THANKYOU SEPTEMBRIANS // NOV & DEC SHOWS // PATREON // FRIENDS & FAM
This is the month I’m traditionally most loathe to leave home in order to go on tour, something I keep reminding myself as I sail into the second home-based October in a row. It’s lovely to be here communing with the garden, the woods, the geese, the rivers, the middle-school volleyball games; but the parts of touring I miss, I miss profoundly. I have much brighter hopes for 2022, but in the meantime there are a few appearances remaining in this hot mess of a year, more on which below.
THANKYOU // First off, I’m sending thanks to those of you who were able to come out to a show last month. In the Before Times, it was easy for shows to blur together a bit even weeks after they happened, due to the sheer volume of them, and all the near-manic traveling they entailed. These days though, each one stands alone on its own well-lit little pedestal, so I remember clearly how at Passim I yammered like a rookie in an attempt to fill the formerly-comfy, now-unsettling silence of a room full of people staring at me, and how at the Egremont Barn it was 43 degrees at showtime, and my hands more or less stopped working halfway through the outdoor set.
But both these nights were special and joyful and great, because I was playing to real faces in real time, and that’s become a very precious thing. Or actually, it always was precious; what’s changed is our improved ability to realize it. I’m very grateful to everyone who’s contributing to the effort to put live music on safely, from the clubs and promoters enforcing best practices, to the audiences cheerfully adhering to the important protocols as we try to claw our way back to a less vigilant existence.
NOVEMBER & DECEMBER SHOWS // In November, I’ll get on something called an “airplane” for a single show in Columbus, OH - if this seems a tad random to you, that’s because it is, but we’re rolling with it - and I’m also playing closer to home at Hawks and Reed in Greenfield, MA. These shows both require proof of vax and masks for all audience and staff. I’ll also re-start the livestream machine in November I think, as the nights get longer; more on that next month.
PATREON // Morale remains high over at Patreon where I’m continuing to do the musical equivalent of a painter’s studio tour. In my mind, this project is finite, maybe a year or so, at which point hopefully I’ll be back on the road and too busy to keep it up; but in the meantime I’m finding it surprisingly useful and enjoyable. Any amount from $3-$25 per month gets you full access to the deal. Come investigate here.
FRIENDS & FAM // Two dear friends & collaborators released new work in recent weeks. First, my neighbor and BFF Erin McKeown launched her new one Kiss Off Kiss, a straight-up breakup album simultaneously devastating and danceable, produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin. I got to lay down a big stack of backing vocals on one song, which was a mid-pandemic treat. Secondly, my Viking brother (and co-producer of my Blood Test record) Anders Parker offered up Wolf Reckoning, a big enveloping storm of a record, all darkness and energy and swirling light. Do your ears a favor and check out this brand-new music, loosed into a crowded and confusing world.
I hope everyone’s hanging in there and practicing kindness to yourselves and those you encounter in your day, who may be carrying any number of unknown burdens. See you at a show or a computer screen soon; until then I’ll be here waving my hanky at the southbound geese. *kd
UPCOMING SHOWS
NOV 5 - Six String Concerts - COLUMBUS, OH Tix
NOV 20 - Hawks & Reed (presented by Signature Sounds) - GREENFIELD, MA Tix
DEC 3 - The Word Barn - EXETER, NH Tix