Frankly this couldn't have gone any better.
When I showed up at band practice, almost no surprise at all (darn - sometimes I enjoy messing with people). Nothing but support, I told everyone I started estrogen a couple months ago and haven't had to shave in almost two years, kept it all pretty casual and we focused on practice before the gig. Band members were already offering to carry my heavy tube amp back into the trailer and I did mention yeah some things might get more difficult to lift in a few months. And we joked around.
At the Brick Tavern getting ready and on stage I was expecting a mixture of skeptics along with supportive people. Instead, the entire time I was in this small town for the weekend - people I've known 15-20 years, and tourists, I saw nothing but 100% acceptance. Not a single odd look or rude remark. Same with breakfast in town the following morning with my boyfriend and girlfriend. (I introduced them both to the band, and to several I've known in town - that all went well.)
During the set breaks and after, guys I already knew were supportive and those I didn't know didn't seem to notice or care. What is unexpected is so many women were ecstatic to see me openly transgender - I had so many individually tell me they have never seen me happier and they think this is just great. I know this isn't how things usually go but this is what happened.
One of our tunes is Devil Went Down to Georgia (yeah, the other Devil). I play it a bit faster than the original recording, always an audience favorite. Right before launching into that our keyboardist got on the microphone and said... well we used to have a great fiddle player, Ken, but he's gone. Now we have Kendra and she's even better. A bunch of people cheered out in the audience - a lot. I couldn't believe it.
There are some things you cannot catch in a photo. Burned into my memory is the way I felt looking across the violin fingerboard as I was playing, a pretty crowded room full of people dancing and having a great time, playing music any damn way I feel like. I feel so free.