04/21/2021
When Claire and I first started dating, we discovered that we both independently were friends with Mike Pritchard and Mark Wallney, so we would often choose wherever they were playing as our date destination.
Whenever we would walk in, one of them would call out from the stage “Hi Claire, hi Paul!” and shortly thereafter would say “This one goes out to Claire” as their introduction to Neil Young’s Harvest Moon”.
It is Claire’s favorite song, and their version is better than the original.
As Claire and I fell in love, I was thinking of creating a special evening for her, and Mike and Mark agreed to host that evening in my living room. This marked the beginning of years of HubCityMusic house concerts, as well as our annual Harvest Moon concerts - always performed by Mike and Mark - that would be attended by something like 1,000 people over the next 11 years.
Those house concerts nurtured our love into maturity and marriage, as well as creating lifetime relationships among all the many people who attended those concerts. And it solidified our relationship with Mike Pritchard.
To say that Mike Pritchard had a profound effect on our lives, as with so many others, would be a massive understatement. Mike was bigger than life, and he gave pieces of that life away freely to anyone who would take a moment to listen. He poured himself out into the lives of others until there was literally nothing left.
We knew him as the soundtrack of our lives. We went through good times and hard times, love and marriage, and Mike was there to share our triumphs and our tragedies. He had a song and a kind word for every person and every situation, and he helped us and many others get through the worst of times, as well as celebrate the best of times.
I don’t know what will happen to our house concerts without Mike’s inspiration. I only know that we are all feeling an emptiness that is as big as Mike’s heart.
Mike told me a little over a week ago that he has been ready and at peace with whatever God’s plan is for his life. Whether another day or another year, he told me he was ready when God calls him, and that he could not add or subtract a day from the time that God ordained for his life.
None of us were prepared for him to go, but Mike was prepared and at peace.
Mike, we love you and miss you more than words can express. Thanks for your example and love throughout your life.
Tiffny, our hearts are broken for you, and we pray comfort and peace to you and the family.
Here is a video of “Harvest Moon” from their second annual Harvest Moon concert.
At the 3rd Annual sold-out HubCityMusic.com Harvest Moon house concert, The Hat Trick (Mike Pritchard, Mark Wallney and Mike Boyd) played the "theme song" of...