See the Ville
Legendary decorator, baker and raconteur, Marc Charbonnet, discusses all things design and history with his beloved friends and neighbors in Saint Francisville, Louisiana.
See the Ville
Alexandra Kennon & Sam Shahin - STV: 21
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Marc welcomes Alex Kennon Shahin and Sam Shahin for a heartfelt conversation about Shadetree Inn, its family legacy, and the unique beauty of St. Francisville. They share memories, hopes for the future, and the sense of warmth, hospitality, and community that makes Shadetree so special.
Hello everyone and welcome to Steve the Ville. I'm Mark Charbonnet and I have a wonderful set of guests, too, a lovely, happily married couple, and I have known the bride in this pair since before she was born. We always reference my producer, Ellen Kennan, and she's been a guest on this podcast because of her fabulous paint business and her beautiful colors. Well, Ellen had the best production when she gave birth to Alex, her daughter. And I have Alex's fantastic husband, Sam, who is an incredible musician. He's also been a teacher. He's a recording artist, and he's always busy. You know, I'm impressed because I've known a lot of musicians in my life. And most of the musicians I knew were artists who loved what they did, but they didn't always have work. Sam is incredible because he is always busy. Well, anyway, welcome y'all.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for having us, Mark. Always a joy to talk to you. And we love the podcast, so we're delighted to be here.
SPEAKER_01I'm so glad. And you know, people in St. Francisville, of course, know you, and they're getting to know Sam. You all have been married two years now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, just over two years. Yeah. Just made two years in March.
SPEAKER_01And what we're going to talk about today is uh the Shade Tree Inn. And uh you were married there. That was such a lovely wedding, and uh such a happy occasion. And of course, your father, who is a I wrote yesterday, uh Ellen posted a picture of him on Facebook as one of her memorial candles, and I said, Kinwood, the legend, the man, the saint. Anyway, he passed away recently, and he really is uh shoes that'll never be filled here because he was really a remarkable person. But it's so nice that you are now the owner and the operator of Shade Tree and that's an incredible thing. It's really a lovely legacy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's still a little wild to wrap my head around that phrase in particular. You know, it's one of those things that I obviously like knew my whole life eventually we'd get to that point, but then the actual signing of the paperwork to make it official and sort of stepping in and living at Shade Tree more has really made it feel so real. And yeah, it's it's a magical spot, as you said.
SPEAKER_02Um, it's incredible. I remember the first time I went there and just feeling kind of what Kenwood had curated in the space that he created there and that and that all of y'all helped create there. And you could really feel that it was the type of place where people get to enjoy this area and have some solace and have really, really a wonderful experience in that place. And you mentioned that our wedding was there. First of all, I'd like to say thank you for officiating our wedding.
SPEAKER_03I did a fabulous job officiating our wedding.
SPEAKER_02And um, and I remember, if you don't mind me telling this story, Alex, that I, if I remember correctly, I was very gung-ho to do the wedding at Shade Tree. And it was not about some tradition of doing it in the bride's hometown or anything like that. It was about the feeling of what Shade Tree is. It's special, it's truly an honor to take over the legacy that Kinwood and that Alan and that Alex have have really curated in such a beautiful way there. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00The wedding thing was really serendipitous, actually, because of course I had in my head, you know, I was never a kid who being married and getting married was like a huge goal of mine, you know, so I wasn't the little girl who like had Pinterest boards and that kind of thing from a young age. But I did have in my head that if I were to get married, I would want to do it at Shade Tree, you know, and had this image of the Shade Tree wedding in my head. And so it was so funny when we first got engaged and we started talking about it. I hadn't said anything about that to Sam. And the first time we sat down and had like a possible venue conversation, even casually, that was the first thing out of his mouth was I think I said we gotta do it at Shade Tree, right?
SPEAKER_02Or something like that. Like that's just that's what we gotta do, right? I mean, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So it was really sweet that we were on the same page about that. And of course, it's all the reasons that we wanted to get married there, that it's such a beautiful place to live at and share with people.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah. And you feel the community there too. So much of the community came out for the wedding, too. You could really feel the spirit of the community and the joy and love that we were bringing into everything in that in that moment and on that day. It was really a great, you know, community experience here in St. Francisville as well, I thought.
