I am very psyched about playing in the UK this fall! The tour starts in Southport at the Americana Festival and will head south winding down through Brighton and Lewes to London. More dates to come!
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Played last night in Sheffield MA at Dewey Town Hall. Lovely gig. I highly recommend Staveleigh B & B too! 4 Stars!
www.staveleigh.com/
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Fantastic gig opening for Amy Helm at the Bull Run in Shirley last night. What a great venue, great sound. A wonderful experience.
Amy was excellent and so was her band. A real pleasure to hear her again. Ronnie Earl sat in w/them on a few tunes. She did a gorgeous rendition of Makes No Difference.
Thank you Bull Run, thank you Amy & all the folks who listened. Much appreciated:)
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I have not updated my news section for awhile. It does not mean nothing has been going on, it means I have been too darn busy to do so!
Here is the update: I have been writing new songs
Following up on radio
Oh yes, following up on radio...
I think you get the idea!
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I am very excited about doing the "On The Road To Toronto" showcase in NYC on the 19th upstairs at the Living Room. Hope to see you there!
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Up at 6:30 AM today (early for me!) to tape Transmission Hour w/guitarist Andy Hollinger & bassist Shon Gordon. Many thanks to producer Tim Casey, Curt, Billy, Caroline and everyone BNN! It will air in January 2013.
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Just found out I won second place in American Songwriter Magazine Lyric Contest Jan/Feb 20013 for my song, "Mississippi River, Mississippi Town"!
Here are the lyrics:
Sky spitting rain, crow flying by
Water rising high as cane in July
A bible storm coming, that's the word whippin' round
This Mississippi river, this Mississippi town
Pushing and pulling, that river's getting mad
Last storm took everything we had
Roaring like an engine, plowing it's way down
This Mississippi river, to this Mississippi town
My, oh my, if that levee breaks
It's gonna cause some big heartache
Water stopping tonight, at the county line
Only a fool thinks that river's changed it's mind
Learn to swim, or get to higher ground
That Mississippi river, wants this Mississppi town
My oh my, if that levee breaks
It's gonna cause some big heartache
c Theahopkins2012
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Here is a link to a commercial for the New England Expo50+. Don't blink or you'll miss me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79iFrCycyds&feature=youtu.be
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You can preview the tracks, "Lilac Sky" and "Whatcha Gonna Do" from my third CD, "Lilac Sky", to be released in January 2013 here: www.sonicbids.com/2/EPK/
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Ian Kennedy has mastered the songs for my new EP, "Lilac Sky", making them nice and radio friendly! Whoopee! This will be the order of the tunes:
1. Might've Stayed In Memphis
2. Lilac Sky
3. Do Your Best For Rock 'n Roll (Linda & Teddy Thompson)
4. Down By The Water
5. When I Find My Life (M. Faithfull)
6. Whatcha Gonna Do
The artwork will be getting done in the next few weeks.
Very psyched!!!
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Yesterday Susan Cattaneo added some stunning harmony vocals to a couple of tracks. I couldn't have found a better person for the job. Susan is a musical force as a singer and a songwriter! Check out her website, if you have a chance: www.susancattaneo.com.
The CD is coming along beautifully. I thought it would be finished by now, but there are a couple more songs that need to be tweeked a bit.
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That is my motto for the week. The universe is always going to throw you a few curveballs from time to time- unexpected delays, unwanted expenses. Deal with it!
The last bits of recording are getting re-scheduled for a liitle later this month. In the meantime, I got to the Newport Folk Fest for one day. I heard some great stuff Amy Helm,
First Aid Kit, Alabama Shakes, Del McCoury & The Preservation Hall Jazz Band & more... Three hour traffic jam- getting out of the festival parking lot!!! Like I said, keep on truckin!
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I received my Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Standard a couple of days ago! Lovely, lovely prize for winning the May/June American Songwriter Lyric Contest. Thank you American Songwriter and thank you Gibson Guitar!
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Wow! What a great night opening for Ramblin'Jack Elliott! It was sold out and a very attentive audience. I will be posting some pics a little later! Ramblin' Jack is amazing.
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Very happy to announce my song, "Chickasaw" won first place in the American Songwriter contest for May/June 2012! Here is the link: www.americansongwriter.com.
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Wonderful gig last Thursday at the Worcester Art Museum. Looking forward to opening for the legendary Ramblin' Jack Elliott at the MFA next week!
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Did some final mixing on "Lilac Sky" with Pat D at the helm. Just trying to decide between two vocal mixes. Andy Hollinger came in and added some sweet guitar lines to, "Do Your Best For Rock 'n Roll". The CD is really coming together. Slow but steady...
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Back in the studio yesterday to work on some vocal tracks! Yodelay-ee-oo!
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I was back in the studio today for a couple hours. The one and only, Tim Ray, added his fantastic stylingss to a couple of tunes, "Do Your Best For Rock 'n Roll" and "Memphis". He is one of those players who takes things to another level. Amazing.
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I was back in the recording studio yesterday. The CD is coming along nicely. I have recorded 5 tunes so far. Peter Parcek, Andy Hollinger and Cameron Peterson have all added some fine guitar work to the songs. I will be going back in the next couple of weeks to do some more recording. It's hard work, but someone has to do it. :)
Other notes... I was fortunate enough to attend quite an event last week at the JFK Library, UMass Boston. The organization, New England PEN, awarded Chuck Berry and Leonard Cohen prizes for literary excellence in songwriting. Not only were both present to receive the awards, but Paul Simon introduced Chuck Berry! Then Elvis Costello got up to perform a Chuck Berry tune! It was not announced to the general public, prior to the event, that either Paul Simon or Elvis Costello would be in attendance. Soon after, Salman Rushdie (!) took to the stage to introduce Leonard Cohen, casually adding that there was a musician in the audience who had sold more books than any of the authors there that afternoon- Keith Richards!!! I don't think I was the only person that went into stunned mode at that point. Did I mention Shawn Colvin sang a Leonard Cohen song? At the end of event, Elvis Costello performed one more Chuck Berry tune, inviting Keith Richards up onto the stage to join him. Amazing.
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Spent time in the studio this week. Andy Hollinger came in and laid own a GREAT guitar track for "Down By The Water" - very clean and persuasive sound, perfect for the song!
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Spent a most enjoyable weekend rehearsing new tunes! Getting very psyched about upcoming shows. Heading back into the studio tomorrow!
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Went back into the recording studio this weekand did final vocals for "Lilac Sky". Yay! More recording will be happening over the next month or so. I am very excited about the project. Can't say enough about Q Division, Pat Discenso & EdV. A great recording experinece!
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A big thanks to Irene Collins for featuring my tune, "Jenny Danced" on her show, "Homegrown Showcase" on 92.5. the River! And thank you to Cindy Cisco for telling her about my music!
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Had a great recording session today with Mike Piehl & Paul Kochanski. January has been a busy and very productive month!
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