What's up y'all?! Thanks to all of you fine folks who made it out to the Ryman on Saturday night. You guys showed me so much love... absolutely amazing. I can honestly say that that night was one of the most beautiful musical experiences of my life. (For those of you who don't know, my band and I opened for Jonny Lang on Saturday night at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.) I'll hit you guys with the bullet points:

First of all, my band played like they were freakin' out of their minds. I mean, there were so many magical moments on the stage that I forgot to sing a couple of times because the feeling was so good. Alex, Mike, DD, Dwan, Darnell, and Missi, I can never thank you guys enough for making that night so awesome for me. Demarco, we missed you, but know that Dwan held it down in a way that would make you proud.  Eliot, we missed you too.  I tried to hold it down on the tamborine when I could though.

Secondly, the times when I remembered to sing I felt like I really had a solid performance. There were definitely some places where I felt like I could've sang better, but overall I felt good about the performance. Speaking of singing, this was the first time I had ever had background vocalist. Darnell Levine and Missi Hale amazingly filled up all the parts that I usually have to imagine are there.

Thirdly, in the audience there was so much encouragement that I felt like I couldn't lose. I drew strength from knowing that my wife, my mom and step-father, my uncle and aunt, my cousins and a wide array of other folks who might as well be family were there cheering me on. You guys might as well had been on stage, because I felt you all close.

The setlist consisted of all originals except for one. Here it is:

A Change is Gonna Come (Cover)

Everybody... Nobody

Get Together
Home

All That is You

Love Grows Old

Jay's Song

The Music
 

I had Liberator on the list as an extra in case we had a little extra time, but by the end of The Music we were 3 minutes over.

After my set, I got to come back out and sing backup Jonny. It was like his band picked up right were mine left off and then took the whole thing to the next level. Jim, Barry, Tommy, and Sonny played so inspired that Jonny couldn't help but be on the top of his game. He absolutely blazed the stage.

All that to say, thanks to everyone who made Saturday, such a beautiful night for me. I won't soon forget this one.

'til next time...

je

Hey guys.  As many of you know I've been out on the road all summer singing backup for Jonny Lang.  Well, the opportunity has presented itself for me to actually perform as the opening act for a few of the shows that we have left and I'm really excited.  I wanted you guys to be the first ones to know.  Here are the dates and the venues:

8/26 - Fargo, ND - Fargo Theatre
8/27 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
8/30 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium (Yep, the Ryman!!!!)
9/12 - Duluth, MN - Duluth Entertainment Center Auditorium

There may be a couple more to come.  I'll keep you all posted.  Come out and support if you can.  And pleeeeeeease tell all your friends in or around these cities to come out as well.