Timothy always loved music.

Whether it was listening to Alicia Keys in the car with his mother, going to bluegrass festivals with me, listening to classical music on a lazy afternoon, or running across the room to hear the song in the Foxwoods Casino ad on television, Timothy was always drawn to music.

His musical tastes ranged from the typical kiddie tunes to the hard-rock band Iron Maiden, with everything in between. In fact, the last time I dropped him at pre-school, he sat in the back seat of the car "air-drumming" to a song by the heavy-metal band Judas Priest. He liked jazz, classical, pop, country, rock, bluegrass, and folk, to name a few.

This page is dedicated to the music he loved to hear, over-and-over-and-over-and-over.

The love of music is something that he and I shared closely, and frequently. I think it is what I miss most about him, not having him there to listen to music together. This photo was taken at a Buddy Jewell concert that he and I were supposed to attend together. We had tickets in the Front Row. Since, I couldn't go with Timothy, his shirt was as close as I could get. A stagehand was kind enough to hoist the shirt on stage after the show. My boy made it to the main stage at the Indian Ranch concert facility. A proud moment in any father's life.

An amusing story about this show. Timothy sat on my lap while I was buying tickets for the show. On the Indian Ranch website, he saw the logo for the Nashville Star tour. Since he and I watched Nashville Star religiously for the past two years, he insisted on getting tickets for that, too. We never made it to that show either.

One show we did make it to was the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in February. Held every year at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham, MA, we finally made it in 2005, principally to see his favorite bluegrass band King Wilkie (in picture).

Despite our request for "his" song, the band didn't play Been a Long Time during the first set. He was so upset that we confronted the band's mandolin player, Reid Burgess, in the hallway after the show. Reid promised us that they would play the song in the evening set. Timothy was adamant that we stay and listen.

As we waited, we dined on Mexican food, and got to play with a banjo (see the photo above) and a string bass. Too much fun!

Sure enough, as soon as he heard his song, an exhausted Timothy decided it was time to leave, even though KW wasn't done with their set. Tim fell asleep on the way home with a smile on his face and his song in his heart.

Timothy and I also made some road trips to see the Old Crow Medicine Show play at the Green River Festival in 2004. We traveled a solid 2 hours to see OCMS play for 45 minutes. During that show, Tim kept calling out for his favorite song (Wagon Wheel) so often and so loud that the guitarist, David Rawlings, had to signal him to stop. We may well have gone back in 2005 to see the Duhks.

Another 2+ hour venture was to Brunswick, Maine for the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival, his first exposure to King Wilkie.

More locally, we snuck Timothy into the bar at the Red Rock Bistro restaurant in Swampscott to see the Twilight Ranchers on the night before he turned 3. Tim stayed for only one set, but did get one of his faves Drivin' 45 dedicated to him for his birthday!

That's Tim's "buddy" Rob on the far right playing guitar.

ps. Note the Red Sox beating the Yankees on the TV behind the band. Woo-hoo!

And, don't forget the rainy-day Sunday trip to Lowell to see another local bunch of guys Hot Day at the Zoo in April 2005. We travelled an hour in each direction, but got there in time for only one song! Rats. But, we ended up at McDonalds for a feast, so all was well!

Finally, Timothy wanted to make sure I mentioned that he was a trained master at playing "air" string bass. Here he is in action!

Here is just some of his favorite music:

The Timothy William's Music Club was an exclusive, 2-member musical appreciation society. Whether it was listening to Hillbilly at Harvard on Saturday morning, listening to tunes in the car on the way to school, or seeking out live music wherever it may be, the TWMC was all about fun. I'll miss it. One is the lonliest number, ain't it....

If anyone wants to become a Member in Spirit of TWMC, drop a line! Maybe I'll list all the member here, or something....

They've got a way to entertain
that would hurry, hurry a hurricane.
Back in Nagasaki
where the brothers chew tobakky
and the women wicki-wacki-woo.