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Birds on a Wire folk Festival was quite a great event. I went into it excited about the lineup but not really knowing what to expect for turnout at the stage and time slot I was assigned. The lineup did turn out great and as with most well done festivals it was even difficult to see all the bands I wanted to see! Al James, Justin Townes Earle, Tony Kevin, Jenna Conrad (Avian’s Alight), Joel Smith, Hueco, Cataldo, The Old Believers, Laura Gibson and Damien Jurado. I thoroughly enjoyed each one. And I felt special to witness Horse Feather’s performance in the Belltower where they got two standing ovations and played one of the most beautiful, breathtakingly intimate sets I have seen them perform.

My set happened at the Belltower also, an old church that has been renovated into a event/venue facility. High ceilings, stained glass, thick etherial reverb and pews for chairs all added to the wonderful vibe. I played at 5pm so it was still light out and I could see each bright face in the audience gazing towards me. I knew as I sang the first notes of my beginning song, that it was going to be a genuinely good feeling performance.

The audience was with me during every song and even in between songs. I felt like I could talk to them and they even laughed at my silly remarks! Not to mention their applause sounded huge in the room with so much natural reverb. I felt confident enough to share a few new songs that I haven’t played out yet and I even got an encore at the end of the set. Boy that felt great.

Sometimes I don’t believe in myself, even just a little bit. And I need the help of other people to show that they believe in me to start believing in myself again. This weekend I got that help I was really aching for.

So, thanks Larson and Bethany Hicks (and all the other festival volunteers) and everyone who came to watch my set this weekend. I so deeply appreciate it and am so excited for this festival to continue in the future. It was such a great expression of the music community in the Northwest.

On Wednesday night in Spokane, Washington so many different types of people for different reasons met at the Service Station for the first show of this tour. Shannon Stephens, a wonderful musician and beautiful person in general opened up the show with her homegrown folk tunes. My dear friends, Broken Blossoms that I had been hanging out in Boston with for a whole month totally killed it and wowed the whole crowed with their old timey tunes and lightning fast solos.

The Service Station was an interesting canvas for a mish mash of musicians. Everyone felt a little bit intimidated. Kory even commented later about the show, “I can’t stop thinking about how big the venue was.”

The turnout was amazing and made me feel really great that so many people came out to support. The lineup was established to make the event fun for everyone and ended up working out perfect. My grandparents were pleased, the college students came out and my eight year old brother didn’t fall asleep during the show. Let me tell you, that is an unusual combination of outcomes.

A large portion of the crowd consisted of Krochet Kids supporters which was also really encouraging to see. Several people in the crowd were even sporting hats. I was happy to see some listeners not raise their hands when I asked if people had heard of KKi. That gave me a chance to share some of the things they are up to.

My set felt really great even though the size of the venue and everyone seated made it feel like a pretty sedated affair. We still made our best efforts to bring the rock. Caroline and Anna offered a special appearance on the harmonies. I asked everyone in the band what their favorite part of the show was and even above playing on a huge stage with a drum riser, Caleb’s response was, “listening to Caroline and Anna’s harmonies.” Such a choir boy at heart. Kory was especially impressed with Broken Blossoms. He said about their mandolin player, Dave Goldenberg, “I couldn’t believe anyone could even play the mandolin like that.”

Bluegrass, folk, Boston, Seattle, grandparents, college students avoiding homework, working adults sacrificing decent sleeping hours, even some German High School exchange students all gathering in a big rock venue to help support relief work in Northern Uganda.

Not to mention having fun doing it. I love it when events you dream up actually work out exactly how you wanted them to. Thanks Spokane.

Photos from the www.checkitoutmusic.com show review.

On the way to Seattle last Friday I was in the car with Kaylee Cole and Dane Ueland, two of my friends and favorite Spokane musicians. In the other car that was traveling with us was Kevin Long and Kimberly Wescott, two other wonderful Spokane musicians and great songwriters. It was a really fun group and I felt like we were about to take the coast by storm. I mean, check us out…we are the coolest.

We broke for Friday evening to play shows in separate venues, Kaylee and her band at the Sunset, and me at the Q Cafe with Noah Gundersen and Garage Voice. Both shows were really well attended and my show felt particularly nostalgic. The first time I played in Seattle was at the Q, with Garage Voice…and Noah even happened to be there. That same week was the first time I had even met him and his sister Abby. It was such a joy to be a part of the show this weekend with them and see their progress and development in the music listening community in Seattle. Not to mention their development as musicians. There was 150 people there or so and I hardly knew anyone, so the crowd was most definitely in support of their hard work and amazing talent. Noah even got a great little write-up in the Seattle Weekly that helped promo the show. The evening was full of amazing performances, special guest appearances and enthusiastic fans. I was so proud of Abby, Noah’s sister, who is only 17 and has been non-stop touring this year with him playing fiddle and singing. She has improved so much and it was so fun watching her new found confidence on stage at the show.

Kaylee and Dane picked me up later and we drove to Kaylee’s hometown, near Anacortes. Next day we woke up late, ate breakfast in the breakfast nook at her parents house and walked to the water. It was so nice to be near the ocean and in a small town. I didn’t even check my email all weekend because there was no wireless internet!

We played a show at the Bay View Community Hall that night for a group of about 30 people who were mostly related to, or grew up with Kaylee. It was simple, peaceful show that ended a simple, peaceful day. It’s always fun seeing the family and surroundings that a close friend grew up in. You learn so much about why they are the person they are and you appreciate their unique qualities so much more.

Overall it was a really fun weekend. Dane, Kaylee, Kimmy and Kevin are all really talented and fun to hang out with and it seemed empowering for all of us to get out of Spokane and show the world a little bit of what he have to offer over here on this side of the mountains…as it always is.