Hi, friends!
Greetings from a very iced-in East Nashville! How’s it going in your world?
It’s the middle of February, which means I have to do my very best to keep busy and out of the wintertime/pandemic blues. Lately that has manifested in various small “fix-it” type projects. Replaced my car battery. Remedied the leaking kitchen sink. Painted the bathroom. Organized my office space. Physical tasks have been a real source of satisfaction during this year of being locked down.
And every little job leads to something else. Painting the bathroom has put me in danger of going full-on Diderot Effect — now that it looks better, don’t I need to freshen up everything else in there? (Speaking of: why are towel bars so expensive?)
Read on for miscellaneous bits of news/sharing/oversharing…
Radio TODAY!
I’m a big fan of Charlottesville’s great community radio station WTJU. I had the honor of being their first-ever long-distance guest DJ back in the spring — so am happy to share I’ll be back on the air with them TODAY! From 4-6pm Eastern I’ll be joining Pete Marshall for their “folk marathon” event to share a bunch of my favorite old-time music. Please tune in from wherever you are, and don’t forget to donate!
Teaching online fiddle workshops and lessons continues to be a source of happiness and musical fun, so I’m going to carry on with them! My next workshop is scheduled for Sunday, Feb 28. By request, I’ll be teaching William Stepp’s “Rebels’ Raid” (or is it “Rebel’s Raid”?) — you can listen to the source recording here.
Online Festival
Kieran Kane and I participated in a virtual festival in support of much-loved Ohio music venue, Natalie’s. Buy a ticket and enjoy a fun pile of intimate performances contributed by artists who don’t want to lose a favorite performing spot!
Some other bits:
• I recently had a nice chat with Sandy Carlton for his podcast, Big Sound Small Town. Look for it to appear in early March.
• Have you gotten the new Horsenecks album yet?
• My friends Dick Connette and Ana Egge wrote this smart and tender protest song that I think more people should hear.
• We may not be able to tour behind it right now, but Joachim Cooder has been doing some great interviews about his still-new Uncle Dave Macon project.
• I’ve all but given up on Facebook, but am still posting on Instagram & Twitter. (I also joined Clubhouse, but I have no idea whether I’m going to use it. Anyone else?)
Real Life
My partner-in-all-things, Kieran Kane, spent a chunk of his musical career as half of a brilliant country duo called The O’Kanes. His collaborator in that endeavor was Jamie O’Hara, a wonderful songwriter and human. Jamie received a cancer diagnosis in December and died in early January. (Click here to read a bit about Jamie’s fascinating life.) In processing the loss of his old friend, Kieran has been reminiscing about their many adventures. That means I’ve been hearing stories I’d never heard, which is mighty sweet.
It seems the music community at large has been suffering an awful lot of loss lately. Hard to know what to do with that, other than to seize the reminder to reach out to loved ones and express gratitude to those who enrich our lives.
So, from here in icy East Nashville, I’m beaming some good vibes your way. Thank you for sharing your time with me — to read this note, to listen to my recordings, to keep up with me online. It means a lot, and you keep me going!
Take care & keep in touch —
xo rayna