August Greetings to all Sentient Beings!
Mid-August usually brings the dog days of summer, but this Memphis morning is startlingly cool and beautiful—startling because it follows weeks of intense heat and scary thunderstorm bombardments. But today the sky is bright blue, and the predicted afternoon high is only 82°. So lovely.
This month is one of sparse news, but there is a bit to share.
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CONTENTS of This Newsletter
1. Sherpas LP: Next single, radio update, radio hour interview archive
2. Three solo dates just booked (in Texas & Florida)
3. Ireland & Scotland Tours 2024
4. Personal News & Poem of the Month (all in one)
5. Wisdom for our time from poet Gary Snyder
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1a. Sherpas LP: Next single, radio update..
Our friends at Hudson Harding music (Erik Balkey & Bill Coyle) have chosen “Testament” for the next single from our new album “Promise to Harry,” and they'll be promoting it to radio in September and October. Michael Lille sings this one, and he played its haunting banjo backbone. I generally don't go in for explaining a song, but this one's a bow to the lost and weary of the world in search of safe haven. Its chorus goes..
Heaven knows what is right
But this weary bird in flight
Needs to know
When it’s safe to come down
We’re grateful for the exposure the album’s gotten. Stations playing one or more tracks from the record run from Canada to Mexico and down to Australia.
To buy or download the album or individual tracks, click HERE
(And of course it can be streamed most everywhere.)
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1b. Sherpas Radio Hour
If you've missed it, for a laid back, fun hour with the Sherpas (Tom Prasada-Rao, Michael Lille & me), you can stream an archived hour of music and talk by clicking HERE.
(Thanks to Barry Graham's Acoustic Highway and WHRO Radio.)
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2. Solo shows Texas (October) & Florida (February)
*I’m performing very little these days, but I just booked a couple of quick trips to Texas and Florida for 3 solo shows. (I do need to play every now & then!)
Friday, October 20, 2023
Rockport Center for the Arts (solo) (showtime TBA)
106 South Austin St
Rockport, TX 78382
—For more info, call 361-729-5519 or click HERE
(Thanks to Vicki Totten for getting me out of the house!)
Saturday, February 17, 2024
Camp Helen State Park (solo) (showtime TBA)
23937 Panama City Beach Pkwy
Panama City Beach FL 32413
—For more info, click HERE
Sunday, February 18, 2024 (solo) (showtime TBA)
Maggie’s Farm
Youngstown FL
—For more info, email Maggie at maggie(at)luckymudmusic(dot)
(Thanks to Mike & Maggie McKinney!)
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3. Ireland & Scotland: This coming October.. and in April, May & June 2024…
I’m so looking forward to hosting my second Scotland tour this coming October!
That tour's sold out, but next year (2024) I’ll again be hosting tours in Ireland (for Inishfree Tours) and Scotland (for Traceless Tours).
My Ireland 2024 Tour
Sunday June 23 - Wednesday July 4, 2024
(We'll be based in Counties Cork, Kerry & Clare)
My Scotland 2024 (Tour 1)
Friday, April 19-Monday, April 29, 2024
(We'll be based in or near Edinburgh, Pitlochry & Inverness)
My Scotland 2022 (Tour 2)
Wednesday, May 1-Saturday, May 11, 2024
(We'll be based in or near Edinburgh, Pitlochry & Inverness)
It's hard to describe how special these tours are. It's akin to describing the taste of a peach—it can't be done! But they are special—more than I can say. And if you feel the tug to join me, or you'd just like more info…
…click HERE for Ireland.
…HERE for Scotland.
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4. Personal News/Poem of the Month
I’m not much one for entering contests—life's contest enough! But my friend Ira encouraged me to submit a poem or two for the annual Poetry of the Sacred contest. I sifted through my stack for any that might qualify as “contemplative,” and submitted four. This one's perhaps the least contemplative of the bunch, but it speaks to me most clearly.
(Note: I previously shared this one in my April 2022 newsletter.)
Where We Love Him
What a challenge he was, our dad
and now he’s gone
we love him (as Faulker said)
not because of, but in spite of.
And truly, in the places
we could not have loved him then
we love him now,
have loved him since.
In places he believed no light
could reach, we light a fire
to warm his memory
and talk about the times
we’ve felt our own cold hearts
turn hard and blue, so easy,
sometimes, to believe
an awful thing that isn’t true.
Now in those places, a miracle
perhaps, we love him most.
We couldn’t then, and now we do.
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5. Wisdom for our time
noblesse oblige
nōˌbles ō-blēzh′ (noun)
—Benevolent, honorable behavior; the honorable obligation
"Care for the environment is like noblesse oblige. You don't do it because it has to be done. You do it because it's beautiful.”
—Gary Snyder (b. 1930), poet & activist
Till next we meet, Maximum Peace Love & Understanding.
TK
PS Thanks always to the folks at Elixir Strings for keeping me playing the world's best strings for over 25 years.