An old man seated on a chair at the front of the room, wearing a beat up hat and playing lead guitar, smiled at me when he caught me bouncing my shoulders and snapping my fingers to the tune he was picking between songs. As I smiled back and walked in to find a place to watch the show, the melody changed and the woman standing at the microphone next to him began singing an upbeat, bluesy version of one of my favorites, the Ben E. King classic Stand By Me.
My smile grew as I meandered to an open space in the rear of the room and came to a very clear realization.