Folks, here is the unofficial Garden Fest 2026 recap.

Garden Fest harkens back to a backyard garden show series hosted by Ken and Marta Keiran in Beaverdale. It ran for something like 15 years, bringing friends and neighbors the wonderful sounds of local and regional Americana. As it was recently Ken and Marta’s anniversary, their daughter, Kelsey, pulled together the four music acts that appeared on stage last night to perform for the parent’s surprise anniversary party at XBK. It was a lovely event, and such a sweet sentiment to a couple who have embraced local music and brought it into their neighborhood.

And folks turned out. It helped to have some heavy hitters on the roster for the night, but still. Good on the Keirans for having such an incredible group of friends and family.

Sam Pattison – Sam’s got a set of pipes. He can croon and gives both Elvis and Roy Orbison a run for their money. Sam played a mix of originals and covers. The covers were tastefully chosen. If you are looking for some fun in Central Iowa, tune into wherever Sam is playing. You won’t be disappointed.

Chip Albright & Friends – Chip’s wife, Jen, and I were the “friends” for the evening. And, what a dynamite trio we were (if I could say so myself…absolutely no bias here). During our allotted 30 minutes, we chugged through seven originals and a John Prine cover. I didn’t happen to have a pic of us on stage, but I did snap a pic of the crowd and Chad from Weary Ramblers grabbed a pic of us backstage for posterity.

Weary Ramblers – The highlight for me of the night was watching Chad and Kathryn doing their thing, which is playing some of the most outstanding blues/bluegrass/folk/country/Americana that you’ve ever heard. Sizzling fiddle (ok, violin or viola…I can never tell which) and blazing guitar, mixed with perfectly tuned voices outlining stories of love, adventure and crazy tales. Pure joy in acoustic form.

Ducharme-Jones – Dave and Anne Ducharme-Jones were joined by drummer Jim Stevens and bassist extraordinaire Ben Mars for a jaw dropping mix of psychedelic, Americana blues rock. The set was incredible. Ben Mars, other than being a tower of a bass player, connects all the dots with the smoothest bass runs you’ve heard. Dave and Anne brought all the rock to the front of the house with their guitars and drummer Jim kept the walls pounding for the entire set.

The evening wrapped with a rendition of Rainbow connection. Pure magic.

It was a bad night to suffer from imposter’s syndrome. With as much talent as was on the stage, its simultaneously empowering and makes you question everything you think you know about making music in town. I’m choosing to go with empowerment.

What a night!