“Everything we used to share collectively — food, sports, music, art — those things have been taken away from us, and we’ve lost touch with each other,” he said. “Even though there’s some huge barriers, and some huge sections of division in our society, we have forgotten the very little things that kind of keep us connected.

“As we go into a political cycle that’s only going to get more and more tense, it’s important to me as an individual to find ways to bridge these gaps between people that I know have different political leanings, but I know we share some common values that I want to hold on to, because down the road, maybe not today, we as a society need to find a way to come together, and we need to build on that through these cultural things that unite us.

“We think of it as a business opportunity, but we think of it as a cultural opportunity. We think about it as a programmatic opportunity. And I think of it as a personal opportunity for me to be able to go out and share a smile and to talk about the things that we love, instead of just always reminding ourselves of the things that we hate.”

Here’s hoping for dry weather, on those days at least.

North Carolina’s American Aquarium has been a Roanoke Valley favorite for years, having played multiple gigs at the erstwhile Kirk Avenue Music Hall, Harvester Performance Center and FloydFest.