News!
Posted on | September 5, 2011
photo by Christine Rucker
I hope this post finds all of you enjoying your Labor Day with a lack of labor and an abundance of grilled food. I find myself reflecting on an awesome summer of music. You guys gave me such amazing support by showing up everywhere in large numbers…Stratford Village, Trade Street, Old Salem…it feels great to know that you’re listening. Muchas gracias!
I’ve been busy all summer making music, growing a garden, and making more cheese than is reasonable. This week I pulled my first hard cheese (pictured in the May post) from the cave and it’s mighty tasty. My garden has produced green beans, cukes, okra, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and lots of greens. I’ve got the seeds for my fall garden in the ground and anxiously await lettuce, collards, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and hopefully some sugar baby watermelons. But that’s not my news.
For years you’ve been asking me for a Christmas record. For years I’ve been promising one. In December of 2011 I’ll make good on my promise. Most of you know that I’m very partial to old European carols. This record will have many of the songs you have heard me sing at Lessons and Carols services over the past few years, including In The Bleak Midwinter, Coventry Carol, and The Angel Gabriel. Also included is the French-Canadian carol, ‘Twas Moon of Wintertime, and the beautiful Appalachian carol I Wonder as I Wander. The album finishes with a song I wrote called Magnificat which takes it’s text from Luke 1:46-49. The instrumentation will be varied and colorful including brass, strings, choir, harp, and many of the other beautiful sounds we associate with Christmas.
I’m also in the process of booking two tours in support of The Goodbye Party. In November, I’ll head back to the Midwest (Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois) for a couple of weeks. In January and February I’ll head south through South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Music venues don’t operate every night of the week, so I’m trying to fill in the open spots with house concerts. If you have family or friends who might be interested in hosting us along the route, please send them a link to my site and ask them to contact me.
I’ll post updates as things develop. The rest of the day I’ll be canning tomatoes and salsa verde. Mmmm!