Friday evening was perfect for music and a beer (or soda) on a hilltop in Andover, NY. If you didn't get to partake I'm sorry, because it was great. The weather was perfect for a hoodie next to the fire pit with clear skies and a light breeze.
Matt Burns provided the music, while Kent Beer Company provided the beverages. There were 8 options on tap from Hippie House Amber to Cran-mango Cider as well as some bottled non-alcoholic offerings. They had popcorn and other snacks on offer as well. They even had cookies from Jara Farms, which are clearly superior cookies as they're baked in Andover (the address is in Andover so it fully counts).
The music of the evening was a mix of acoustic and looped covers from the 2000's, oldies (ok the 90's are oldies now), and original songs. As the evening went on Matt seemed to relax into the groove and his solos became "pretty cool, honestly" according to one attendee. It might have been the growing supportive crowd or the brews or just the natural progression of the set, but the evening grew more of party feel as evening went on.
The overall ambiance of the show was really nice. The natural beauty of the rolling hills of Andover was very much on display as it played backdrop to Matt Burns' musical stylings. Many friendly Andover faces were in attendance including a large handful of the Burns family and a fair share of the Kent family (shocking, I know). At least 2 guys named AJ came to the show as well, which is an excellent name.
The star of the audience was of course the white and black shih tzu Zoe. Zoe was not in the mood to hold still long enough for a photo except when doing things that would not be appropriate to take photos of so you'll just have to use your imagination or go visit her yourself sometime. I'm informed that Zoe belongs to Ed and Betsy. She's had 4 litters of 5 puppies and was originally from Palmers in Almond. She was very friendly and one fan called her "a lovely dog."
Matt Burns closed out the night with several crowd favorites like the specially requested acoustic version of "Get Low" by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz as well as "Ignition(remix)." Overall it was a very pleasant evening full of good tunes, good brews, and pleasant company.
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