February 2019 "A Storytender's Journey"

 
 Welcome
While we're in the deepest days of winter, I'm also noticing the sun setting later each day, and the sunrise finally seems to be getting earlier too (weird quirks of planetary motion there). We've had snow days and frozen tundra, and T-shirts and mud season all in a week's time, much like the 48 hours of transition between summer and winter back in October. I've been burrowed in hard since the Florida tour writing and teaching (and doing a bit of 6th grade math tutoring by necessity too!), and the booking office is busy working on the next 18 months - trips back to Texas, the south and southeast, hopefully the Plains and Colorado in October, Florida again, etc. If you or someone you know might be interested in hosting a concert, workshop, or "Gifts in Our Genes" DNA workshop for family researchers, let's talk!
 
Meanwhile, my mom flips the odometer for one of those milestone birthdays on February 25th, and we're going to have a vidcast to celebrate and you are invited! See below for details, and especially on my ambitious little gift I'd love to have you help me with that night.

Although we've released four live recordings in the past few years, it's been 11 years since my last solo studio CD. I've been writing intensively over the last few months, and I am planning to hit the studio later in the summer to record the "family history and discovery" project, tentatively titled Treasures in My Chest. It's certainly my most ambitious recording project to date in pretty much every way, and I'm getting excited as one after another the songs come to life. We'll do an F3 ("friend and fan funding") campaign this summer, and hope you'll be willing to join us in bringing it to life and your ears too. For now, just look for teasers on the website, Facebook Live, and at the vidcast 2/25 :).

I hope to see you in person or online at the vidcast of course, but in honor of Valentine's Day this month, let me close this by simply sending a little love your way. We could each always use as much of that as we can get.
 
 
UPCOMING DATES
 

SAT. 2/9 - HAMILTON VA, Songs, Stories & Gas Money Concert at Barns of Hamilton Station, 16804 Hamilton Station Rd. 8pm

MON. 2/25 - VIDEO WEBCAST, My Mom's Milestone Birthday Vidcast" on ConcertWindow.com (see below) 9pm EST

SUN. 3/24 - GERMANTOWN MD, Special Music Service at Sugarloaf Congregation UU, 16913 Germantown Rd. 10:30am

We're always grateful for help filling open dates on the road as well as home!
 
NEWS TIDBITS
 
VIDCAST FEB. 25th: "While I'm home a lot these next couple of months hard at work getting ready for the studio (see the next newsy below :), I'm hoping you'll take a night to help me celebrate my mom's milestone birthday on Monday February 25th at 9pm Eastern at https://concertwindow.com/andrewmcknight. I will let mom pick most of the songs, but I'll also share a couple of brand new things too. And we're going to try the biggest crazy crowdsourcing project ever in honor of her birthday - have your phone and its voice recorder ready for the show! (Oh, and of course, please invite any of your friends who might enjoy my music too.)"
 
NEW INTERVIEWS: Andrew sat down for a lengthy interview with the Loudoun Now in advance of this Saturday's concert at the Barns at Hamilton Station - you can read it here.
And for those who like podcasts, Andrew's interview with John Macdonnell at WUWF Public Radio in Pensacola FL from a few years ago is now part of the Acoustic Interludes podcast at National Public Radio. It aired November 11th - hear it at the NPR podcast page.
 
STUDENT SONGWRITERS: And while Saturday night brings Andrew back to the hometown stage for the Songs, Stories and Gas Money concert series, that morning he'll lead the 3rd and final "Chords of Courage" youth songwriting workshop for aspiring - and inspiring - middle and high school songwriters as part of their Student Songwriting Contest. Read more about it and see the great video montage from last year's awards concert at the News page!
 
A FEW WORDS: I saw Peter Jackson's amazing new documentary based on restoring British WWI footage,"They Shall Not Grow Old", and the yin and the yang of our technical prowess was on my mind for this month's Essay, "What IS in Front of Me?" .
 
Have you done a DNA test to learn more about your family history? Andrew can help you get the most out of your results, and preserve and share what you've learned - learn about his Ancestories consulting work here.
 
 

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