How do you begin your first review of an event you've attended nearly every year for over thirty years -- an event which has faithfully followed the same winning format since inception? Only the locations, and, to be expected, some of the attendees have changed.

The NorthEast Squeeze-In (NESI) has been well reviewed in years past, particularly when John Townley, and later, Joel Cowan, were editors of Concertina & Squeezebox Magazine, replete with photos and special mentions of various attendees doing this and that. How they managed to capture all that they did and still partake of moments of personal interest is beyond me! My hat is off to them and everyone else who wrote those wonderfully detailed reviews (Lynn Hughes included). But since its final issue (#32 in winter of 1995, which was the fifth NESI), what reviews have been received have oftentimes been dependent on the excitement of first-time attendees impelled to share it. These are among the best, I think, as they rekindle the memories of everyone’s first time.

The only way I could get close to that would be to recount my own first-time impressions and experiences – which I'm not going to do (unless by popular demand, of which I have no expectation). No, at this point my perspective is too long-term to wax euphoric. My annual trek to NESI has become as comfortable as an old pair of bedroom slippers. But had I written a review at that time, I might have, for it struck me as some wondrous, bizarre, alternate surreality – which, in many ways, it still does!

Shortly after offering (some months prior to the event) to do the review, it descended upon me that doing a good and proper job would necessitate my running about with notebook and camera, leaving little or no time to conduct or attend workshops or sessions, or man my wares in the sales room. Then I thought the better approach would be to just go about my business and recount my personal experience. But both the flaw and the beauty of that is that everyone has his own version of that, and no one needs to be regaled by mine. So, to be honest, this is more of a testimonial than a review.

Stewart Dean deserves recognition for the many videos of concert performances and his photos and recordings over the years, as do the board members, whose names can be found on the website, for their tireless efforts.

Along with being well reviewed in the past, NESI, unchanging, is well described in the website overview. And since, thankfully, there has been little variation in the overall format, there is no need for me to detail the numerous workshops, concert performances (also found on the website), impromptu sessions of countless genres, the late night pub sing, and whatever else went on while I was engaged in my own pursuits. (I'm not much good at that sort of thing anyway. “It's my only weakness.”) It all happened just as we expected, made up as we went along, with, despite its faithful familiarity, the possibility of a memorable surprise encounter around every corner, which is only one reason why, of the many festivals I've attended in the past fifty years, whether as performer, spectator, or attendee, some of which I no longer care to attend (for reasons known only to me), I still attend NESI.

All I can say is that I have made dear friends whom I would never have made otherwise, have found a place to both learn and share what I have learned, and have had at least a couple days each year to indulge with fellow enthusiasts in something special which leaves the rest of the world scratching their heads in wonder about. Thanks, also, to the late Rich Morse, founder of The Button Box [shop], and co-founder of NESI itself. (Check out the website for more on that as well.)

In conclusion: Covid continues to rear its ugly head, resulting in disappointing last-minute cancellations by folks whose absence does not go unnoticed. We can only hope that the board members' valiant efforts to keep NESI going will see their return in the near future.

I had a fine time once again this year and truly believe that such energizing and rejuvenating events are as effective as any vaccine – and it doesn't hurt a bit!