SPEAKER_01There's something about Shade Tree too, being a uh an aunt. Well, first it was your father's home and his shop, and then your mother and father married, and she had a shop there, and then it was uh it was just spun out one day with a with all sorts of thought and a lot of help from Ellen's father. It's really a family affair, and it became an inn. And uh that's so special. But you know, I have encountered people in different places, and this is completely separated from y'all, but they have been guests there, and when they hear I'm from St. Francisville, they will say, a lot of times they won't remember the name, but they'll say, Oh, I stayed at this place, it was on a hill. And I tell them, and they're like, Oh, that was it. And it's really special to all of them. And I always hear that. And uh for anyone that has not been there, uh you wouldn't have had an occasion to be there unless you were visiting Eleanor Kenwood at the time or attended the wedding, or you've been a guest. But it's a situation where it's in the middle of the historic district, yet it sits high on one of the bluffs. The only other bluff that's higher is is what is called uh Catholic Hill, and that's across the street, and it has a commanding post, and when you're there, you're overlooking the ravine down to the river. It's it's truly unique, and uh it's just beautiful and tranquil. That's why everybody loves it so much.
SPEAKER_00It really is a special spot, and it's so kind of rare to have something like that that is really so central to in the heart of downtown. It's kind of an anomaly in that way because it feels so rural and kind of isolated and secluded, like you feel like you're just out in nature, you know, and you look down the hill and you see the bayou kind of that overflows from the Mississippi River levee, and then you've got the river itself less than a mile from there. And um, you know, of course, my mom, Ellen, did so much to cultivate and curate the B itself. I mean, that was really her idea back in the 90s. Um, my dad had been an attorney, didn't want to practice law anymore. He referred to it as the contentiousness business. Um, so it kind of just made perfect sense for him to get to sort of step into being an innkeeper with her interior design help to kind of turn the building itself over. But he was always just so captivated with that property and um kind of referred to himself sort of jokingly, but not really as the caretaker, you know, when he lived there. And he even had his little sign that said caretaker's quarters. And so he had different projects throughout my childhood to kind of cultivate that natural space, you know. Well, I mean, of course, he fed the birds so much she used to joke, but it was true he spent more on black oil sunflower seed than on the intergy bill. Um, but then he also spent a lot of time clearing off this levee that's down in sort of the bayou below the hilltop. And it used to be part of the Illinois Central Railroad that had this track along it.
SPEAKER_01Third oldest railroad in the United States.
SPEAKER_00Thank you, Mark. Yes, indeed.
SPEAKER_02Um, right and so that's part of the first interstate railroad, if I'm correct, right? Yeah. From St. Francisville, Natchez.
SPEAKER_00Look at you guys in your railroad history.
SPEAKER_01So that's part of my that's part of my ghost to Bayou Cerator. I don't mean to interrupt you, but I'll have to plug myself.
SPEAKER_00And we are dying to take ghosts to Bayou Cerotor. I've already referred several friends to it. As a former tour guide myself, it's always great to see someone doing a very like engaging and authentic history tour. So we love that we have those in St. Francis.
SPEAKER_01But I didn't mean to interrupt Steve.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, no, but so my dad and I think it was when Wayne, my dad's best friend Wayne Brann, who used to live at the bottom of Shade Tree Hill when I was a kid, we used to refer to that area as Wayne's World, um, anyway. And my dad and Wayne took on all kinds of projects throughout my childhood. And one of the big ones was clearing the top of this levee to create this walking trail along what was formerly that railroad line. Um, and it's so cool because you can see the bayou in the bottom of the hill on one side, and then you've got, you know, the mat field opening out into the Mississippi River on the other side. And it's just such a like iconic Louisiana space that they put so much effort and love into kind of clearing and cultivating and making a path out of. And I mean, I remember throughout my childhood, guests would go walk along, and I, my friends and I love to go walk along it. Um, we'd come out, you know, at the street at the bottom of Grandmother's Buttons, and then you were out in downtown St. Francisville after this like wonderful nature hike. And so that kind of thing is what Sam and I have talked about, really wanting to sort of revisit and recultivate, you know. But that's a lovely idea.
