Ron Mertens’ blog

If you know me, you probably know that I’m a big fan of Ray Kurtzweil. When I started playing the piano, I always wanted a Kurtzweil digital piano… I almost bought one actually (but never did). I later learned that Ray is actually friends with my uncle… He then started to send me signed copies [...]

Abigail is 7 months today! It’s amazing how quickly it all went by, and yet how slow. She’s a totally different baby than she was just a few weeks ago – much more fun to be with, she’s laughing all the time, and everything seems to be new and exciting. 
 

 
I’ve also stumbled upon something fun [...]

So we’re back from Jacob’s ladder festival! It was really great! I really like that country and Irish folk music, and there was some good shows in there.
It’s also cool that we know so many people there! This year Rani joined (I thought she deserves a mention – she’s one of the few who read [...]

About a month ago we were invited to a cool evening. The idea is that you choose 10 songs – the 10 songs you can take with you if you’re stranded on a deserted island. The date was set for yesterday…
First of all, it was a great evening, and it’s a cool idea for a [...]

I just finished a really good book – ‘A tale of love and darkness’ by Amos Oz. It’s an autobiography, beautifully written, and very touching. I really enjoyed it, and it’s recommended.
On another note, a couple of days ago we saw The pirates of the Caribbean : At World’s end. Everybody said how awful this [...]

Yesterday we saw our third Oi Va Voi concert, and it was really good. These guys know how to rock, and make a lot of fun. There were a lot of personal changes in the band, and a lot of new music – but it was still a lot of fun. The did seem a [...]

Yesterday we went to one of the best concerts we’ve ever been to – Willin Fools. They’re an Irish-music band, with great music – they got us dancing and bouncing for almost the entire gig. A lot of fun! If you’re in Israel, you can still catch them – they playing a few more times [...]

We just came back from a great weekend – the Jacob’s ladder festival. It’s an anglo-saxon folk festival – which means the music is mostly irish/english/country, and most of the crowd is from those countries – which means that you almost only hear english around you. Feels like a real vacation. The music was great, [...]

So we went to the conert of Will Oldham (AKA Bonnie Prince Billy) yesterday! I really really enjoyed it. I’m a long time fan, and have almost all of his music. It was a great concert. He played a few songs from his latest album (which is great), and a lot of older songs, and [...]

One of my favorite singers is coming to Israel. Will Oldham (AKA Palace, Palace Music, Palace Brother, Bonnie Prince Billy) is doing some folk/alt-country music, and I personally think he has made some of the most beautiful music there is.
He will be doing 3 concerts, there is some more info here.
I’m excited!