New Corn Potato Record + Tour Dates + Local Shows + MORE

Aloha Friends!

You know when you haven’t heard from me in a while it’s either because I’m terribly busy or somewhat depressed, never both. In this case I’ve been quite busy! Preparing a new Corn Potato album for release, setting up Corn Potato tours in the US and in the UK (tour dates below), organizing and playing square dances in Detroit, and playing with a bunch of great local bands, plus occasionally teaching lessons, these are some of the things I’ve been doing. Last night I got back from Arkansas, where I spent a week and a half with Carole Anne Rose, of The Old 78s, on her beautiful farm, Sweden Creek Farm, eating lots of delicious organic shiitake mushrooms, which she grows, and playing music with her and with other great people in the area, such as Aviva and Roy of the Ozark HighballersClarke R. Buehling, and Allison Williams of Maybell Music, to name a few. The weather was perfect. I got to do some hiking and I even got to explore the ancient bluff dwellings on Carole Anne’s property, where people were living some 8,000 years ago… I ran my hands over a petrified palm tree in a cavelike shelter where who knows what kind of people lived so long ago.
So that’s the recent and the rather ancient past for you. Since I last wrote to you I’ve done some other things that were pretty great and interesting, too, I’ll bet, but I’m not going to dwell on that stuff so much right now. I’m so excited about the things that are coming up! So if you want to know about anything I said I was going to do in my last message, please feel free to write and ask. Or if you want to know more about anything in this message, or just want to say hi,  I love to hear from you. In this email I’m going to cover the following:
– New Corn Potato Record is coming out SO SOON. And I may need some help.
– Corn Potato US Tour in May
– Corn Potato UK Tour in June
– Probably Some Other Stuff at the End, like Stuff I’ve Been Reading or Just Thinking About, You Know?
NEW CORN POTATO STRING BAND RECORD
OK, it’s been what feels like a long time coming and for now I am just going to blab about it for a minute because the links for listening/buying/ordering are not up yet. That’s because the ‘official release date’ is May 1. So get ready for that, because I will probably try to make something available right before or on that date. And get excited! Because the new album is made up of only the coolest, hottest, sweetest, tangiest, most smoothest bumpiest tunes including the title track, Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet (featuring three-part harmonies and double banjo-ing!), twin fiddle numbers Silver Strand (from William Stepp), Buck Ryan Rag (from Buck Ryan) and That Hot Lick Fiddlin’ Man (from Bob Wills), fiddle showpiece Listen To The Mockingbird (Abraham Lincoln’s favorite song), Mexican Hawaiian guitar song Andale Vamos (lyrics and translation included with physical CD!!), classic banjo piece The Georgia Grind (from Ford T. Dabney, published in 1915 – That’s over 100 years ago!), our classic showstopper Washington & Lee Swing County, AND MORE!! So just get real excited, ok? Maybe not too excited, just get kind of excited, like when you know something really great is about to happen, something you’ve been anticipating for a while…
The part where I can use some help is this: Do you have any ideas of where I can send this CD to get some press? Like reviews and maybe some radio play? If you do have any ideas at all please send them my way. It’s a shame to do all this work putting a record together and not follow to try and make sure it gets out to absolutely everyone out there that might even just be a little bit interested.
TOUR DATES
Finally! We are going on tour again. Before I get to the tour dates I’ll mention some local shows I have coming up very soon:
– Tomorrow, Thursday, April 14, Lindsay and I play as the Corn Potato Duo at Tom’s Tavern in Detroit, 7:30-9:30ish (This place has the best acoustic sound in Detroit and it’s our favorite spot in town…)
– Saturday, 4/16, Corn Potato Duo in Ann Arbor for a great fun show in a very cool venue called Hathaway’s Hideaway — See the FB event for all the details
– Monday, 4/18, I join my dear and talented friends Lac LaBelle for a few songs at the Matrix Theatre in Detroit. Eef Barzelay is also on the bill. FB event is here
– Wednesday, 4/20, Detroit Square Dance Society (DSSD) presents a pot luck and square dance at the Gaelic League in Detroit. Guaranteed good time! Details here.
– Thursday, 4/21, DSSD is playing and calling our first ever dance out of state, in Louisivlle, KY, for the super fun LOTSA crowd at Danny Mac’s! Event details here
OK, now for the genuine tour dates. These are all going to be really great shows so if you can make it to any of them, bring some friends along, and if you can’t then make sure to send your friends out and report back to you! These are all Corn Potato String Band shows unless otherwise noted. Also keep in mind that I’m not listing unconfirmed dates so there will probably be a few dates that get added later… Check in for all the details and updates at www.cornpotato.com/live
Knoxville, TN May 6-8 at Knoxville Stomp with Corn Potato String Band AND Roochie Toochie & The Ragtime Shepherd Kings, among many others
Kalamazoo, MI May 9 at Bell’s Brewery Square Dance
South Haven, MI May 10 at Foundry Hall at the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum
Kalamazoo, MI May 11 at New Roots Exchange House Concert Series
Flint, MI May 13 at Flint Folk Music Society
Saginaw, MI May 14 at White Crow Conservatory
Ann Arbor, MI May 15 at The Ark wsg Lac LaBelle
Chicago, IL May 20 at Honky Tonk BBQ as Corn Potato Duo (Lewis/McCaw)
Rockton, PA May 22 at Over The Mountain as Corn Potato Duo (Lewis/McCaw)
Albany, NY May 23 at House Concert (see website for details)
Cambridge, MA May 24 at Cantab Lounge – early set
Philadelphia, PA May 25 at The Rotunda for West Philly Square Dance
Baltimore, MA May 26 at House Concert (see website for details)
Strasburg, VA May 27 at Cristina’s Cafe
Berryville, VA May 28 at Barns of Rose Hill
Takoma Park, MD May 29 at IMT
—————————-FLY TO UK——————————
Southport 1 June at TBC
Pembrokeshire 2 June at TBC
Near Aberystwyth 3-5 June at Fire In The Mountain
Sussex 6 June TBC
Richmond 8 June TBC
Towersey, Oxfordshire 9 June at The Three Horseshoes
Tamworth Bluegrass Festival 10 June
Wiveton Hall Farm, Norfolk 11 June
Southwell Festival 12 June TBC
Bath 13 June at The Bell TBC
Bristol 14 June at Stag & Hounds
Wellington 15 June TBC
Selattyn 16 June at The Cross Keys
Glasgow 17 June at Acoustic Nights at The Meeting Place
Dundee  18-19 June
Macmerry 20 June at Macmerry Primary School
Fort William 21 June at Caol Community Centre
Ayr 22 June at Buzzworks After Dark at Treehouse Bar
Smailholm 24 June at Smailholm Village Hall
Sheffield 25 June at The Greystones
Eyemouth 26 June at The Hippodrome
Moffat 27 June at Sound Sense House Concert
Kilsyth 28 June at Kilsyth Burns & Old Parish Church
Aberdeen 30 June at The Blue Lamp
Edinburgh 1 July at House Concert (see website for details)
Moniaive 2 July at Old Timey Summer Workshops and Concert
Hawick 3-4 July at TBC and String Theory, Heart of Hawick
Right. Is that enough for now? I was going to ramble for a bit about things I’ve been reading and listening to but I’m kind of wiped out after all that. Chances are good that I will still be reading and listening and thinking the next time I write so I hope to have fewer dates to copy and more time for rambling. Until then I hope to see you again soon.