SPEAKER_01I would love to do that. I've never done that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Oh, it's such a great walk. And I think it's probably a little grown up at this point. You know, my dad, obviously, Wayne passed away quite a while ago, and my dad wasn't really upkeeping things towards the end there. So that's something that we'll have to get in there with some weed whackers and sort out eventually, but I'm excited.
SPEAKER_01Tell you a funny story. I uh it's about meeting your father. I was, you know, the famous decorator from New York, and Ellen was the person who really I'm owe such a debt of gratitude to because she was the one that got me a job at Peter Marino, and that led to a career. Anyway, um so I wanted to thank her, and I'd gotten in really well with the editorial board at Architecture Digest, so I said, Oh, we have to go to this place of a good friend of mine who was the head of interiors at Peter Marino's, and she has a wonderful boutique shop there. It was just remarkable things. And so they said, sure. So St. Francisville was excited that I was coming to town, and I'd not been to St. Francisville. And I got here, and um it's terrible. It was a terrible rainy drive, and I had taken too many, I called them nerve pills because I was nervous about driving here. I didn't drive here, I rode here. And he somebody brought me. And uh when I arrived, Kinwood came out and he was so grateful. I remember that. And he kind of like put his palms together and kind of gave a little bow and said, Oh, it's so nice to meet you. What would you like to drink? And in that set I looked at him and said, Mmm, what do you have? He said, Anything you want. And I said, How about bitters and seltza? And he kind of bowed twice and backed up, and then all of a sudden he was in his car driving. I think he drove all the way to Baton Rouge to get a bottle of bitters for me.
SPEAKER_00That's so funny. And that was so big a part of like his MO of the BB, though, in those earlier years, especially. I remember because he, I mean, he referred to himself as the front desk, right? He had like his little, I think it was a Nokia cell phone, you know, strapped to his belt. He had one of the little belt carriers for it. And so he would get a call on that thing, and he was the Shade Tree front desk, and he'd answer Shade Tree in. And he was so accommodating, and we had this policy at that point in time. He would get them, I say we, this is this was all his doing, and I'm sure my mom's at the time, um, but he was the one who was consistently doing it. He would ask them any drink that they wanted, right? And they would be like, Are are you sure? Like what you mean wine or beer? He'd go, no, no, no, anything. So if they wanted, you know, like Glenn Fiddletch, theoretically, he would go get them a little bottle of whatever it was. I don't, you know, think he ever spent that much money, but I mean he was getting whole bottles of like Jack Daniels or whatever and putting like these things in the rooms for them. Which is just so not something that AB does anymore. Um, but I think that attitude that he had with you, Mark, kind of was a holdover of that, of that like ultimate host mentality of like, whatever you want, I'm gonna find it and get it. And uh yeah, that's a trip.
SPEAKER_01What was horrible, I would remember they I was still not quite steady. And I didn't have to be. I mean, they had Bevel Knapp, this fabulous photographer who loved here in town, was here taking all the pictures. I wasn't, you know, it's not like I was on video or anything. I was just sitting there watching what was going on. So they kind of sat me at this table under the covered area on the deck, and uh they put this box on the table and I said, What is that? And they said, Oh, that's lunch. That and they I think somebody said, That's your lunch. And uh I opened it up and it was this huge box of Oysters Rockefeller, and I proceeded to eat them all, and then I found out that was mine and everybody's lunch.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's so funny.
SPEAKER_01Um But anyway, uh Shea Tree has tell us about the the rooms that are available now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. It's changed a little bit since when I was little. Um when I grew up, it was always three suites, you know, and our three ones that we always touted were the Gardener's Cottage, which we still have.
