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June update

mts:summertime

Greetings, friends and lurkers,

“Hot when it’s hot like this”: That’s a quote from a painting by Mary T. Smith, that’s very appropriate. It’s getting very Summer-ish around here. Went for a run this morning at 8:30 and the “feels like” temp was already 85. The bright green of Spring beginning to dull; flowers out on the trail look burned. Yard needs cutting but who cares; anything growing under that big yellow bulb in the sky these days deserves to be praised. Everything gleams but is dull. And hot. We’ve had a tangible breeze the last several afternoons, itself warm like insult to injury, but at least the air is moving. I can hear the a/c out there, and I don’t like what I’m hearing. Like a panting dog. Like me out on the greenway, still trying to shake off the indolence and extra weight of winter.

Been re-reading Cormac McCarthy’s first novel, “The Orchard Keeper”. Like “awesome” and “amazing”, “astounding” is another word I’m weary of, but I think it applies to this book. There’s a paragraph early on describing an old man sitting on his porch as the evening comes on; the slow pace and articulate details make me feel like I’m living too fast—that there is so much more to see, and feel, in slower time. I suppose in the film world the paragraph would be a long slow pan. The sound of the words and the silences between them. Always becoming more than that, in the imagination. Easy to forget how magical reading can be, when we’re staring into screens all day just gleaning information, tapping from app to app, most of this data ultimately irrelevant to the quiet truths that are our grand little lives.

This week I’m doing something a little different. I’ll be showing some of the art I collect (and sell) which defies categorization, but is often described in a kind of clumsy shorthand as “folk”, “outsider”, or “vernacular” art. On Thursday, June 18, out at the Riverwood Mansion here in the neighborhood, this is a “Third Thursdays” event brought to you by Unbound ArtsIt will be literally a pop-up exhibit, up just for the day; I’ll also be interviewed that evening by Paul Polycarpou, editor of Nashville Arts magazine. I’ll likely play a few songs as well, specifically those that directly reference the art or artists. Opens at 4pm; my talk with Mr. Polycarpou starts at 7pm. Free and open to the public. Here’s the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/664430247033661/

Shows coming up include a writers’ round with my two very talented pals, Jeff Black and Sarah Potenza, on June 27, here in Nashville at City Winery. On July 4, I return to one of my favorite venues and festivals anytime anywhere, the 29th Annual FitzGerald’s American Music Festival, in Berwyn, IL. On the 4th, and on the 5th, at Natalie’s in Columbus, OH, I’ll have the whole damn band with me: Ron Eoff, Paul Griffith, and Joe V. McMahan.  Then I’m back in Nashville for a day, then off again to Texas! I’ll update you soon on those shows, but I start out in Ft. Worth at The Live Oak on July 8, and in Dallas on July 10, playing a house concert sponsored by Gold Teeth Music.

We’re gearing up for the official release of the new record, Long Gone Time. Stay tuned for details on how to pre-order yours!

Cheers,

Kevin

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