Simply Dickens

There is a wonderful vocal group in the metro-Detroit area that I just happen to be manager and music director of; a quartet that consists of two guys and two girls, and they perform period music. Their name? Simply Dickens.

Simply Dickens was formed back in the fall of 2001 when my son, Tom, who was just 13 years old at the time, and a young lady, Kourtney, who was only 14, got together to rehearse Christmas music to sing at the Holly Dickens Festival, held on the streets of Holly, Michigan, every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was Kourtney that came up with the name Simply Dickens, due to the fact that they performed mainly at the Holly Dickens Festival. Their set list consisted of the 'old world' type Christmas music, songs such as "The Gloucestershire Wassail" and "Bring A Torch Jeannette Isabella" - music that was not quite as well known as the more popular "Rudolph" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." They were quite the hit among the festival go-ers and were asked to return the following year (and every year since!).

Jump ahead six months to summer 2002, Kourtney and Tom played at a dedication ceremony for an 1872 schoolhouse, songs such as "The Moustache Song, "Beautiful Dreamer," and "Bobby Shafto."

The attendees really enjoyed their performance.

By the fall of that second year we added a third member, another girl. This enabled expansion in their sound and structure and we increased the Christmas music repertoire. And by the summer of 2003 they began to increase their repertoire of 18th and 19th century music as well, while performing at a historical society garden party.

Summertime 2004 gave the group the opportunity to sing at festivals, including Erin-Halfway Days in Eastpointe, a world music festival (where they performed for the first time as a quartet and included Rennaissance madrigals as part of their set), and a Labor Day festival in Lexington, Michigan.

Simply Dickens at the World Festival

By Christmas of 2004, Simply Dickens' Christmas music selection had grown to include a German version of "Silent Night," the colonial "All You That Are Good Fellows," and even the Spanish madrigal of "Riu Riu Chiu." They even performed on Fox 2 News in December 2007!

Simply Dickens interviewed by Fanchon Stinger - FOX 2 News Detroit

And they continue to performed at various Christmas gatherings as well as at a few Civil War reenactments. In fact, their collection of 19th century music, like Christmas music, has grown tremendously and includes such numbers as "Faded Coat of Blue," "Shady Grove," "Some Folks Do," and "Just Before the Battle Mother."

In the spring of 2007, they put out a homemade CD of Civil War era music, available through me if any of you are interested.
But, their specialty is Christmas music, and a Christmas CD is forthcoming.

Simply Dickens at the Holly Dickens Festival

The third and fourth membership have changed over the years, but Tom and Kourtney have been the 'rock' of the group.
I am very proud of what this group has done in the few years of its existance. They have become well-known not only for their style of music, most of which is almost unheard in this modern day and age, but also to the fact that they perform in period clothing. To have a group of young people sing music that was written over a hundred years before they were born is a rarity, and this is, I believe, why they are continually asked to entertain at festivals, especially at the Holly Dickens Festival.
If you get an opportunity, make sure you come to see them perform. I think you will enjoy them.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

This is a picture of the fireplace in our 'Gathering Room' that I took last night. I won the original 19th century frames hanging on each side on eBay at a very good price, and, yes, they have Currier & Ives prints.


We had nearly 8 inches of snow fall where I live in Michigan and, although you may hear plenty of grumbling from many folks, you won't hear it from me. I like snow, especially this time of year. Now, come the end of January and into February I will be very tired of it!. But, at this festive time of year, I am enjoying the Christmas-y look it gives. I even a drove a very hazardous drive out to Holly to participate in the Dickens Festival, as did a good many of us who are part of the festival. Not surprisingly, there were very few patrons about and we called it off by mid-afternoon. However, a few of our Dickensian characters were able to go for an actual sleigh ride through the streets of town!
I am a man in the wrong time...

The Holly Dickens Festival

I have to promote the Holly (Michigan) Dickens Festival, of which I have been a part of since 1998. This is where about thirty of us don our Dickensian clothing (ca 1843) and brave the cold each weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas to put on an old English Christmas festival. It's there that you'll meet Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit & Tiny Tim, the ghost of Jacob Marley, the three spirits of Christmas (Past, Present, and Yet to Come), and many other assorted Londoners of the 19th century including Queen Victoria, chimney sweeps, carolers, put-pocketers, and street urchins from Fagin's gang, all in an actual Victorian setting. The streets of Holly are cut off from the cars so we can perform our skits and music. And it's all put on for free for the public (although tips are always welcome!).
As stated earlier, this is my tenth year doing the festival - I never thought I would be doing it this long, but it's a great and fun way to bring history to life (in a farby way, but that's OK) during the off season for Civil War reenacting.
Also, my two eldest sons perform at the festival and have themselves been doing it for a number of years as well.
For photos and more info, check out this site: http://thefestivalsingers.com/
Hope to see you (who ever you are) there!

Passion for the Past Pt. 2

During the off season of reenacting (November through April) I go through "time travel withdrawals," so I have to come up with ideas to carry me through those rough, cold months of Michigan winters.
Actually, December isn't really too bad. I spend my weekends up in Holly dressed as a Dickensian character at the annual Holly Dickens Festival (it's nowhere near authentic as in CW, but we give a fun impression). This year one of my portrayals will be Mr. Charles Dickens himself!
Another way to keep me from pulling what's left of my hair out is to write. Last year I began to write a story for the first time since I was in high school (too many years ago!) - it's a time travel story and it involves my family and I. Without getting too deep into the story line, I will say that I am making the attempt to write it as if it actually happened. This forces me to research, very deeply, every little part of life as lived in the 1860's. By doing this, I have found that my social history knowledge has grown immensely! I have been having loads of fun writing this little tale, trying to show me and my family's reactions to this major change in our lives. No, I don't become a CW hero or anything like that - the story just shows how we attempt to adjust to a very antiquated lifestyle, with attempt being the key word. As much as I love history, you see, in my story I/we have a very rough time with day-to-day activities, especially my wife.
I have consulted many "schooled" historians to get their thoughts and opinions of accuracy in my story, lest one day I let it go beyond the extremely few eyes that had ever seen it.