SPEAKER_01Um and that's which I've been a guest, and it's just beautiful.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's it's a really special space. That one's a little separated from the main building, um, which is part of why we call it the Gardener's Cottage, it's over sort of adjacent to the garden.
SPEAKER_02That was the groom suite during the uh wedding, I remember. That was a great groom suite for us. A lot of memories in that room.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that was their groom suite. We also had the band for our wedding on the porch of the gardener's cottage, which I will just never forget that image. That was such a different use of the space than we'd ever seen. Uh, but really, it was so fun.
SPEAKER_02Can I interject to tell one quick story about the Gardener's Cottage? Oh, yeah. We were at dinner at the St. Francis Villa Inn one time, and there was a photographer in there taking different pictures of the food and the setting. They had just redone the area in there. And it was, it was, if I remember correctly, the four of us, Alan, Alexandra, myself, and Kinwood. And he came up to Kinwood, the photographer did, and he said, Sir, I don't know if you remember this, but about 15 years ago, right about 10 or 15 years ago, I think he said, my wife and I stayed in the gardener's cottage on our honeymoon shortly after we got married and we came there to spend some time. And we were doing a photo shoot naked outside of the gardener's cottage, and we locked ourselves out. So he had to go over to the kitchen where Kenwood was hanging out, you know, grabbing his bits and pieces, so to speak, covering them up and saying, Hey, Mr. KW, can you let us back in the gardener's cottage? And he just had the fondest memory of how KW took care of them and treated them with everything going on. And he said, Do you remember this, Kenwood? Do you do you remember this? And he Kenwood gave a sly little, oh yeah, I remember that. It was it was just a great moment and just a small piece of one of those stories of of Shade Tree that I wanted to share. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I interject with that.
SPEAKER_01Because it falls in line with that, is that that didn't shock Kinwood because Kenwood was uh the head of a commune at Como. And I remember hearing from a friend of all of ours, Owen, who's also been a guest on our podcast. She's a yoga master here in town. She said she came to town and her mother told her, Oh, there's a commune. And this is back in the 70s when, you know, communes were the thing, and she said, Oh, there's a commune now out at Como. And Owen said, Really? And she said, Oh, but don't worry, they're all from very nice families. So Kenwood had probably seen more than one naked person.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I think probably so. I can't imagine that was the first naked person you'd see.
SPEAKER_00And that was part of the story was that my dad was pretty unfazed about it, it sounds like. Yeah, but I loved that one. Because it was actually the photographer who who approached and told us that, as Sam said. Yeah, that's right. And it really cracks me up that my dad seemed to remember it quite well. I mean, how could you forget?
SPEAKER_01Well, you really don't forget something like that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I know who the photographer is too. I don't want to name him by name for this particular situation. But a very talented photographer, he and his wife are still based in Baton Rouge. Um, seems like this is a very fond memory. I hope they still have the photos that never saw them.
SPEAKER_02But you were you were talking about the rooms at Shade Tree that you've got.
SPEAKER_00Exactly, yeah, the Gardener's Cottage. So, I mean, that's a beautiful, very like kind of rustic space, and rustic's a word that gets thrown around a lot with Shade Tree, but um it's it's so much more than that because it's also very elegant, too. It's this kind of dichotomy of things. But you've got a lot of stained glass windows in the sun porch.
SPEAKER_01I mean, so charming.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so charming. I mean, lots of little, little unique details like the stained glass, um, you know, the cedar posts on the porch itself, this beautiful big cedar tree outside of the porch, right? That my dad loved that cedar tree so much, he had lit from below. So there's a special light that just lights up that tree and the porch mark is such a special place.
SPEAKER_01And then the view of the ravine. I mean, it's just it's truly amazing.
SPEAKER_00I mean, when you think of those like iconic sort of like southern views, you know, when you're in one of those rocking chairs on that porch looking down over the hill in the bayou, it it really is a very special spot.
