Three NC shows the next few days. Asheville (TONIGHT!), Winston-Salem (SUNDAY!), and Charlotte (MONDAY!) coming up!

Hi All,

first view of the front range after a loooong driveSo much has happened since my last update. It was another 5000+ mile month as I ventured out to Colorado and back in July, my first time trecking that far westward solo-like. I had a great time, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to many along the way who helped shelter me from the heat and often kept me well fed, both spiritually and physically. I look forward to making it back out west before long, and I hope that all my new friends take care and stay cool as we keep moving through this scorcher of a summer. Special thanks indeed to Jon Whitlock, John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light, Boulder Acoustic Society, The Clawfoot House, Green Room Music, Sarah Mannix of the Wandering Bears, the Monicles, and especially the entire Lund-Bardi clan. Without your help none of this would have been imaginable!

Nebraska sunset as I head back east

I've been lying low in August, making money where I can, saving money as much as possible, and gearing up for a busy September. I've got just a few shows this month, all of them happening in the next few days, and I look forward to seeing friends from various parts of North Carolina as I do a little mini-tour of the home state.

Tonight I'm in Asheville at The Grey Eagle, opening for my great pals Uncle Mountain at their CD release. I'm very excited about their new disc, and my Asheville friends should be too... these guys are something special. Then Sunday I'm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Winston-Salem at the invite of my good friend Haley Dreis. She's not long ago released a fantastic new disc of her own (including doing a great benefit for puppies and kittens), and I'm honored to be coming in to join her in her home town. Finally I'm back in my own home base, Charlotte, on Monday night with the amazing Pearl and the Beard from New York City. These guys are unlike most anything you've heard before (in the best possible way), and I can't wait to hear how they've grown since my last time seeing them.

Summer's drawing to a close and it's been a great one, I hope you're all doing well and I look forward to seeing you real soon! Thanks again to everyone who's come out, and who've helped me in my travels, I could not do this without such wonderful friends!

sardined into a *very tiny car* on a late night quarry swimming jaunt in Knoxvile

July's e-s note: 4 North Carolina shows, Tennessee, Kentucky, then Westward, ho!

Hi all,

A quick update as we move into a busy month for me. I'm off to Colorado for the first time as a musician, headed west to play a week of shows in the Rockies and I'm extraordinarily excited! But I'm playing a lot of shows on my way out there, including a run through my home state of North Carolina, some time in Knoxville, a couple shows in Kentucky, and a new pick-up in Lincoln. Then after my Denver show at the Underground Music Showcase I'll be racing east to be a part of one of my favorite festivals of all time, the Nomadic Roots Music and Arts Fest.

Many of these shows I'm sharing with some great friends, please check out their music below. I gotta tell ya, I'm happy to finally get back on the road. I've spent the better part of the month working, writing, recording, and resting up, and I look forward to seeing you soon. Here's a list of my July dates, and even if you can't make it out I hope you'll spread the word to friends in these areas! Hope you're having a great summer!

	Date	Venue	Location	Tickets
	7/6	Local 506*	Chapel Hill, NC	Tickets		RSVP
	7/7	Lexington Avenue Brewing*	Asheville, NC	Tickets		RSVP
	7/8	The Green Bean#	Greensboro, NC	Tickets		RSVP
	7/9	Snug Harbor*#	Charlotte, NC	Tickets		RSVP
	7/10	Relix Variety Theatre#	Knoxville, TN	Tickets		RSVP
	7/13	Greener Grounz	Bowling Green, KY	Tickets		RSVP
	7/14	Zanzabar	Louisville, KY	Tickets		RSVP
	7/16	Clawfoot House	Lincoln, NE	Tickets		RSVP
	7/19	Oscar Blues	Longmont, CO	Tickets		RSVP
	7/20	The Laughing Goat	Boulder, CO	Tickets		RSVP
	7/22	Avagodro's Number^	Fort Collins, CO	Tickets		RSVP
	7/23	UMS @ The Skylark Lounge*	Denver, CO	Tickets		RSVP
	7/29	Nomadic Roots Music and Arts %	Gore, VA	Tickets		RSVP
	7/30	Nomadic Roots Music and Arts %	Gore, VA	Tickets		RSVP
	7/31	Nomadic Roots Music and Arts %	Gore, VA	Tickets		RSVP

* with John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light

# with Sarah Bowman and Stephen Warwick

^ with Boulder Acoustic Society

% with Momentary Prophets

June's e-s note: Downtime, recording, opening for a symphony, and helloooo NC!

Greetings all!

So after about 5 months straight of rolling, I've been stationary for about 5 days now and I gotta tell ya it feels pretty good. Granted, I've had a wonderful time in my adventures... May was fantastic with folks in Burlington, Cambridge, and New York opening their hearts (and often homes) to me, and this was a capper on one of the busiest and exciting years of my life (thus far, that is). So many places, so many new faces, and the chance to share so often... it's really has been great! But I'm happy to have the time to recover and reflect. It is needed, from time to time.

