Early Fall Greetings!
One autumn many years ago I camped my way north through New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. I’d never seen autumn colors like that! Fall is beautiful here. But still.
As you know, I keep these newsletters upbeat, but today I'm feeling blue. There's so much trouble in this country—and in much of this small world.
Kate Campbell and I once wrote a song called Damn Sure Blue. Part of goes…
I don't see why good people do
Such hateful things.
But they damn sure do
And I do, however, have some very good music news this month, along with a song and a poem of-the-month, tours updates, and some spot-on wisdom for turbulent times.
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Contents of This Newsletter
1. The soulful New Agrarians trio album I made with Pierce Pettis and Kate Campbell a dozen years ago is FINALLY streaming!
2. The Nashville-Memphis-Delta tour I’m hosting with Shauna Jamison in November is coming up fast…
3. Rare Waymores appearance (in Nashville, November 6)
4. My Ireland 2025 tour is SOLD OUT.
5. Dates now set for my 2026 Ireland tour to (Counties Cork, Kerry & Clare)
6. Song of the Month: Goodbye Pontiac (from The New Agrarians album)
7. Poem of the Month: The Glass
8. Wisdom for our time from Louis Armstrong & Sharon Salzburg
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1. The New Agrarians album is FINALLY streaming!
Twelve years ago, Pierce Pettis, Kate Campbell and I got together to write and record a unique album project. The three of us wrote 6 of songs together, then each of us chipped in a couple of our own.
I always loved this record, and I've been quite sad that so few people have heard it. Now, however, it’s streaming on the all the usual platforms.
To listen, just search for “New Agrarians” on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, et al. It'll pop right up.
And you can also buy (download) the digital album (or individual tracks) at my website HERE. (Scroll on down, and you'll the New Agrarians album.)
Big thanks to Tricia Walker, then Director of the Delta Music Institute. Without her support we'd have never made the record.
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2. My first November Nashville-Memphis-Delta roots music-culture-food-tour is coming up fast.
I’m so pumped about introducing a small group of friends and fans to the soul, music, art, culture and food that is unique to my crazy, colorful neck of the woods.
—We can fit in 2 more folks to round out our max of 14 people. So you feel the tug (or are curious), please email my co-host (and longtime manager/agent) Shauna Jamison at:
shauna(at)tomkimmel(dot)com
—She can send you a flyer, FAQ page and itinerary.
Dates: Monday November 4 to Wednesday, November 13, 2024
—We'll arrive in Nashville on the 4th, stay there 3 nights, swing over to Memphis for 3 days, down the Delta for 3 more, then back to Nashville on November 13 for a last night there. (We'll depart the next day, November 14).
Note: Note: Tuesday, November 5 is Election Day, so that evening will be free time.
Note: The photo above is of blues legend Robert Johnson.
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3. Rare Waymores show in Nashville!
Who: Don Henry, Sally Barris & Tom Kimmel (A.K.A. The Waymores)
When: Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 7–9pm
Where: The 5 Spot, 1006 Forest Ave, Nashville TN 37206
*Click HERE for *tickets
*Scroll to Nov. 6 on Events Calendar
4. My August 12-21 (2025) Inishfree Tours to Counties Sligo, Mayo & Galway is SOLD OUT.
Note: We do, however, have a short waiting list. If you’d like to be added, click HERE, scroll down to my tour and click on the ENQUIRE box. (There are occasional cancellations.)
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5. The dates of my 2026 Ireland tour are all set
When: Wednesday, June 24 to Friday, July 3, 2026
Where: Counties Cork, Kerry & Clare
—To learn more about Inishfree tours: Visit the Inishfree Tours site HERE and my Ireland page HERE.
Note: We'll begin taking reservations this coming February.
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6. Song of the Month: Goodbye Pontiac
Kate Campbell & Pierce Pettis are serious about history, and I so enjoyed writing and recording this song with them. It’s about the exodus of Southerners up north to work in factories in cities like Detroit and East Lansing—and about how, decades later, factories closed in the north and jobs flowed south.
—To stream Goodbye Pontiac for free (or download for 99¢), visit my website HERE and scroll dowm a bit. You'll see it. And, of course, you can stream it on Apple Music, Spotify et al.
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7. Poem of the Month
The Glass
I dropped the glass,
and it didn’t break.
No chips, no chinks,
no mess on the floor.
Oh the glasses
that broke at the least
tip or thump,
and this one
didn’t. So much
I’ve handled with care
that
fell apart, and
this one didn’t.
*The Glass is an revise version of a poem I shared here two years ago.
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8. *Wisdom for our time
"There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell them.”
—Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), musician & singer
“When fear dominates, our sense of possibility collapses.“
—Sharon Salzburg (b. 1952), author & teacher
*I'm revisiting these quotes as they seem so poignant for the present.
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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.
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