July to perform with the other talent who regularly turned up for the July 4 Session at The Jaws Harpers Bar on the east end of town .

It was usually the same folk who turned up for the gig . The scene was always the same a crowd of long haired mountain men with multicoloured beards and a permanent stretch of well wrinkled skin around their eyes and forehead .

If every face could tell a story Slackback had the makings of an epic their every fourth of July .

The day had come and Jaws Harpers Bar was slowly filling up . Men with banjos and fiddles took to the stage one after the other . When Kevin walked in the door the whole place erupted . Kevin was the biggest star of the day and the welcome he received each fourth of July was just fantastic . The crowd loved to hear Kevins new songs . They were always intensely patriotic and powerful . The Slackback boys as they were called were a talented crew who could improvise with most with fill ins and solo breaks .

The bar was well decorated with buntings , flags and coloured balloons . There were pictures of past presidents of America and other memorabilia on display for the day .

For one day of the year the town of Slackback was the capital of America .

For many years it had been a well kept secret , protected and concealed by the innocent few like Kevin and the Slackback Boys who had been there and done all the business on the wild side of life .

Strangers into Slackback were monitored well and kept at a suspicious distance . The most popular questions asked by the locals were ,

"How long are you here for ?" and "When are you leaving ?"

Some other things asked were ,

"Who are you and what brings you here to Slackback ?"

Call it psychotic or slightly unfriendly but outsiders were not made that welcome .

Everyone knew it had to come sooner or later , they could not continue to lock the world out of their town . One day they knew the world would find them and discover this tightly knit community of talented musicians and artists .

Sure enough one day on top of the mountain unexpectedly the unthinkable thing happened . Uprock volcano dormant for so long erupted spewing lava and ash out of its mouth like a hungry monster awaking with a rumble in its tummy .

Luckily for most people of Slackback they had all gathered in Jaws Harpers bar . The band grabbed their instruments and with no time to think they all jumped on to the back of a table top truck . Those who were in the audience all got into the only car that was there .

As they made their way from the threat towards the river valley ,fire and smoke surrounded them . As the air cleared Kevin and the Slackback boys started to play a few tunes to keep their spirits alive .

The danger was slowly decreasing as the miles .

Behind them in the backdrop they could see the black smoke and fiery cavalcade of lava on the move down from the top of Uprock mountain .

A group of other cars had joined them along the way and as the journey to sanctuary continued more and more people from small communities read the signs and joined in the flight .

The musicians on the back of the truck were unaware of just how many were now in tow behind them .

Finally they came to a place where the sun shone down on the greenest grass you could imagine there at River Valley where the truck stopped . Within minutes they were surrounded by a huge crowd who demanded that the session continue .

Kevin and the boys had no option as where could they run to . There was no escape so they played away on the back of the truck .

In a short time helicopters with media arrived . When they broadcast the music of America to a national television audience it was just magic .

When the broadcast went international Kevin and the boys played to the biggest audience of their lives .

Inspired by the moment and relieved to have been saved from becoming volcano fodder the troubadours shone brightly without inhibitions .

The musoc was original and powerful and shortly almost right on cue a film crew arrived and plugged in lights and put up sound equipment for the greatest fourth of July concert in history .

Everyone who was there regarded the place as a moment in time .

The crowd grew and other musicians arrived to perform if they could . What occurred was just one of those once in a lifetime events ..

As night fell in the distance the volcano was erupting still but Kevin and the Slackback boys slipped away into the crowd unseen, maybe who knows to emerge for another fourth of July concert

The End

By Paul McCann