November Greetings!
Not to skip past current events, I want to say that I'm still rooting for the home team—Team Everybody. We're a scrappy bunch. Big fan base. BIg hearts.
Speaking of scrappy, Thanksgiving is around the corner, and I give thanks for all of us who are scrappy. We who have taken a licking and keep on ticking. Does that leave anybody out? I don't think so.
Extra-short newsletter this month!
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Contents of This Newsletter
1. Quick happy wrap on my first ever Nashville-Memphis-Delta “Music-Food-Culture Tour”
2. Dates & more for my 2026 Ireland tour
3. Song of the Month: The Waymores' "Singing Like as Byrd"
4. Poem of the Month: "Celebrating Lisa"
5. Wisdom for our time from Mark Twain & Augustine of Hippo
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1. It's a wrap! First Music-Food-Culture Tour of my “neck if the woods.”
A small sample of highlights:
-Nashville: Waymores reunion show and a strolling history of Nashville music with Walkin' Nashville Tours. (For more on Nashville's hands-down coolest walking tour, click HERE.)
-Memphis: Gumbo & Blind Mississippi Morris at Beale Street's Blues City Cafe, and the National Civil Rights Museum
-Clarksdale, Mississippi: Breakfast at the Bluesberry Cafe with Watermelon Slim & and Sean Apple's killer set at the Bad Apple Blues Club
In sum, a fabulous time was had by all (including me and my amazing co-host Shauna Jamison).
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2. My annual Ireland tours update
The scoop on my 2026 tour:
When: Wednesday, June 24 to Friday, July 3, 2026
Where: Counties Cork, Kerry & Clare
Reservations: Inishfree Tours will begin taking reservations for the 2026 tour this coming FEBRUARY. (Don't worry, I'll give you a heads up.)
For much more on the 2026 tour (and the tours in general), click HERE. And for more on Inishfree Tours click HERE.
(My 2025 tour is sold out.)
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3. Song of the Month: “Singing Like as Byrd”
It did my heart so good to reunite a couple of weeks ago with Sally Barris and Don Henry for our first show in 3 years.
This month I'm featuring Don Henry & David Womack's wonderful song from the Waymores LP, Singing Like a Byrd. What a perfect song for turbulent times.
Visit my home page HERE to stream it for free (or download it for 99¢). And of course you can stream it at Spotify, Apple Music, et al... along with the rest of the Waymores album.
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4. Poem of the Month: Celebrating Lisa
My sister Helen has for many years owned and operated a very successful beauty supply business down in Tupelo. Recently she surprise-celebrated her longest tenured employee for her 40th birthday. A little before the party, Helen sent me some ideas and asked me if I'd craft a poem for the occasion.
Celebrating Lisa
Selling beauty supplies
For forty years
We call that a career.
The Ambassador of Beauty
And Queen of Customer Care
All heart and sensitivity
Integrity and dignity
This model of efficiency
Has no earthly peer.
And so we raise in unison
A glass of wine or beer.
All praises Her Majesty!
We celebrate! Hear! hear!
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5. Wisdom for our time from Mark Twain & St. Augustine
“Right is right even if no one is doing it. Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.”
—Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D), theologian & philosopher
“There’s nothing to be learned from the second kick of a Mule.“
– Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), author & humorist
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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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