St. Patrick's 2019 "A Storytender's Journey"

 
 Welcome
It's the St. Patrick's edition - just in time for the turning of the clocks, planting peas, the Ides of March, and if you're so inclined, the wearing of the green or a pint of Guinness. It's been a different kind of busy this spring, gearing up for a summer recording that is turning into a massive and unique project. There was the small matter of a 1,000 mile trip to surprise my mom with a birthday party too (see below). As such, I'm behind on most things (including taxes), but not for a lack of elbow grease or a wealth of slothfulness.

The April schedule is humming, with a couple private shows in the next few weeks to go with a weeklong school residency in the beautiful mountains of southwest Virginia, a couple shows close to home and a few in New England too. I'm feverishly writing and arranging ahead of recording the new project this summer. My guitar and songwriting students have been up to all kinds of cool projects. In between all of those things, tutoring some middle-school math in our own house.

I'll have more details to share soon, but let's just say that this recording project and all of its offshoots are the biggest thing I've ever tackled! I am grateful to have you to share this journey with as it unfolds, and I am lucky and blessed that this life chose little old me. On this little stretch of the calendar when I reflect on and explore the journeys and challenges faced by my immigrant ancestors (they all came from someplace else, but in particular the ones from Ireland), I raise my glass and my heart to you. I hope to see you at a show, but as always, I love to hear from you whenever you've a moment to drop a line. Slainté!
 
 
UPCOMING DATES

SAT. 3/23 - WOODBRIDGE VA, Private Concert (Happy Birthday Bob!)

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

SAT. 4/6 - GREAT FALLS VA, Bluebells at the Bend Festival, Riverbend Park 11am

MON.-FRI. 4/8-12 - SOUTHWEST VA, School residency for the Arts Council of Twin Counties

FRI. 4/12 - FRIES VA, Historic Fries Theater, Main St. 7pm

SUN. 4/14 - WINCHESTER VA, The 9 Songwriter Series, Bright Box Theater 15 N. Loudoun St. 7pm

FRI. 4/26 - LEXINGTON MA, Private Concert, some seats may be available TBA

SAT. 4/27 - PLAINFIELD CT, Songwriting Workshops for Youth and Adults, Central Village Congregational Church 11am & 1pm (tentative)

SAT. 4/27 - POMFRET CT, Vanilla Bean Cafe, 450 Deerfield Rd. 8pm

SUN. 4/28 - STORRS CT, Special Music Service at U.U. Fellowship, 46 Spring Hill Rd. 10:30am

SUN. 4/28 - GRISWOLD CT, Concert at 1st Congregational Church, 878 Voluntown Rd. 6pm

We're always grateful for help filling open dates on the road as well as home!
 
NEWS TIDBITS
(full stories at the News page)
 
TPR CONCERT: Earlier this month Andrew joined together with nearly 20 other songwriters and musicians for a very special benefit and tribute concert for fellow singer/songwriter Tom Prasada-Rao. TPR is undergoing treatment for a life threatening illness, and it was not hard to gather together an enormous wealth of talent to lend their voices. Tom is well-known and beloved around the country and beyond for his fabulous music and his gentle soul, and the concert certainly was a celebration of those gifts. The concert was filmed and recorded, and we hope to be able to share some clips.
 
INTERVIEW ONLINE: In case you missed it, Andrew's interview with Jan Mercker from Loudoun Now is also the cover story for Get Out Loudoun - you can read it here.
 
MOM'S BIRTHDAY: "A heartfelt thanks again to everyone who turned out for mom's online birthday party vidcast concert! She had a blast, and I'm sure she was glowing even though I couldn't see her 450 miles away - only her comments in the chat during the show. Of course, now I can share that we also got in a surprise party celebration the weekend before her birthday in Connecticut with family and friends, including her nearly 97-year old aunt! So we managed to check off all the boxes that a milestone like 80 deserves!"

 
A FEW WORDS: In this month's Essay, Andrew surveys the musical landscape and wonders about the value of creativity in the Digital Age, in "The Value of Creation In a Sea of Content". Read it here.
 
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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