My birthday is coming up this week (the big 2-6!). John let me open my gift a bit early and turns out he bought surprise tickets for B.B. King, who was in Cedar Rapids this Sunday at the recently renovated Paramount Theatre. I love blues and have never seen B.B. King, so needless to say I was rather excited.

I donned my LBD and John was all spiffed up in his suit. We paused briefly to get a blurry photo in the Hall of Mirrors — the lobby/entrance area of the Paramount. In the 2008 flood, the Paramount took on flood waters and they’ve painstakingly restored the theatre. And I must say, the place was absolutely gorgeous.

My photos don’t do the place justice. After admiring the architecture, we found our seats and B.B. King took the stage (at age 87 mind you) and played some of his classics. His band was in the groove and it was a great show.

And I bought a fun little surprise souvenir — there were letterpress posters (printed by Hatch Show Print in Nashville) for sale. Of course I had to have one!