Hey Everybody!

I hope you've been having a great summer. It's definitely my favorite time of year. I grew up in southern TX around Houston and developed a taste for sweltering heat. So I kinda love this stuff.

Also, I just recently got back from a quick trip over to the mid-South and had a blast. For those reading this who made it out to those shows, I just want to say that I really enjoyed getting to meet everybody. Also, thanks for coming out - the concerts definitely blew away my expectations (in Lawton ya'll packed the room plus some!), and that's solely based on your kindness.

On to the news:

I get asked a lot by my friends in the Nashville area if I play in town (where they wouldn't have to travel crazy distances to see a set). I've been putting a lot of my efforts into playing in neighboring areas and haven't had a lot of options for you. But good news! I'm now one of the regular performers at Cafe Lula (in the Ryman). The August schedule should be posting in the next couple of days, so I should have some local gig times posted soon. Stay tune-d.

We've got a really cool project going on where me and 3 other songwriters have put a show together called Songs and Stories from Nashville. This is a project my buddy Dave Minninburg organized, and it's something I'm excited to be a part along with Dave, writer Eric Haines, and Marc-Alan Barnette. We'll be playing our songs in the Nashville Writer's Round style. This is going to be our first few shows, but we were excited by the interest it has generated so far and plan on keeping the project going. Here's a quick video to give you a little more info:

https://youtu.be/1E_GTY6eP98

Here's our current dates coming up:

 

This is our first run out of what we hope to be many. So let me know if you would like us to head to your area! And if you're close by to these venues, we'd love to see you. I can say of the other 3 writers that they are top notch. It's going to see a great show!

I love playing music - but my favorite part of the gigging and the traveling is meeting new and really cool people (if it was just music, I could do that in my studio :) ). In Dallas about a week and a half ago, I got to talk to Edward after my set and he was telling me about his own love of words (I mean, check out his blog title :) ) and how he likes to rewrite lyrics to popular songs. He shared one with me on his blog called "Getting Old" (written to the tune of "Letting Go"). I thought it was fun and that I'd share just to help spread the word that there are amazing, creative, and cool people creating art all the time around us. It's one of things that keeps me optimistic about life. Thanks for sharing Edward! Check out the link:

I have exciting stuff brewing that I hope to be able to share soon. Until next time!
John