Post-Memphis I conducted my biennial visit to the Calgary-Denver folk music axis, always a special treat. Following a repeat performance with the symphony in Winfield, KS Parthy and I headed to New York for what’s becoming a regular visit to the Grammy Awards. Once again, I came up a bridesmaid, but a grand time was had by all. Hooked up with pals Linda Tillery, Garrison Keillor, the New Lost City Ramblers, Beausoliel, Allison Krauss, and the Smithsonian folks who, much to my delight, won two Grammys for the Anthology of American Folk Music. A particular highlight for me was meeting Paul Robeson, Jr. who attended to accept a lifetime achievement award given his father. You can read a more extensive report (complete with photos) here.
The balance of the spring saw the completion of Autumnsongs (see article later in newsletter), visits to cities far and wide, gigs with pals Tom Chapin, Hot Soup, Garnet Rogers, Freyda Epstein, Tom Prasada-Rao, and Linda Dunn. We performed at the Groundwater Festival in Grand Island, NE during the migration of a half-million sand cranes, incredible! Did some intense fly fishing in NW Pennsylvania following a concert in NE Ohio and even saw two of the Oriole’s rare pre-All-Star Break victories! One of the cherries, though, was surely the Winnipeg Folk Festival this past weekend.
Son Will, has been immune from the road bug since our 1996 Australian tour took him away...really far away...from his pals at the critical age of 13. Special emphasis goes to the word "critical." Since that time he’s mellowed a good bit and has recently been making noise 
about hitting some of the festivals again. Winnipeg seemed like a good choice, especially because Ani Difranco, one of his favs, was going to be in attendance. So we packed up, winged off, and stamped, sniffed, and searched we landed in the welcoming arms of one of Canada’s best festivals. For me it was a chance to rendezvous with many folks I rarely get to hang with. Local 1000 activists Ian Robb, Shelly Posen, Valdy, and Si Kahn were busy pressing the union flesh when not performing. Richard Thompson and I only see one another at festivals these days. While I was doing my thing, Will was wandering, soaking up the music, having his mind blown by the scope and talent of the world music on display, and reveling in the attention of being a personable, articulate, funny teenager doted on by all these adults.
He had such a grand time, in fact, that when it came time for us to leave Sunday morning he begged to stay. All the other performers came to his aid (what an organizer this kid is!) and declared him the festival’s Designated Orphan. Uncles Oscar Lopez, James Keelaghan, Jim Fleming and Aunts Phyllis Barney and Susan Casey were volunteered. Surrogate Fathers Si Kahn and Vance Gilbert ushered him through his journey home and he magically appeared at Dulles Airport Monday afternoon, totally lacking in sleep, full of stories and himself. I marveled at the young man he’s become (6’2" with a shoe size that matches his age) and the musical community that has raised both of us to believe that it knows how to take care of its own. Incredible.
Son Number Two, meanwhile has had his skating wings clipped this summer due to an accident at the local skatepark that left him with a broken ankle and a high-tech cast to deal with for the summer. He’ll be shed of it just in time to spend a two week vacation on an island that doesn’t allow rollerblading and then return home for the first day of school. When he moans about the unfairness of the world I find it hard to argue with him. He’s discovered Steinbeck this summer, though, which is success enough for any thirteen year old in my book. September finds him in the same school with Will for the first time in seven years, something that they’re finally ready to look forward to.
The fall and coming winter find a host of new adventures in store. Barefoot Boy with Boots On, my 1980 album with Front Hall Records, is finally released on CD this September on Rounder. We’ve already begun work on Springsongs and the final of my Four Seasons cycle will be released in mid-January. Rounder plans a boxed set of all Four Season next summer. More about that later. The balance of the year sees more symphony shows, McCutcheon/Chapin Quartet shows, storytelling festivals, a teachers’ convention in California, and the usual concert hall appearances across the continent. Australia looms again pre-Olympics in 2000 but most of my overseas travel has been deferred until the boys are out on their own. And that, I realize all too well, is a lot sooner than I’d like. The rest of the world will get along fine without me until then.
In the interim I look forward to seeing you in your hometown. To keep track of more current itineraries, news, projects, etc. please check back often. Shows come up, others get canceled, new ideas and projects are floated. That’s the place to stay current. The real real place is always face-to-face, though. Please feel free to introduce yourself at shows. Live performance is still where I feel like I’m most clearly doing my job. And it’s probably what brought us together in the first place. Thanks again for your interest, support, and long leash. It’s always a pleasure to visit, even if only a couple of times a year in the form. Hope your fall finds you with full gardens and cellars, fond memories of a relaxing summer, and eager anticipation of the year ahead. See you this winter.
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The summer’s half over as I write this periodic missive. After a leisurely summer so far the road and studio beckon for a three week intensive. The relative ease of June and early July, though, allowed me to start a couple new colonies of bees in the backyard apiary. The garden is in the best shape it’s been in in years. The basement workshop betrays a vague sense of order. A new raspberry patch is taking root. All that preparation is allowing me to slip away for the next three weekends and for a couple of weeks of shorelined vacation.
It was great to visit old haunts and even find a couple new towns with folk music supporters around central California. February took me to Memphis for the Folk Alliance Convention. Besides a reunion with old friends the highlights of the event for me were an incredible barbecue feed/party with fellow