I’m the luckiest girl in town. I was always worried how having a new baby would affect my ability to keep seeing local music shows. But the husband has time and again reminded me that he’s more than happy to watch the kid while I go catch a show on the weekends. While this is a generous offer, I’m a little reluctant to go out without him. Who else is going to stand in the corner and keep me entertained with a string of snarky comments?

Luckily, a grandmother has always been in town offering to babysit on nights we want to catch a show or two. But over this past weekend, we ventured out for a night on the town with the baby in tow. And it couldn’t have gone better.

I was more than ecstatic to go to Wonderfair’s grand reopening. A slew of local bands were on the bill, and just about everybody I knew in town (and even some from out of town) were going there. When we showed up, I was pleased as punch to see I wasn’t the only one who had brought their spawn along. And someone at the gallery even offered the back room if I was worried about the loud music hurting those little ears (we ended up enjoying the music from outside, just because it was such a nice night and a bunch of us were mingling outside the gallery). I was overwhelmed with how well it was going. Here I was worried that I might be shunned for trying to go out and bring the kid along. I was glad to know I wasn’t the only one.

And if that wasn’t enough music for me, we ran into this on the street corner:

Those familiar faces are a sure sign that it’s Spring. It seems after they hit the street corner, you’ll see more bands pop up on the street. First you see these guys, then you see maracas girl, then a bluegrass band and then who knows what else.

Out of all the street bands that show up in Lawrence, I’m a little partial to this group because they joke and entertain the whole time. At the end of this clip, silliness ensues:

We stayed out for several hours that night, enjoying music and the community. What a sigh of relief. I was worried that after having a baby, my local music scene would go flying out the window with every diaper I changed. But then a night like this comes along and ensures me that everything is going to turn out just fine.