I had such an amazing weekend! I feel rejuvenated and focused on the upcoming year!
   Friday, I drove through heavy rain to get to the Big Stone Gap Visitor Center for a show put on by Botch Boys Productions with my old friends in Scratch River. and my new friends in Quit Everything. I don't know that I can put into words what this show meant to me, but I'm going to try. I grew up in spaces very similar to this one. Those spaces and the people in them taught me so much, including something that has led me to becoming the person I am: all we have is each other. My sincere hope is that this space continues to flourish and grow, becoming an escape for folks young and old who just need community, inspiration, and motivation in these strange, dark times. Seeing T-Bone's son Max get up on stage with Scratch River and hearing Lloyd talk about his wife, who is expecting their first child made me feel old, I've gotta be honest, but it made me feel so full of life and love as well. 
   Quit Everything took me back to my younger days, before I became primarily an acoustic, solo artist. They carry the torch of punk rock in a way that few do anymore, which was refreshing and invigorating for me. It's always nice to be gut-checked at my core. Can't forget those principles and leave them behind just because I"m not "punk" anymore. 
    All in all, it was an amazing night, and I'm looking forward to being back in that space. We're already making plans! Huge thanks to The Visitor Center and Botch Boys Productions for doing such a bang-up job giving people a place to enjoy music and simultaneously giving artists a space to do what we do and be ourselves.
    Then on Sunday, I returned to the campus of Emory & Henry University and the studio of 90.7 WEHC for Appalachian Artists Live with Kevin Edwards. Kevin is a long-time supporter of me and my music, as he is for so many of my friends and peers. The radio show is just the latest in a .long line of things he has done to give extra support and promotion to the local and regional music scene here. We had a great time catching up and talking about my new songs that will be released some time in the first half of 2025. I'm getting so excited for everyone to get the opportunity to hear these recordings! Talking about it makes me feel really good about the long, arduous process I've been through for the sake of these songs. Being back on campus at Emory is always interesting. I spent two full years there, and while I failed out with flying colors, I learned so much about myself. I will say, I thought very little about those days as a student. As I have done with many repurposed venues over the years, I've created new space in my brain for what that campus and radio station mean to me. I've taken back those memories and comparmentalized them in a healthy, meaningful way, I think. Anyways, it was great to be back on the air of WEHC and all the sister stations in Southwest Virginia. The episode will be on the Appalachian Artists Live podcast feed in the coming days. I hope you'll take the time to listen!
    It was a wonderful weekend, a practice in a credo I'm living to the max these days: Joy and community are forms of resistance. I hope you are all finding ways to stay grounded and sane!  

   Last night, for the second time in my career, I participated in the Qualifying Round of the Tennessee Songwriter's Week Songwriting Competition at Model City Taphouse in Kingsport, TN. It was a really great night of connection and fellowship, and while I am not moving on to the Showcase round, my dear friend John Fluce of Strangers When We Meet is! I'm so very happy for John and proud of him for knocking it out of the park so that he stood out to the judges among a great batch of performances.
    The entire reason I participated this year was to catch up with people I don't get to see that often. I'd attempt to name everyone, but I'm sure I'd forget someone. I knew nearly everyone in the competition as well as 2 of the 4 judges. I feel it necessary to thank Visit Kingsport and Model City Taphouse for being such amazing hosts for this event each year. They really do a fantastic job of juggling the logistics of the night and taking great care of us performers. 
    I admittedly wasn't having a great brain day yesterday, so I really NEEDED the experience of last night. What a great room to be in. 18 songwriters, most of whom spend time out playing shows and recording their songs. It was a really professional group this year. SO MANY GREAT FRIENDS! Some I hadn't seen in many years. My heart was so full. I'm very happy with my performance and got some great feedback on my song "Backache" which will appear on my upcoming EP. I'll have details on that release very soon. All in all, it was nothing short of a fantastic evening!
    Now, I'd like to ask anyone reading this to support Visit Kingsport and Model City Taphouse any way you can. Also, go see a local show. You may witness something truly great and see someone that is on their way to success. Either way, you'll have a good time and be supporting people who are just trying their best to perform you their art, something that is very close to their hearts. Besides, joy and community are forms of resistance, and I felt that in a big way last night. I hope sharing a small piece of that with you through this writing enriches your life in some way!

