Fall Greetings Everyone!
We had a hard freeze last night, and I forgot to cover my favorite plants! My periwinkles have bloomed nonstop all summer and early fall, and now, alas, they've frozen and wilted.
But I do love fall. Midtown Memphis is shaded by a canopy of maples, oaks, tulip poplars, elms and even willows. And Lord have mercy, when the leaves turn it's a panorama of color.
In this newsletter: a fair amount of news, a little info on upcoming shows, an Ireland and Scotland tours update, a film recommendation, a new poem, words of wisdom for our time from Cormac McCarthy and Harper Lee… and a link to my musical tribute to Roy Orbison from a distant past.
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CONTENTS
1. New Sherpas single due for release
2. A short list of tour dates
3. Brief Ireland & Scotland updates
4. Amazingly: An impending Christmas song release
5. Recommended: A film masterpiece
6. TK Poem of the Month: The Town
7. A musical tribute to Roy Orbison
8. Wisdom for our time from Cormac McCarthy and Harper Lee
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1. New Sherpas single forthcoming
Our friends at Hudson Harding Music (who are promoting our new album "Promise to Harry") recently asked if The Sherpas would consider recording a cover of a classic gospel-soul song. Well, we've done it, and once it's out to radio I'll be able to tell you more about it and provide a link that'll let you streaming it.
For more on The Sherpas, click HERE.
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2. A smattering of tour dates
Recently I had a ball playing the Rockport, TX Center for the Arts, and I've got a handful of dates on my calendar—the first few (next week) with my Sherpas partner, longtime pal and frequent collaborator Michael Lille.
Friday, November 10, 2023 7:30pm
Back Door Coffeehouse Presents Tom Kimmel & Michael Lille
University Baptist Church
3200 Arlington Loop
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
—For more info: click HERE.
...or email: coffeehouse51(at)yahoo(dot)
Saturday, November 11, 2023
Tupelo, MS
Private Concert (TK & Michael Lille)
Sunday, November 12, 2023
Memphis, TN
Private Concert (TK & Michael Lille)
Saturday, February 17, 2024 (showtime TBA)
Camp Helen State Park
—solo concert
23937 Panama City Beach Pkwy
Panama City Beach FL 32413
—For more info, click HERE.
Sunday, February 18, 2024 4:00pm CST
Maggie’s Musical Farm
—*solo concert
15312 Blue Springs Rd
Youngstown, FL 32466
—For more info, email maggie(at)luckymudmusic(dot)
*There will be an open mic at 2:30pm
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3. Brief Ireland & Scotland Tours Updates
Man oh man, I had the sweetest bunch of people on my second Scotland tour last month. I don't know how it happens, but these Ireland and Scotland tours attract the nicest, big-hearted folks you'd ever want to meet. 
My next tours:
a. Ireland dates next year (2024):
Sunday June 23 - Wednesday July 4, 2024…
…and we'll be traveling one of my favorite routes: Counties Cork, Kerry and Clare
—For details and more info, click HERE.
NOTE: As of this morning only 2 open seats remain open for this tour.
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b. Scotland dates next year (2024):
Tour #1 - Friday, April 19-Monday, April 29, 2024
Tour #2 - Wednesday, May 1-Saturday, May 11, 2024
—For details and more info, click HERE.
—I have loved hosting my first two Lowlands-Midlands-Highlands tours & look forward to next year's.
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4. Amazingly: An impending Christmas song release
A little while back I wrote a Christmas song with longtime collaborator Jeff Franzel and classic pop diva Marieann Meringolo. (Think k.d. lang meets Barbara Streisand.) It's titled “In the Spirit,” and release date is November 10th. She's an outstanding vocalist, and you can click HERE to pre-save the song on Spotify & Apple Music.
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5. Recommended: A compelling movie masterpiece.
It's been awhile since I recommended a book, film or album, but I must recommend the new Martin Scorsese masterpiece, "Killers of the Flower Moon."
It's a long and challenging film, but it still resonates almost a week after seeing it. If you appreciate Scorsese's films, it's a must-see. Based on a little known slice of American history, it's a truly unforgettable story.
In theaters now, and it's best seen on the big screen.
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6. TK Poem of the Month: The Town
The Town
You can’t give
her the town, I said.
This is your town.
You know it's true.
Too late, he said.
It's already done.
And that was that.
When I found myself
in his shoes, he said,
You can’t give her the town.
This your your town.
I knew it was true,
but already done.
And that was that.
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7. A musical tribute from my distant past
So there I was, eleven years old, walking down the street in Robertsdale, Alabama, with my little transistor radio in hand and it's tiny earbud was in my right ear (because in those days most everything was still in mono)… and my life was changed forever when the deejay played a song called "Oh, Pretty Woman." And what a song! And what a voice! Who was that singer? Well of course it was Roy Orbison.
Fast forward twenty-five years, and I was recording a tribute to Roy on my second album for a label long swallowed by a bigger fish. That record's been out of print for years, but it's been brought to my attention that a fan has put the audio on YouTube, and you can listen to it HERE.
(Yes I could really sing that high back then.)
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8. Wisdom for our time from Cormac McCarthy and Harper Lee
“To the skeptic all arguments are circular.”
—Cormac McCarthy (1933-2023), American author
"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."
—Harper Lee (1926-1916), American author
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Till next month, 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.
