South Plains College

We had the honor of going to South Plains College in Levelland, TX at the start of the month so Susan could talk to some of their classes and so we could perform on Thursday Night Live, their monthly student-produced TV show (a la Austin City Limits). This school has the coolest music program ever...it produces working musicians who have studied everything from sound, lighting, arranging, and performing. You can get a degree in BANJO. Heck yes. Our good friend Kate Hearne goes to South Plains, so we hung out with her all day and saw some classes. Susan talked to a couple of class sessions, we played some and then talked about everything from writing to booking gigs to owning your own business. Kate plays on Thursday Night Live like a rock star. We snuck a peek at the backstage dressing rooms for the student performers... This is the girls' room. And this was the boys'. We thought this was funny. Then we had a grand old time playing and afterwards, I snapped this photo of a million little Susans everywhere. I wonder if they could sing in harmony with each other. I don't regret my life path one bit, though if I had known about South Plains when I was college hunting, I might have ended up there. Trade school for musicians, much like my "folk music grad school" at Red Leaf -- gives you such an advantage when you start trying to make a living.