Kyleen Austin and Andrew Emlen

Andrew Emlen has been doing House Concerts here in Oysterville for ten years.  From classical to folk, playing a variety of instruments and singing alone or in harmony with others, he has tugged at our heartstrings and made us whoop with laughter.  And if all that isn’t enough, he has introduced us to a whole host of other musicians.  Last night it was Kyleen Austin, a singer/songwriter new to our area.

Well… “our area” in the broadest sense.  Kyleen lives on Puget Island (about an hour and a half up the Columbia from us) where she has a herd of forty goats and is ‘on the brink’ of being licensed to sell three or four kinds of goat cheese.  A year or so ago she was living in Seattle scoping out next steps in her life and heard that Andrew was interviewing for kayak guides.  She was hired and… the rest is history as they say.

Audrey and Andrew

Oh, and in case you didn’t know, Andrew is Co-owner and Guide at Columbia River Kayaking.  He also has a background in Environmental Studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey, lives on a small farm in Skamokawa with wife Audrey, two teenaged sons, and a variety of animals including goats.

So, when I contacted Andrew last fall to ask if the Willapa Hills could do their usual February or March gig here, he said “not this time but I’d love you to meet Kyleen” and he said he’d be playing back-up.  “No offense to Kyleen,” said I, “but your fans here will definitely expect you to do a little more than musical background.”

And so it was that we were treated to a wonderful mix of music last evening featuring Kyleen and her beautifully clear and versatile voice (“a trained operatic singer” Andrew pointed out) plus some of our very favorites from the Willapa Hills repertoire of local folk songs.  I loved it that Andrew chose to sing Mary Garvey’s “Tie It Up and Let It Rot” and Nyel was especially touched that he had learned “Blue Wing” – a song Kerry McNally has sung here several times and that always makes Nyel cry.  (Last night was no exception, Andrew.  Ya done good!)

During the course of the evening, Andrew played cello and guitar and then, in typical Andrew-fashion, brought out his banjo to do a sing-along – “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” in tribute to Pete Seeger.  My turn to cry.  We loved the Concert and were delighted to meet Kyleen.  We hope for a long association with her and, once again, feel indebted to Andrew for introducing us.  Thanks, Andrew!