"Where is the wisdom of our old people? Where are their precious secrets and their visions? – Carl Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul

Last winter after our show at the James Theater in Iowa City we found ourselves with a night off between shows and rooms in town, so we went down to the old Fox Head Tavern, where important American writers have debauched themselves in historical ways for many years, snugged the pool table over against the bar, pushed the jukebox into a back booth, and set up in a circle around the great Dave Moore (pictured above in the green check flannel), as he spun through a fifty year catalog of Folk, Country-Blues, Tejano, Conjunto, Tin Pan Alley, Gospel, everything, on a Harmony Sovereign guitar into a old Fender amp, a rack harp, and a button accordion: singing his ass off, yelling things in busted Spanish, and simultaneously filling and breaking every heart in the room. I've done a lot of things in my career but at the end of the night, when folks had mostly drifted away and we'd put the room back to rights, we were standing around outside and Greg Brown (pictured above, looming above me like some minor derelict God as he sings along to an old tune of Dave's) sitting on the front stoop with a smoke, said, "The Holy Spirit was in the room tonight." That about covers it.

ND / MN / IA – I mention this because this week I'll play the Broadway Square Summer Music Series in downtown Fargo, ND (7/2) backed by Erik Koskinen on guitar, and from there we've picked up barroom show at Brigid's Pub in Bemidji, MN (7/3), and after the holiday we're going to head down to Iowa to share a night at Turkey River Cabin Concerts in Elkader, IA, (7/5) with the aforementioned Dave Moore, which ought to be something along the lines of magic, because Dave is magic. If you're within a day's drive, you should probably get in the car.

SUNDAY SINGDOWN – Sunday 7/13 we'll go down to our local bar, Floodwater Brewing Company in Shelburne Falls, MA. to reconvene the Sunday Singdown, our deeply occasional in-the-round with whatever musician friends are home from the road, or passing through. It's like an Irish session: sit in the middle of the room and just play. Sometimes Kenny Rogers, sometimes Little Walter. It tends to slide wide. This month we expect to have our friend Robin Lane, who's career goes all the way back to singing with Neil Young on Round & Round (It Won't Be Long), on the album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere in 1969. When Robin sings, you want to be in the room, and that's a fact.

RHODE ISLAND – July 18th I have a show at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, Rhode Island. It's just one of the many bird sanctuaries I play. The other one is in Kansas I think.

WI / MN / MI – In August I'll play another handful shows back home in the Midwest, starting at Milk and Honey Ciders in St. Joseph, MN (backed by and sharing the bill) with Erik Koskinen and his band, then solo at the Cafe Carpe, (SOLD OUT but try anyway; there are always ten seats in play, and five empty) my sweet old home bar, in Fort Atkinson, WI (8/20) and Gibson Music Hallin Appleton, WI, on my way north to perform at the Porcupine Mountain Music Festival in Ontonogan, MI., again with Erik Koskinen and his band. I would almost go up there for free just to get into the big lake again.

EUROPE – In late August we'll start the Europe leg of the full-band tour for The Universal Fire, with a return appearance at the Tønder Festival in Denmark (8/27-30) alongside friends and correspondents met and unmet including John Smith, Lyle Lovett, Joe Henry, Charles Wesley Godwin and a pile of others. From there we'll head down into Germany and points south with shows at The Music Bar in Norderstedt, DE (8/31), The Singers and Players Theater in Oldenburg, DE (9/1), De Amer in Amen, NL (9/2), Thiemeloods in Nijmegan, NL (9/3), and LantarenVenster in Rotterdam, NL (9/4), SPOT (at De Oosterport, the Binnenzaal) in Groningen (9/6), and The Cobblestone in Oldenzaal (9/7). Erik Koskinen opens the tour and plays lead guitar in my band, in addition to playing his own set at Tønder.

FALL – Back stateside in September I'm excited to play the North House Folk School's annual Unplugged concert in Grand Marais, MN. on a special bill trading songs with my wife Kris Delmhorst (9/19). In October I'll play around New England and out in the Pacific Northwest (and perhaps Montana), and then November I'll be in California. By December I'll be back in the Midwest. We can talk about the rest of it later. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

As always, keep an eye on the TOUR page for details. We'll see you out there.

July 2025