SPEAKER_01I'll I'll go on a limb and I'll say if you're not been here before, and especially now that Shade Tree is part of Louisiana hospitalities, that it's handled by the inn, the nicest thing about the inn is their their uh well their accommodations are are flawless, but you know, they serve fabulously. It's a Michelin recommended restaurant, and they have a beautiful bar and all of those accoutrements. But if you are under their umbrella, because now those fellas handle most of the accommodations in town.
SPEAKER_00And we are very grateful, they do a great job. And they're fabulous.
SPEAKER_01No, but this is what my point is. I really think if anybody hasn't visited St. Francisville and happens to hear this, I would suggest you stay at Shay Tree because it's truly a unique experience. Because as nice as the accommodations are anywhere else, you are not going to be on a hilltop in the middle of the historic district where you're totally alone, yet two steps down from the whole busyness of the town. That our town is busy. But and then you have the privilege, and because you're a guest of Louisiana Hospitality, you can go and have dinner at the inn, which is actually very difficult to get uh reservations now because it's so popular. So I think between in each one of these rooms, and you have to finish telling us about them, but each one is unique and they all offer something incredibly special. At the gardener's cottage, there's a porch and a lawn, and you really feel so separate from everything. But then there is another suite that has this beautiful deck, and you can sit there and overlook the ravine, and that is where the covered area is that I ate all of the oysters.
SPEAKER_02And uh And you do have a nice covered area so that if you have rain, you still have a beautiful place to hang out.
SPEAKER_01So I didn't mean to go on and on, but I want to just so tell people I really think it's a that's a great marriage to stay at the Saint uh at the Shade Tree Inn and then have the ability to use all of the things that are at the Yes.
SPEAKER_00Thank you, Margaret. I'm glad you touched on that because you really do get the best of both worlds. It's like you still get the sort of nature and the serenity and all of the things that really make Shade Tree what it is, you know, and make that so unique. But then you also get the incredible accommodations that Louisiana Hospitality Group offers. And again, we are so grateful to those guys because they really do such a beautiful job managing and overseeing everything. I mean, they're such world travelers themselves, so they have great taste. Um, and then uh as far as the amenities and everything, they really just fill it out so beautifully, but it's still in this very like curated, unique rustic space that is shade tree. So again, you really do get the best of both worlds.
SPEAKER_02Well, it sounds like little Tippy has something to say about Shade Tree here.
SPEAKER_01We recently started Yes, Tippy is who you hear me yowing. She's a precious little cat, but she's very noisy during the city.
SPEAKER_02But you know it's noisy and she is a shade tree animal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. A little tippy context. Yeah, Tippy was the shade tree cat. She's my dad's cat. She's kind of the last critter of my dad's left standing. And uh anyway, and she's delighted to be back in St. Francisville with Sam and I.
SPEAKER_02But sounds like a little bit she wants to get back to Shade Tree. That's what she's sounding like to me right now. Yeah, she's hearing us talk about Shade Tree, and she's saying, Well, I love it there. We we could get back there soon enough, can't we?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, something like that. Um, anyway, so yeah, we've got the Gardner's Cottage, there's the Governor's Suite, that's the newest of them. That one's a little more stately. Um did a beautiful job.
SPEAKER_01Kenwood's father was a governor of Louisiana, and he was truly unique. And it's a shame we don't have politicians like that today. This man was not a career politician. He ran with the promise that he was only going to run one term and do everything that he could do in one term. And that's what he did. You know, he wasn't one of these people that hang around far too long.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Yeah, he did run for a second term and then lost to Earl Long in 56. But yeah, yeah, an interesting little little chapter of Louisiana history there between the long terms. Um, yeah, and so that's that's named for my granddad there. Um we also have the Sun Porch, another one of our original three suites. Um, another beautiful, elegant room, has some really fabulous windows that sort of overlook the downtown. Um, and then of course, all of these have king-size bed. Um my dad used to say fridge toaster, microwave, and coffee maker. We don't have toasters anymore because who needs that? Um but uh yeah, and then the other of the original suites is the loft. That was my dad's favorite of the original three. That one is upstairs, has a very cozy cozy, beautiful peak ceiling, exposed wood, has this very Adirondack kind of feel.