   Tonight, I write with a full heart. Earlier today, I was invited to hang out with my old friends John and Jay Dub at their band, Strangers When We Meet's practice. It was a great chance to catch up with a couple songwriters that I became close with in the early days of becoming Dallas Danger. We reminisced about years gone by, even recalling that I released CDs of my live set from the first night we met at an open mic at O'Mainnin's Pub in Bristol, Tennessee. 
   In addition to seeing John and Jay Dub, I got to spend some time with their talented drummer, Tyler, John's brother, Jeremy (who has always been a big supporter of my music), John's wife Lily (another big fan), John's son, Clark River (who I share a birthday with), and even Quentin Horton, who you may recognize from the liner notes of both of my full-length albums (seriously, his name is all over them haha). 
    After listening to SWWM run through a couple of their songs, I got to play them a couple of mine, including a song that they were the first people to hear. I've always respected John and Jay Dub as songwriters, so it was nice to get feedback on a brand new tune. 
   All of the aforementioned made tonight a really great time, BUT the most exciting part of the night was that SWWM asked me to open for them on St. Patrick's Day! I'm so excited for a couple reasons. First, the show will be at Market Street Social Club in Kingsport, TN; a venue that is still very young but has the personality of a long-standing institution you might find along Broadway in Nashville. The other reason I'm so excited is that I'VE NEVER PLAYED A SHOW ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY BEFORE! Not once in my entire career. So, this will be a long overdue first for me. 
   One of my main goals for the incoming year is to be more vulnerable and open to getting out of the house and being seen. It would have been easy to turn down a 5pm invite to a 6pm practice. I could've come up with plenty of reasons not to go, even though I didn't REALLY have one. I'm obviously very glad that I decided to go and be seen. Here's to plenty more great nights like this in 2023!

   For anyone who is unaware, I played a Facebook live set today as a part of "Stay at Home Fest". The event was put together by Kevin of Appalachian Artists and Kim of Witzend (formerly Perfectly Unhinged) in Kingsport, TN. This marked the first time I've played for an audience of any kind since November. To be honest, it felt like much longer. I completely separated myself from my music. My brain rebooted and I thought the part of myself that I've always referred to as "songwriter brain" was gone, or atleast dormant.
    "Songwriter brain" is the natural instincts that cause me to see something or experience something in my day-to-day life and immediately come up with a song in my head about it. Sometimes it's a one-liner. Other times it's an entire verse or chorus. Some instances it's simply a concept that I know I need to explore further. There was a period of years where my songwriter brain was always on, always churning out ideas. Over the last couple years, that changed. 
   I was so excited to release "The Way we Spend Our Nights", my sophomore slump, in November 2018. I felt it was a more concentrated, more professional effort than my debut record, "Autumn Southbound". Unfortunately, it didn't take long for that excitement to turn into thoughts and feelings I can only refer to as "burnout". Every car ride, every show felt like a chore. The joy was gone. Hell, I started to question if playing music had ever truly given me joy in the first place. I needed to step away. It was time for me to focus on other aspects of my life. I packed away my guitars. My trusty notebooks collected dust. My brain rebooted.
    Over the last month or so, I've blown the dust off of my guitars and notebooks. I have starts on a couple new songs. I have a newfound appreciation for keeping notes in my iPhone as opposed to pen and paper. Most importantly, I have a new outlook on my place in this world as a storyteller and musician. I'm refocused. It feels invigorating. 
    When Kevin Edwards posted about putting together a Facebook live concert with multiple local acts here in the Tri-Cities, I had mixed feelings. Part of me wanted to jump at the opportunity right away. Another part of me felt guilty. Part of the spirit of such an event is to aid artists who have lost income from cancelled gigs. I do not fall into that category. Thus, I waited. After a couple days, I reached out to Kevin and was thrilled to find out he still had available slots. 
    No part of the preparation and buildup to Stay at Home Fest felt like a chore. I was excited to be a part of such a cool concept, but I honestly didn't know what to expect. The entire day was therapeutic on multiple levels. Kim's space is charming and has beautiful acoustics. My set felt good. It's one thing to sound good, but it's another entirely to FEEL good. That was there for me today, and it was much needed. Now there is just one question: what's next?
    Although I don't fully know the answer to that question, I plan on utilizing the free time our situation is offering to get back on the saddle. I want to write a handful of new songs. When this all blows over and normalcy returns, I want to get back on stage and back in the studio. My vision for Dallas Danger is different than it has ever been, but I truly feel like it's also clearer to me than it has ever been. I'm ready to get to work and make the new vision a reality. 
    In closing, I must thank Kevin and Kim for putting Stay at Home Fest together. I also need to thank my friends Oreon and Beth for throwing me a bone and donating some of their hard-earned money via virtual tipping. I'm truly grateful for all the support I've received over the last decade through the highs and lows of Dallas Danger. The last chapter is yet to be written. Stay tuned, folks. The best is yet to come. Let's ride this wave together!