When Tim Kaine, the former governor and current senator from Virginia, was running for vice president in 2016, there was a strain of media coverage that focused on a particular hobby: his harmonica playing.
The New York Times told us that Kaine’s briefcase held more than one harmonica. Time explored how his fluency as a mouth organist was a tool to understanding the “skills he may need if elected Vice President of the United States.” And, as might be expected, the talent was popular at campaign stops and on late night talk shows.
And he mixed jamming with politics even before then. Back in 2012, Kaine offered “Harmonica with Tim” to supporters of his Senate campaign, wherein “a participant chosen at random will win an exclusive dinner and lesson, featuring Governor Kaine on harmonica.”
Now, Kaine is lending both his harmonica and his vocals to a Jimi Hendrix tribute at Blues Alley in Georgetown on Monday night, according to Dave Kline, of the Dave Kline Band. Kline is headlining the celebration of the famed guitarist.
The Dave Kline Band, which is based in D.C., is a four-piece group that plays a mix of rock, blues, folk, and jazz.
Kline says he met Kaine through his partner, a real estate agent, who mentioned to the senator that Kline was in a band. “We invited him to play and he was like, ‘Absolutely,'” says Kline.
Some members of the band went to the Russell Senate Building to rehearse with Kaine. “That’s the first time we’ve ever played in the Senate,” says Kline. “I don’t know how many people rehearsed with a senator in the Senate building—probably not too many.”
Kaine’s office has confirmed that the senator will be performing on Monday. “He’s friends with a member of the band and is playing a few songs with them tonight,” says spokesperson Katie Stuntz over email.
According to Kline, Kaine is taking part in two different songs.
The first is Jimmy Reed’s “Ain’t That Lovin’ You,” on which the senator will sing and play harmonica. Kline has updated some of the lyrics for the final tune of the evening, “Bleeding Heart Blues,” to “make it contemporary,” he says, by referencing the crisis of migrant children at the border.
“The two things that are near and dear to me are music and human rights, so I’m thrilled to do that tune with that tweak and to have Tim Kaine on stage for it,” says Kline, who notes that the senator will be one of nine people on the small stage by the show’s end. “It’s my first time playing with a political figure of Tim’s stature, and I’m totally thrilled about it.”
Already, the 8 p.m. show has sold out.
Dave Kline Band Celebrates Jimi Hendrix is at Blues Alley. The show is sold out at 8 p.m., and has an additional show at 10 p.m. Tickets are $25 plus a $6 fee.
Rachel Kurzius