SPEAKER_01So special.
SPEAKER_00Um, really special, and then has its own little private deck area that's on the second floor, kind of overlooking the whole backyard of the hill, too. Um and then the sun porch, as its name implies, also has its own private deck as well. Um so all these are really like beautiful. Each of them is individually its own like relatively private space on the example.
SPEAKER_01It's not a room and a bathroom. These are like apartments, basically. And uh what's really nice, and I just thought about it, all four of these accommodations are very close to each other, and three of them are actually in the same building, but you're separated. You you the doors are not next door to each other. You enter, so you never you guests can stay there and never even see each other.
SPEAKER_02And you're oh absolutely your beds are not up against the same wall as the bed that you share a wall with, or whatever, you know, the the room that you share a wall with. It's it's really well organized, and I think every room has a great combination of this kind of elegant, feels like a bed and breakfast, and also this really I feel like home when I come here. And I know, you know, that's easy for me to say, but I felt that way the first time I came to Shade Tree before we were ever talking about marriage, before anything, you know, just the first time I came here really feels like the type of place where You can't believe it, right?
SPEAKER_01You just get there and you're like, oh my god, this is just amazing.
SPEAKER_02And I'll also point out we've talked a lot about how you can walk easily just right into downtown and all of that. You can also very easily walk down to the Mississippi River, which I think is a really cool thing, especially from those who for those who might be visiting from out of town or from somewhere where they don't have a chance to go see the Mississippi just rolling down, grab yourself a drink at the Oyster Bar and check out the Mississippi River, check out Bayusera, stuff like that. It's also walking distance from you know some really unique parts of the of Louisiana and St. Francisville that I enjoy going down to. And I know KW would ride his bike down to the river every day and stuff, and it's just it's a great location and a really special place.
SPEAKER_01You know, I have siblings, and every it seems like every five years now, but every sever every few years we'll have a family reunion. I really wanted them to come here and they didn't, unfortunately. But I kept telling them about how they could all get the rooms at Shade Tree because what's special about Shade Tree and hasn't been mentioned, is especially if you rent out all four uh rooms, uh areas, suites, there's a kitchen, and you could actually have uh prepare meals and this the kitchen's really quite nice and very well equipped.
SPEAKER_02It's beautiful. The kitchen is fantastic, and that is something that we're still this is still new to Alexandra and I, and and we're kind of figuring out some of those things of how we want to put our own impression and continue the legacy that's been left there. And uh one of those things, I would I would love to have open dinners there where members of the community can come and hang out on the hilltop. And Mark, of course, you're invited to every single one without an invite. Oh, thank you. And Ellen, you know that's of course true for you as well, but but that anybody could stop by and we make something just simple, like red beans on a Monday, or something like that, or every now and again, you know, I don't have the equipment for this yet, and this would take, you know, be a longer transition, but I would love to have some live music every now and again. Of course, it's not just my profession, it's it's my passion too. And whether it be somebody like Nancy Ropolo, who has a great relationship with Kenwood and and or had a beautiful, beautiful relationship with Kenwood to kind of start something off like that, or some friends from New Orleans, we're in touch with a lot of talent in this whole area, and I think we they're there, I'm just very excited for the future that is coming and having some different artistic options on the on the hilltop as well.
SPEAKER_01So tell me, Sam, we all know about Shade Tree and we've all been here for years now. Now that you are living there, how do you find uh St. Francisville as a part for part for part home? Because I know you're also based in New Orleans too.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know, St. Francisville is a beautiful place to come home to. I absolutely love it here, and I think St. Francisville, I said to Alex a long time ago that this is a really top-tier small town. You know, you you see small towns all over the country and all over the south. And St. Francisville is a particularly special and unique one. I think we have what I call the hill country of Louisiana here, where you actually have some shape to the land and it just feels really beautiful to be in nature here. But we also have some great restaurants, a great community of people where I love walking into the Birdman, grabbing a coffee, seeing people I know, and really having a community experience. Exactly. It's it's really a great, great place to come home to.
