Tag Archives: Pete Hennings

Will McLean Music Festival Honors Margaret Longhill

See the special video presentations of the tribute to Margaret Longhill below the text which were produced by Gail Carson and Paul Garfinkel

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Margaret Longhill (all photos by Gail Carson)

The 27th annual Will McLean Music Festival at the Sertoma Youth Ranch near Brooksville honored Margaret Longhill on March 12th. Longhill has been the gentle, guiding hand and inspiration for hundreds of musicians who have found their voices for Florida.

Since she first met Will McLean (1919-1990), the first folk artist inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, she has continued to keep the flame burning of Will’s desire to “Save Florida Through Music.”

“Music is a magical way to teach the value of our blessed, flowered land,” says Longhill.

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Margaret making her entrance to the special Saturday night tribute on March 12th

Whether it’s her support for the young performers or the annual ‘Best New Florida Song Contest,’ Longhill, the Will McLean Foundation President Emeritus, possesses the ability to nourish and encourage songwriters across the state simply with her incredulous smile and engaging enthusiasm.  As a result, the library of songs about this “Land of Flowers” continues to grow.

“I’d like to be known as a lover of Florida and promoter of music, especially about Florida.  And I was a convert because I’m from Tennessee and I love Tennessee too, but you know, when you live in Florida you just adopt Florida,” says Longhill.

 

 

 

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Margaret Longhill being interviewed by Donna Green-Townsend

The presentation on Saturday night, March 12th, included a live interview with Longhill on stage by Donna Green-Townsend interspersed with performances by three former “Best New Florida Song Contest” winners.

 

 

 

 

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Ken and Leigh Skeens performing, “The Empty Chair”

Ken Skeen and Leigh Skeens performed the song that won the very first contest called, “The Empty Chair.”  Ken not only won first place during the very first song contest in 1992, but also won second place and tied for third. He then worked for a number of years as the song contest coordinator.

 

 

 

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(from left to right) Mike Jurgensen, Pete Price and Pete Hennings performing “Music Drifts Along This River”

Mike Jurgensen, accompanied by Pete Price and Pete Hennings on guitar and bass performed Mike’s winning song, “Music Drifts Along This River.”  Mike has won the song contest three times and is now working as a judge for the annual competition.

 

 

 

 

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Amy Carol Webb and Ron Litschauer perform, “Oh Margaret” during the special tribute to Margaret Longhill

Margaret recited Will McLean’s poem, “My Soul Is a Hawk,” accompanied by Wayne Martin on fiddle and Dennis Devine on guitar.  Amy Carol Webb, a past song contest winner, then performed a special song she wrote for Margaret’s birthday a few years ago called, “Oh Margaret.”  She was accompanied by Ron Litschauer on mandolin.

 

 

 

 

 

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Lee and Jessie Townsend along with bass player David McBrady performing at the Margaret Longhill Tribute Presentation. (photo by Gail Carson)

The tribute also included a Will McLean song, Macclenny Farewell, performed by two young performers, Jessie and Lee Townsend, who represent Longhill’s passion for supporting the musical talent of youth at the festival.  Jessie and Lee were accompanied by David McBrady on bass.

 

 

 

 

A very special thank you to all the folks behind the scenes who made the presentation possible including Ron and Bari Litschauer, Lynn Wodjenski and countless others who helped to set up the living room scene and lights and who made the presentation run smoothly.

Here are the videos of the special tribute to Margaret Longhill produced by Gail Carson and Paul Garfinkel.  The first video was produced by Gail:

 

 Paul Garfinkel’s six segments on the Tribute to Margaret Longhill from Saturday, March 12, 2016 show a wider perspective on the special evening:

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four:

Part Five:

Part Six:

 

Gail Carson also produced another video for Margaret to thank her for all she has done to promote and to preserve Florida Folk Music. The video demonstrates, through a number of voices, the unforgettable impact Margaret Longhill has had on so many songwriters and performers, especially young performers.

 

 

Will McLean Festival web cover

 

Jon Semmes

 

Jon Semmes, Pete Hennings, Pete Price and Ingrid Ellis
Jon Semmes, Pete Hennings, Pete Price and Ingrid Ellis

Jon Semmes and Ingrid Ellis have been performing together in the band, “Jon Semmes and the Florida Friends,” for more than a decade now.  Band members also include Pete Hennings and Pete Price.  Jon currently runs Singing River Tours on the Rainbow and Withlacoochee Rivers in Marion County.

 

Jon Semmes talking with Donna Green-Townsend before one of his scheduled performances at the Florida Folk Festival.


(Above) Jon Semmes of Dunnellon leads educational singing river tours of the Rainbow and Withlacoochee Rivers in Marion County, FL.  Trent Kelly and Donna Green-Townsend give a snippet of what those tours are like.

 

 

Jon Semmes singing a song written by his mother Mem Semmes called, “My Dunnellon” at a Sunday Sampler on September 9th, 2012 at the old Train Depot in Dunnellon,FL.


 

 

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Mike Jurgensen

Mike Jurgensen performing at the Florida Folk Festival.

Singer-Songwriter-Musician Mike Jurgensen From New Port Richey Continues to Entertain Mike Jurgensen has won the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Competition three times.  Now he serves as one of the contest judges.  It’s a testament to his talent.  Whether singing solo or performing in the band 2PM, Mike’s smooth “James Taylor-style” voice captivates the audience. Two of his songs, “Margaret” and “Music Drifts Along This River,” were included in the national Edward R. Murrow award-winning documentary, “Apalachicola “Doin’ Time” produced by Donna Green-Townsend in 2000.

Mike currently performs with the trio, “2PM” which includes musicians Pete Price and Pete Hennings.  During the group’s latest appearance as part of the Sunday Sampler Series at the historic train depot in Dunnellon, FL they performed one of Mike’s latest songs, “Let’s Just Play One More.”  The song captures how music  can go late into the night around campfires at music festivals around the state because it’s just hard to pull yourself away from a great jam with friends.

Mike Jurgensen sat down with Donna Green-Townsend to talk about what inspires his songwriting:

Feature on Mike before a concert at the Studio Arts Center in Crystal River, Florida.

2PM performing the Herb McCullough Song, “Love Is All There Is,” at the 2018 Will McLean Festival.

2PM performing David Crossland’s song, “When The Buffalo Comes Back,” at the 2012 Will McLean Festival

2PM performing Ken Skeens’ song, “Down A Barefoot Road” at the 2012 Will McLean Festival.