For the month of June I'm "settling down" in North Carolina; visiting with friends and family, getting some long needed recording done, playing a few shows, and having some quality time with the old home state. As much as I love my travels and seeing so much of this great land of ours, there's always something that stirs in my heart as I drive through the countryside down here. While I could stand it to be a bit cooler, the everybodyfields' song "so good to be home" has been my mind a lot lately. It *is* good to be home.

July I'll be headed west for the first time and I'm very excited about it. Lessons learned from the first five months of the year are being applied and I won't be rolling at quite so hectic of a schedule; especially since I'll have some pretty long hauls along the way. A string of days on, with a few days break here and there in between to recover, and so far it's coming together nicely. The idea of crossing the country on four wheels is something I've always wanted to do, and I'm giving myself plenty of time to explore as I go across, most especially when I hit the Rockies and push towards the Pacific. I also feel quite blessed that my music is my driving force... I am thankful every day for the path that has led me to where I am (including the occasional hairpin turns, harrowing as they may have been).

But for the moment, for June that is, I'll be in my beloved Kakilacky. I look forward to seeing lots of old friends, catching up on life in Charlotte and Greensboro (as much as I can) and sharing my songs and experiences with you. I've a few more NC stops in July, but for now I hope many of you will be able to make it out to one (or more) of these upcoming shows:

June 10th - Charlotte, NC - The Neighborhood Theatre (part of the Crown Town Showdown) - FREE!

June 16th - Davidson, NC - Summit Coffee (part Rob McHale's Songwriter Showcase) - FREE!

June 18th - Charlotte, NC - Symphony Park (opening for the Charlotte Symphony's "Pops in the Park") - $10

June 25th - Winston Salem, NC - The Garage (opening for The Corduroy Road) - $7

Looking forward to seeing you soon, and try to stay cool as the summer settles in upon us!

Last week of residencies! I'm headed to Parima right now, come on down (or to Rockwood Sunday, or Atwood's on Tuesday)

Swinging in circles, round the northeast. It's been cold. Dangit. And rainy. Dangit. But I've been having a blast!

Thanks to my cousins for driving all the way up from Richmond the other weekend to hang with me in New York. You guys are the best, I can't wait to do it again! And my aunts and other cousin last weekend. And everyone else who's been coming out to shows, you all rock! I can't thank you enough and it was great to see and/or meet you!

You know, I figured this would be a lighter month compared to April. Not really so. I've done 11,000 miles since March 21st. I passed that milestone just yesterday. Lemme say that again.

11,000 miles since March 21st!

And I've got another 2000 miles to go or so. Nope. I'm not crazy, just passionate and curious. SO many people, and SO many things to see. Would it help if gas were cheaper? YES! But here I am, right now. What if it does go down? What if it doesn't? I can't tell the future so I've chosen to sieze the day. Time to sleep when you're dead, or you can't go anymore and really really need it (like... cough... the previous week).

Anyways, if you've already come out to a show, THANKS! And if you've spread the word, THANKS! And if you haven't done either, well heck... your help would be greatly appreciated but no worries. I'm not in the business to force my songs on anyone, I'm just happy for everyone that makes it out. You've still got your chance though, and if you haven't seen me in a while you might be surprised at what I'm up to.

Also, LOTS of new show announcements are on the way. I'm excited at all I've got coming up including my first west coast swing. That's right kids, I'm going national! But for the mean time, I've gotta run... music to play. If you're in Burlington (or New York, or Boston), I will see you soon! Yeah!

I won the weekly at the Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge! And the residencies are in full swing... Check it, yo!!

Don't forget! Every Sunday in May @ 6pm!So last night I went out to the famed Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge in Cambridge, MA. I've heard a bunch about the club as well as Tom Bianchi's legendary event (somewhat a 'sister' event to the FYM open mic I created in Charlotte about the same time almost 5 years ago). Walking into the club was pretty surreal, downstairs bar, low ceilings, RED lights all over, dark woods and a very intimate setup. This close to Berkely School of Music and in one of the most artistically oriented communities in the nation I knew it was going to be a heck of a night, but holy crap!

The talent at this thing was off the chain, and I felt lucky to get into the final three, much less win the event. I met a number of great folks, and I want to give shoutouts to a few in particular... Ashley Wells and Anthony Savino (who made the final round with me... amazingness squared!), as well as The Crazy Exes from Hell (who had the song of the night IMHO), Captain Easychord, Brendyn Schneider (who told a great story about believing in oneself), and so many others. Big thanks as well to Tom Bianchi himself who was a GREAT host, Danielle Miraglia who helped me get on the night, and the staff at the Lizard Lounge who were warm and welcoming!

Tonight I continue my string of Tuesday residencies at Atwood's Tavern, and probably tomorrow I'll head off to Burlington to work the town a bit and meet more folks in preparation for this weeks show up there. Remember, Parima @ 8:30 every Thursday this month in Burlington! And then back to NYC on Sunday at Rockwood Music hall, 6pm sharp! I'm having a great time and I want to thank everyone who has come out as well as everyone who has spread the word. May in the Northeast has been *beautiful* and I could not have picked a better time to be up in these parts. Happy spring everyone! Despite the floods and crazy weather I hope you all are enjoying the season!

Napping on the Connecticut coastline. Ahhhh...