SPEAKER_01Let me ask Alex something. Alex uh is so well educated, and she uh attended uh university in New Orleans, and then she got a fabulous job in New Orleans, which led to another fabulous job, and she is the uh what are you exactly at 64 Parishes?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm the managing editor of this, which is the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Quarterly Culture and History Magazine.
SPEAKER_01So did you I mean you never think about things, but did you think that um you'd be back living here in St. Francisville? Or how does that how is it now that you're actually back?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's a great question. Um it's funny because you know, when I was a kid, like and I was in middle school, I think a lot of kids who grow up in small rural areas have this mentality of like, I'm gonna get so far away from here, you know, we don't even have a mall. I'm gonna go somewhere that's a big city, you know, that that kind of thing. And of course, you know, I did feel that way for a while. And so I moved to New Orleans to to attend college and had that sort of like bigger city experience, which I loved and still do enjoy spending time in New Orleans. Um, but now that I'm a little older and I have had that experience of living in a bigger city, you really come to appreciate, you know, the smaller towns, and especially a town like St. Francisville. You know, as Sam said, it's not just any small town. It's it's a beautiful place. It both is naturally so beautiful and does have a really vibrant community. Um, you know, I recently went to the Beau Arts Ball in town and an opening they had at the art house. And it seems like, you know, every month there's just multiple cultural events going on now. It's it's awesome to see. So I think kind of coming back at this point in my life, um, when I have more to offer and the town has more to offer as well, you know. Um, it's it's really, really been a neat experience to get to come back and be part of that. And we're looking forward to contributing to that beautiful community that's already kind of grown up here, um, even more so. Um, yeah, but you know, I'm very fortunate that my current position, um, as I said, I'm managing editor of 64 parishes, which is a really fun job. You know, I love working on Louisiana cultural content and getting to tell and share these kinds of Louisiana stories. Um, I'm very fortunate that we're fully remote. Uh, so that's allowed me to take care of things at Shade Tree and spend more time up here in St. Francisville, um, and occasionally, you know, jot elsewhere in the state for for different things when I need to. But um, for the most part, I'm I'm able to be here and able to kind of have my cake and eat it too. So that's that's been very, very lucky.
SPEAKER_01Well, I can't tell you how happy I've been to be able to interview you two. And Sam, I want to have you back on to talk about your music because uh anytime.
SPEAKER_02It's a pleasure.
SPEAKER_01I'd love to hear about you. You have such great stories, and I know you've traveled a lot with it. I want to hear about it. And you're you're a jazz musician, but you also have such a unique uh story to your playing and everything.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, and I I love all styles of music, all styles of music, so so I definitely um I do all types of touring with all types of bands and with my own personal project, Badakat, which means blessings in Arabic, and is also my grandmother's maiden name. So it's a whole it's a a group of music that I put within the family.
SPEAKER_01Your name is Sheehan, and I didn't even mention that.
SPEAKER_02It's yeah, it's Shaheen. Shaheen.
SPEAKER_01Well, there you go. That's me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, an Irish spin on it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, I want to thank you all so much, and it's just a pleasure talking about something I love as much as Shade Tree. I have known so many good times there, and um and Alex, I've known you since you since before you were born. So this has just been a complete delight. And I want to thank you all for being my guest today. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much, Mark. I know, and you have just been such a wonderful part of my life since back when you lived in New York. I've always thought of you, you're too cool to be an uncle. I think of you more as like Auntie Mark somehow. Um, but you just have always been part of the family, and St. Francisville is so lucky to have you. I really think of you as part of what is driving this sort of like creative renaissance in St. Francisville, and we really need a voice like yours and a podcast like this to help, you know, get the word out there and share what a special place St. Francisville is. So thank you for doing all that you do.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for such nice work.
SPEAKER_02Here, here. It's true. I was gonna say something nice, and then she said that, and I'm like, well, I can't I can't top that. But no, really a pleasure, Mark. Thank you. Thank you.