LAMPLIGHTER // HAVERHILL NH // MIDLIFE CHRYSLER
Hi nice people, a few dates and sundry bits to let you in on.
As some of you may have noticed, my 2023 tour calendar has been an exercise in minimalism. It’s turned out to be a year of putting energy into other people’s projects, which has been wonderful and expansive. Throughout my life in music, I’ve always needed to spend time in roles other than frontman. It’s partly that I’m restless by nature and like to change up the view, and partly that I deeply enjoy the transcendence of working in collaboration. Partly that when I’m playing or singing in someone’s band, or helping shepherd a recording process, or writing a song for someone else’s project, it’s not about me at all, it’s purely about music - and I love the clarity and freedom of that situation. Ultimately there’s no substitute for the way different roles energize and inform each other, the dimensionality my musical life gains by varying my relationship to the central project of music-making.
For a while, as the mom of a young kid, my focus narrowed pretty hard. I had to shrink my activity down to my “solo” deal (always a misnomer, nothing in music happens solo) just to keep any semblance of a music career going. I’m grateful and slightly amazed that it’s survived this far! And recently I’ve found myself able to re-activate parts of my spectrum of work, which feels like light returning in spring.
So, it’s been a year of focusing outwards. Some things I’ve worked on have gone public already (see below about the new record from Jeremy Moses Curtis) and others will come to light over coming months and years. But now, I’m getting ready to turn my full attention back towards my own songs. There are recording sessions on the calendar, and there will be record(s?) to talk about next year and, eventually, one assumes, something resembling touring again. It’s exciting to contemplate the possibilities.
But in the meantime here’s what’s happening the rest of 2023!
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LAMPLIGHTER // Every year my friends Peter Mulvey and Barry Rothman curate a week of shows at Club Passim called the Lamplighter Sessions, which take various forms but are all about collaboration, cross-pollination, and spontaneity. I’m always happy when the scheduling gods permit me to participate in this venture, and that’s the case this year: on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, I’ll be a part of “I’ll Tell You All My Secrets” along with Mulvey, Barry, Rose Polenzani, Dana Colley of Morphine/Twinemen, and the Portland duo Muddy Ruckus. I have literally no idea what this show will be, which is a feeling I really enjoy. Come on down or livestream it if you’re curious - or catch any one of the Lamplighter shows Oct 27-31.
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HAVERHILL // On SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5 I’ll be in Haverhill, NH (this is the Haverhill right across the river from Vermont) to play Court Street Arts, a lovely-looking venue originally built as a courthouse in the 19th century. Adjudicating my songs with me will be esteemed councillor Isa Burke, playing guitars and fiddle and singing like she was born to do these things, which I’m pretty sure she was. Isa’s former band Lula Wiles had been slated to join me for the Long Day in the Milky Way release tours in 2020, and I’ve never quite gotten over Covid tanking that plan - so any chance to play with Isa feels like a tiny step towards making things right.
Everything about this situation sounds like the makings of a really fun show, but it’s in an undertraveled pocket of New England for me and I’m worried about people showing up, so if you know music lovers within shooting distance please send them our way. Also, fair warning that as far as I know, this will be the last KD show of 2023 - so make your plans accordingly!
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MIDLIFE CHRYSLER // I had the great pleasure of producing my longtime friend and bass player Jeremy Moses Curtis’s new record Midlife Chrysler, which is out now. I love this collection of songs and couldn’t be prouder of how the project came out. Cheers to Moses, the amazing band (Jeff Berlin, Matt Murphy, Mike Castellana), and the ever-inspired engineering and mixing of Sam Kassirer at Great North Sound Society. It’s a huge honor to be invited into the circle of trust around a record, and I’m grateful to have been in on bringing this beauty to life. Spin it wherever streams are spun, and/or buy a CD to make it a non-non-profit venture!
That’s the news on the music front. It probably goes without saying that it’s been a harrowing week in the world, and everyone’s carrying their own particular combination of grief, fear, confusion, and anger. Seems like an especially good time to stay focused on our shared humanity, and lead with compassion. Thanks everybody. *kd
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UPCOMING SHOWS
OCT 28 - CLUB PASSIM - CAMBRIDGE, MA - Lamplighter Series w Peter Mulvey & others TIX
NOV 5 - COURT ST ARTS - HAVERHILL, NH - KD duo w/ Isa Burke TIX
