Seattle, WA: Musicquarium Lounge at The Triple Door

Much mellower gathering than last time, which is nice for folk winding down an extended holiday-ish run after a mid-week Fourth.  And they're still working on the tank...  I do love this band.

Seattle, WA: Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival

Sometimes, you see things on-stage that your audience does not see.  Other times, everyone sees it but only you have to keep composure.  Sometimes, it's a combination of both--like, for instance, when festival staff come sprinting in front of everyone, clearly responding to something, but only you can see that it's because a dock has blown loose in the same 25-30mph cross-winds that keep trying to topple your microphone stand, and it's taking every available body on the grounds to haul it (with boats and several startled people) back to shore.

Bellevue, WA: Crossroads

Wouldn't be a complete performance-year without at least one appearance here, nor would said appearance here be complete without enthusiastic dancing from some younger audience members--at least one of whom is wearing copious and rather percussive leg-bangles.  Two and four, kid, two and four...

Seattle, WA: Museum of History & Industry

MOHAI, an enterprise I've always enjoyed, has slowly been moving itself from Montlake to South Lake Union, and is almost ready to close the doors at the former location.  Before doing so, however, they wanted to throw one more party for the community/neighborhood/city-at-large, and they've asked The Bushwick Book Club to provide the music.  Vince Martinez, MoZo, and I have agreed to represent, and the three hour gathering flies as we chase musical book-threads to the cacophonous underscoring of museum tours, interactive exhibits, dancers, and said city-at-large on this 123rd anniversary of the Great Seattle Fire.

Seattle, WA: Northwest Folklife Festival

As thin as I've spread myself this year at Folklife, I'm performing exactly one song under my own name over the four days--with The Bushwick Book Club celebrating Dr. Seuss.  (I've drawn the poem "Too May Daves," an allegory confronting all-too-real problem of...people named 'Dave.')  The rest of the time is spent backing Reilly & Maloney (3 engagements), Nancy K. Dillon, and coordinating the inspiring Emerald City Songwriter Circles.  And remembering to eat.

Portland, OR: Artichoke Music

The Artichoke Music 'Backgate Stage' is one of the great regional songwriter-spaces: nice, comfortable room that sounds great and keeps both performers and audiences happy.  And after teaching a six-hour Advanced Songwriting Immersion class for Portland Community College earlier in the day (on the Rose City's first 80-degree day, no less!), Dick Weissman, Nancy K. Dillon, Larry Murante, and I are delighted with the relaxed feel in the room and the round.

Photo: Scott Docherty (more here)

Seattle, WA: Richard Hugo House (Bushwick Book Club celebrates National Poetry Month)

The last time I performed on this stage was indeed a memorable experience, and tonight's Bushwick Book Club event with/at Richard Hugo House looks to continue the tradition.  For this show, each songwriter has been paired with a local poet in celebration of National Poetry Month, and the duos charged with forging a collaboration however it might work best.  I've drawn the impressively articulate Ed Skoog, and we've focused on his poem "Like Night Catching Jackrabbits in Its Barbed Wire."

The poem is an account of Ed's 35th birthday in Joshua Tree, CA, sprinkled with the presence of various musical greats (most notably--and not surprisingly--Gram Parson).  But what's grabbed me is not the chance to write a Gram Parsons-style song (that's been done and done), but to visit a new-to-me part of the country through Ed's words and stories, which proves a delightful way to travel.  With Ed's wife having gone into labor this afternoon, however, I'm on my own for the performance: