In the soundtrack of life, this is the time to enjoy the music

In the soundtrack of my life, a multitude of music can accompany my myriad of moods.

Just Thursday morning, for example, hearing "Radar Love" come thumping through the car radio got my heart rate up and forced my right foot down as I drove along Indianapolis Road a little faster than usual.

A good Beach Boys tune on a warm summer day will do that to me, too. Fire up "Good Vibrations" and I've just got to sing along.

But in my vehicle, I prefer the pedal-pounding Chicago's own Ides of March with the anthem of my youth, "Vehicle." It can take me anywhere I wanna go.

At other times, if "American Pie" comes on the radio, I could drive for miles, listening and trying to decipher the symbolism of all those lyrics. Missed my Shortcut Road turn just the other day, thank you very much.

Or hearing John Mellencamp belt out "Hurt So Good"? Oh, yeah. I can't help but think that song is stashed in a time capsule somewhere to help explain the essence of rock 'n' roll to the aliens when they finally migrate from the Milky Way. Cue the bald bombast of Kenny Aronoff on the drums ...

And who doesn't love a good Christmas carol anytime it gets cold enough to snow.

But despite all that, I now reserve my September soundtrack for blues and jazz. That's thanks to the annual Crown Street Music Fest and the likes of Tad Robinson, Randy Salman and Steve St. Pierre and others, for that is what I crave when the calendar rolls over to its ninth month.

Granted, after experiencing only last three or four shows, I'm a relative newcomer to the Crown Street festivities that mark their 10th year this Labor Day weekend (1-7 p.m. Sunday at the Family Youth and Community Development Program Center, 605 Crown St., across from Ridpath School in Greencastle).

But I'll be there again Sunday as it all unfolds with Robinson, Salman and St. Pierre and their compadres joined by Mary Michael and the group Convergence. Each act has a local tie. Talent from our midst as good as any anywhere.

And for $10. Your admission price is not only a steal but it's really a donation to the FYCDP effort. Frankly, the festival is about more than the music.

Those proceeds are important to housing Bob Hersberger's Community Technology Enhancement Program (CTEP) that provides "computers for the Community" by repurposing those that have been donated and refurbished by volunteers.

Such proceeds are also vital to continuation of the tutoring program that has been spearheaded by volunteer Marian Abowitz, a career East Coast educator who relocated to Greencastle in retirement and has focused on cultivating second-graders' reading skills at the center.

Crown Street Music Fest organizer Bill Richards terms Abowitz's efforts "the kind of program we absolutely embrace."

Odd, isn't it, that this educational expertise mirrors the musical talent that makes it all possible.

For we live in an incredible area for local musical abilities -- in case you haven't been paying attention. And in just a four-week span, we will have witnessed the annual return of the beloved Average House Band at the Inn at DePauw, the ever-growing, high-energy Greencastle Music Fest organized by Gail Smith of Almost Home and The Swizzle Stick downtown, and now Crown Street.

In between, of course, came several Tuesdays with ParkFest, flourishing in its 20th year of local musicians taking the Bob Flanigan Bandshell stage at Robe-Ann Park.

So what I'm saying is the music and the people producing and surrounding it are not only interesting and amazing but worth every bit of 10 bucks and your Labor Day Sunday afternoon.

Check them out ...

First up, Mary Michael and her unique brand of vocals. I don't know how the gene process works, but she has inherited the music chops from dad Steve and the womanly charms of mom Nancy, all of which is serving this young lady well these days. She'll have the hot spot, leading off the outdoor show at 1 p.m.

The jazz ensemble Convergence follows at 2 p.m., offering its take on some jazz standards with fine instrumentation and interesting vocals. Kudos to the Maginitys and their associates. Your feet will want to dance, I'm telling you.

Sunday at 3 p.m., we'll get the Randy Salman Quartet as the DePauw professor makes a yackety sax do things I never dreamed possible when it was my band instrument of choice back in the day. The man has played with instrumental greats and backed up major singing talent, yet he continues to share his big-time musical abilities with us at Crown Street, The Duck and the McCunes' backyard.

Also sharing their talents are Steve St. Pierre and Jonathan January of Blues Sides Up, who will begin playing at 4 p.m. St. Pierre just hammers it on guitar, while January seems equally proficient at an arsenal of instruments from bass guitar to flute and everything in between. Pretty sure he could even handle the didgeridoo if push came to shove.

And, of course, anchoring the whole Crown Street affair will be soulful bluesman Tad Robinson, whose voice and harmonica are among the best you'll find anywhere from Walla Walla, Wash., to Kalamazoo and back again.

Yep, it's impossible to overstate how good the talent is annually at the Crown Street Music Fest. It deserves better support. Much better support.

After all, it's our September soundtrack. Sit back and enjoy.