By the time we hit the first chord at Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery on June 7, we were already a little road-weary in the best way. This was show four in ten days for us, which is more than we usually take on. We’d started the day at 7 a.m. putting signs out around town for the Levitt AMP Concert Series in Galva, grabbed about an hour and a half at home to reset, and then pointed the car toward Swisher, Iowa.
Two Hours, A Truck Stop, and a Red Pickup
The drive over set the tone. The forecast was calling for heavy rain and possible storms, so we were half-joking, half-serious about whether this was going to turn into an “adventure gig.” Somewhere along I-80, we passed a red pickup that Tom thought might be his parents. They took an off-ramp, we kept going, and we didn’t think much of it.
About halfway there we pulled into the I-80 Truckstop (the “World’s Largest Truckstop,” allegedly). Greg grabbed Wendy’s, Tom grabbed coffee, and as we’re standing inside, we bump into Tom’s dad. He asked if we’d honked at them on the highway. We hadn’t. Later we found out they’d actually pulled over so he could pee on the side of the road, which apparently annoyed someone enough to honk. That story got much funnier after the show when everyone started trading similar bathroom emergency tales.
Back on the road, we hit wave after wave of rain and lightning, then sudden patches of sun. We were mentally preparing for a hot, muggy outdoor setup. I’ll be honest: we were quietly hoping someone would say, “You’re inside today.”
Walking into a Busy Winery on a Stormy Day
When we pulled into Cedar Ridge, it was immediately clear they’ve grown since Greg’s last visit years ago—more buildings, more people, more everything. Sunday brunch was in full swing and the place was buzzing. Kelly met us and walked us back to the Event Center where we’d be playing.
We figured the main tasting room would be packed and the event space might be a little quieter. Nope. The Event Center was already full of families, groups of friends, and couples settling in with wine flights and whiskey cocktails. For a live acoustic duo performance, that’s kind of the dream: people already relaxed, already staying a while.
The big glass doors that can open to the outside stayed shut thanks to the on-and-off storms, but that just made the room feel like its own little bubble. We set up, did a quick line check, and dove into our three-hour set. We don’t take breaks, which still surprises some venue folks. We’ve found that once we stop, it’s harder to get the momentum back, so we just keep the songs rolling.
Rain on the Roof, Songs for the Room
About half an hour in, the skies just opened up. It poured for what felt like an hour. You could see sheets of rain pounding the patio and, in a few spots, water started sneaking into the room. The Cedar Ridge staff hustled with squeegees and towels, pushing water back out the doors and toward the drains while we kept playing.
At that point, we couldn’t resist leaning into the weather. We pulled out “I Love a Rainy Night” and “Riders on the Storm,” which got some knowing smiles and laughs. There’s something satisfying about playing “Riders on the Storm” while you can literally see a storm raging through the glass doors.
In between the weather theatrics, there were some really sweet moments. We got to sing “Happy Birthday” to Roberta, and later on a couple asked if we could dedicate “Wonderful Tonight” to the wife. It’s not a song we usually keep in rotation, but we both know it well enough that we decided to go for it. It came together nicely, and they were clearly locked into every word.
There was also one woman near the middle of the room who seemed to be with us for all three hours—clapping along, smiling, reacting to little musical turns. Seeing someone that tuned in makes it a lot easier to forget how tired you are at the end of a 10-day run.
Family, Cabernet, and the Long Way Home
Tom’s parents made it to the show, along with his mom’s cousin and cousin’s husband from Cedar Rapids. It had been a long time since Tom had seen them, so having them in the crowd added another layer to the day. After the set, we caught up, and that’s when the full “red pickup / side-of-the-road pee / mystery honk” story came out. That spiraled into Greg telling the story about making his wife, Noriko, stop at every floor in a Japanese elevator years ago when she really needed a bathroom. “She did not think it was funny then,” Greg said, “but 20 years later it’s… kind of funny. Maybe.”
Since this was the last show in our little four-gig sprint, we decided to actually enjoy some of the wine instead of just looking at the bottles on the way out. Cedar Ridge treated us to drinks, and their cabernet absolutely floored us. We both love wine, and this stuff was genuinely next level. Indoor sanctuary, storm outside, and a glass of cab after three hours of playing—it felt like a good way to close the run.
We packed up, loaded out in dry weather (a small miracle given the radar), and pointed the car back east. We stopped at the I-80 Truckstop again—this time for Taco Bell, because apparently that’s our post-gig ritual now. No storms on the way home, just some late-day sun and that tired-but-happy feeling you get after a show that asked a lot of you in the right ways.
On the drive back, we found ourselves talking about how much of this whole Bell & Field thing is about not knowing—what the weather will do, who will show up, which song request will come flying at us, or what weird little moment we’ll still be laughing about on the highway hours later. In a world where you can look up almost anything in advance, that kind of uncertainty is actually pretty fun.
Big Thanks to Cedar Ridge
Huge thanks to Ashton, Kelly and the whole Cedar Ridge crew for taking such good care of us and making the long trip more than worth it. If you were part of that packed Event Center—brunch crowd, birthday crew, wine tasters, or the folks who stuck around through the downpour—thanks for hanging with us.
If you’re looking for Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery entertainment ideas or want a live acoustic duo performance like this for your own place or event, we’d love to chat. You can reach us through this page: https://www.bellandfieldmusic.com/book-acoustic-duo/.