APRIL 2022

We finished up with an afternoon show in Hesston, Kansas on Sunday, when it had finally quit either raining, or snowing, or blowing our hats off when we opened the hotel door in the morning. The redwings were singing as we piled into the truck a little before sunset, heading north and east to a Kansas City airport hotel. Tour over, music playing low – Muddy Waters's version of Kansas City, and then about six others to compare – and an eerie smoke over the land from the farmers burning the fields. Three thousand miles of prairie, new songs, old songs, new friends, old friends, new jokes, old jokes. You stay at it long enough, the road and what passes for regular life become rivers that run parallel, and to set foot in either is to resume a thing that never quit moving without you, or within you.

UK – Late April I’ll play three shows with Kris Delmhorst in England, the first at The Water Rats in London (4/19 - SOLD OUT), then at The Slaughtered Lamb in London, and finally as part of the Ramblin' Roots Revue, in High Wycombe (4/22). One presumes that by the time we are onstage we will have first consumed, and then walked off, our collective weight in tea and Hob Nobs.

NORTHEAST – In May we'll tour the Northeast in the trio formation, at The Atlantic BKLN in Brooklyn, NY (4/4), One Longfellow Square in Portland, ME (4/5), the Bank of NH Stage in Concord, NH (5/6), City Winery in Boston, MA (5/7), The Egremont Barn in Egremont, MA (4/11), Caffe Lena in Saratoga, NY (5/13), and the 443 Social Club in Syracuse (5/14). Erik Koskinen opens the tour, joins the band on guitar, and also plays his own headline show at the Cock'n'Bull in Galway, NY (4/12). He's a genuine badass, one of the best players and writers going, and you shouldn't miss a rare chance to see him on this side of the country. Our old friend Dana Colley will join us onstage in Boston on sax.

MONTANA – It appears I'll be back in Montana in early July, with a quick run of shows mainly in the western part of the state (7/7-10). We'll announce those as soon as we are allowed, but if you live there, maybe don't go anywhere.

SALMON RIVER – This September I'll be the musical guest on raft trip down the Main fork of the Salmon River via Middle Fork River Expeditions. The deal is, you sign up for the trip – September 15-20, 2022 and tell them I sent I you – and then we all show up in Idaho with a minimal amount of gear, and float that beautiful river. They handle logistics, food, and amenities, and crew the rafts. We enjoy the mountains and waters, maybe do a little fishing or swimming, and every night I'll play songs around the campfire. If that sounds like your cup of tea, get on it. The trip has a maximum capacity of 23 seats, and you should be in one.

SISTERS FOLK FESTIVAL – Late September into October (9/26-10/1) I'll be part of the Sisters Folk Festival alongside a great roster of players, including the Milk Carton Kids and La Vent Do Nord. As part of the deal, I'll also be taking part in the Americana Song Academy, which despite the name (I have a hard time with 'Americana' as a musical descriptor, being simultaneously so broad as to be meaningless, and totally inaccurate, as it tends to leave out both the jazz and Native American traditions, and refer only to shit that sounds like Steve Earle) should be an interesting time talking through approaches to music and language. Expect a couple Northwest shows around that fest.

EUROPE/UK – In November I'll be on tour in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and the UK most of the month. Once again, official tour announcement to follow in the weeks to come. As always, let's keep this thing on a need-to-know basis, and assume no one actually needs to know.