Greetings from sunny County Tyrone! I’ve been on tour in Ireland with Tumbling Bones for about two weeks now and we’re enjoying a beautiful day off. We brought the good weather, apparently. It’s sunny and just lovely here, and that means a lot when it’s cold and rainy and windy much of the time. In this email I will list my upcoming tour dates, share some exciting news, reviews of the new Corn Potato String Band album, some bonus videos from the vault, and my latest book report. Not all in that order. First, the exciting news! I auditioned for the American Music Abroad program with Tumbling Bones a couple of months ago and right before we left for tour we found out — We’ve been chosen to represent the USA with our music on a tour in some yet-to-be-determined country next year! Many bands audition and few are chosen so we’re proud and very excited to participate. The Corn Potato String Band record is getting attention for some reason. I don’t know why, maybe it’s the best thing I’ve…

I just arrived in Detroit last night after driving for two days from New Orleans. Had a nice visit in Nashville on the way. And New Orleans was everything I could have hoped for. Life-changing parades, great concerts and so many wonderful people I got to meet for the first time and I know it won’t be the last. When I wasn’t playing music on the street or in some great venue or in somebody’s backyard I was working on the upcoming UK/Ireland/Europe tour for the Corn Potato String Band and finishing up our debut record. That tour is coming along nicely and will commence in late May. That record is off to the printers, set to be released officially on May 31 but YOU, my dear subscribers, get first crack at it! Here is the link for listening to the whole thing for free on bandcamp. You can download it for $7 or more if you like — The price will go up to $10 after the official release. (Or more. Should it be more? Or should I just…

Friends, I am in New Orleans for more than a night or two for the first time in my life. To say there is a lot of good music (and food) here would be a gross understatement but let it suffice to say that Les Bon Temps are rollin! What am I doing here, you may be wondering? Well, I have my work cut out for me for the next couple months until I leave the country: I’m preparing a big UK/Ireland/EU tour for the Corn Potato String Band and I’m getting our new record ready to be released! That’s a lot of work, and I could do it anywhere, so why not in this amazing city that is also slightly warmer than most. Interestingly enough, I don’t have any gigs lined up this month at all although I’m sure I will play a lot at parties, impromptu sessions and other people’s gigs that I get invited to at the last minute, e.g. Matt Bell and Joy Patterson‘s (of Roochie Toochie & The Ragtime Shepherd Kings) Western Swing band I…

It’s the season! That’s my new default response for any situation. “Must be the season,” “Of course, it’s the season!” or “It’s just the season, you know.” Personally I’m having a fine time in Portland, Maine, where I’ve been hanging out with a fine group called Tumbling Bones. Last night we had a little pickin party with some more Portland musicians, the night before we had a session at some new bar/restaurant in town and that morning (very early in the morning) we did a presentation at a middle school. I love being back in Maine — I graduated from College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, and I’ve been missing it ever since. I caught up with some great friends and I’ve been greatly enjoying the massive piles of snow and occasional blizzard conditions here. Seriously, I’ve been looking forward to this cold and snowy weather since August in India. Before I go any further let me mention now that the Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings’ Indiegogo Campaign is only a few days away from its end, and I strongly encourage…

Greetings from Music City, USA! I’ve been in Nashville for a few days now and I forgot how nice it is around here. You see familiar faces everywhere, and you’ve got great businesses like Dino’s and the Fiddle House to support, not to mention all the great music you can see every night. I’m excited to stay here for a few more weeks. Now I’ll tell you about what I’m doing here— This link pretty much explains it all. Back in March I made my first wax cylinder recording with Tim and Lindsay and now we’re going to do a whole album’s worth. I’ve never done one of these funding things before but the way I see it (and justify it to myself) is that you’re basically buying the record in advance. Like ordering from a catalogue. You pay up front and then you get the product a little while later, because you wanted it. Plus there are exciting rewards for big givers. And if you’re strapped for cash and can’t donate you can always share the link with your friends who might be interested in this unique project.…

Greetings All, It’s my favorite time of year, when the heat of summer is nothing more than a vague memory and you can feel winter just around the corner, you hold your friends and family close and prepare to huddle in for the dark times (or the Daylight Savings Times as they case may be). I’ve been working every day to put together a tour for the Corn Potato String Band next summer in Europe, the UK and Ireland. Progress is slow and it’s easy to get frustrated. We don’t have a pro website or any high-quality videos or photos or recordings yet. These can be pretty expensive, but it may be that kind of risk-taking that is necessary in order to get somewhere. The goal is to get some good gigs and play for people who want to have a good time with us, and make enough at it that we can cover the expenses of airfare, van rental, hotels, etc. and make a reasonable living on top of that (e.g. pay rent back home). So it’s not clear exactly how we’re going…

Namaste Yall, I am back from India, cooling my heels in beautifully autumnal Minneapolis, so thankful for some cool air! I’m staying in Minneapolis and taking it easy (i.e. no gigs on the horizon) to work up some new material and begin a new musical project. Not much to say about the new project yet, except that it includes myself, Lindsay McCaw, and Ben Belcher and we are taking the name from our India band, The Corn Potatos. We are the eyes and ears of America. The so-far-pretty-empty FB page is here We are playing the best songs from the old times of string band hoedowns, ballads, rags, blues and swing. Expect some rare old novelty songs as well. Aaand I just got us our first gig in Minneapolis! It will be Sunday, October 13 at the Icehousefor their brunch, 11am-2pm. No cover, great food and drinks, and our first gig as the Corn Potato Trio! I won’t bore you in this email with all the details of my India trip. Instead, I have posted a lightly edited version of our tour journal…

[Note: This was mostly written by Lindsay with some additions by Aaron.] Day 1, Aug 20: Today was the official official first day of our not so long- but much-awaited trip to India as the Corn Potato String Band. Aaron and Lindsay woke up at the henhouse (in Keezletown, VA) with just enough time to give Bill a sweaty hug and make some decaf, the new drink (for avoiding jet lag). Roy got a new fiddle case at 8:45am thanks to Bruce and Ann, the official patrons of the Corn Potatos. It came from the neighbor guy and Ann was sent out to retrieve it just in time. Our cab driver in DC (taking us from Aaron’s aunt and uncle’s house in Takoma Park where we are leaving the van while we’re gone) was a political exile from Iran who told us about spending 300 days in solitary confinement there because he was working for human rights. He said, “I don’t like normal people… Go to work nine to five, not me!” The he went on about the superiority of…

Howdy Friends, It’s great to be back in the USA, after an incredible two weeks in Finland with my beloved Froggy Mountain Boys. Our tour was an unqualified success in every possible way. So much good luck, which I believe was a product of lots of positive energy plus the incredible kindness and generosity of the people we met in Finland. You know who are! We love you and can’t wait to come back again some day. And… I started writing that about a month ago. Since then I went and played at Grey Fox for the first time and saw so many great bands and caught up with lots of great friends, did some more touring with Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line, went to Clifftop for the first time in a few years and had a tune-filled great time and then went to Galax directly afterwards, which is always the highlight of my year. I tied for 11th place this year in the competition but I got to toss the mandolin during the Mandolin Toss for the…

Summer has arrived and I have partaken of some outdoor enjoyment, as I hope you have as well. I spent a day canoeing on the French Broad River in Asheville and about a week later had my first real swim of the season at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. I also had my first attempt at water skiing, which was not a huge success but was still a lot of fun and left my arms so sore I could hardly lift my fiddle case for a few days. I just got back to Nashville where I will spend the next couple days until I go out on the road again with Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line. (Tour dates below…) And very soon I will be on my way to Finland for my much-anticipated reunion tour with the Froggy Mountain Boys! I spent the last week or so in Brooklyn, playing with my friends The Brain Cloud, Hilary Hawke, and Sam Guthridge of Chester River Runoff, also of Square Peg Rounders. (By the way, we’ve only sold about ten…