Tom MacKenzie: News

Hey folks,

Come on out and support the Vermont Food Bank this Saturday, May 3rd, at the Unitarian Church in Burlington, Vermont. The show starts at 7pm with music by the Woods Tea Company joined by Patti Casey and Pete Sutherland. It's a great cause and much needed. See you there.

Well, it's been a great time with Patti Casey on our latest Woods Tea Tour. The crowds loved her and she fit in just fine with the group.

We are heading east now and should be home in a couple of days before starting up again. We will be staying close to home for a while with no big tours until September. I'm looking forward to a little down time. I hear the garden calling.

We have been hitting all of the back roads and towns of the Dakotas the last few days and are now in Hettinger, ND where we stumbled upon a flock of about 30 American White Pelicans resting up on Mirror Lake. Quite the unexpected site. We will be playing here tonight then it's on to Rugby, ND before we head up to Minnesota.

We have also been experiencing some unwanted winter like weather (snow and sleet). Hoping that spring will make an appearance soon.

Out on the road again with Woods Tea. We are happy to be joined this time by Patti Casey, another fine singer from Vermont. Should be a great time. Check the Woods Tea web site for dates and places.

Yup, I am staring at a life size poster of Dolly, in the lobby of the Days Inn outside of this piece of Americana. Probably won't go in though.

I'm on my way out to Arizona and then California with Woods Tea to do a short tour of the left coast. I will really miss the chest deep snow outside my house in Vermont the next couple of weeks.

Joining us on this tour is Mark Cosgrove http://www.mcosgrove.com/, a great flat pick Guitar player, and his wife Mo, to keep him honest. Should be a great time.

By the time we get back it will be time to gear up for Saint Patrick's month. Then in April, we have a nice tour of the upper mid-west with Patti Casey joining us. If you don't know Patti's work, check out her website http://www.patticasey.com/

Well, Dolly is demanding my attention. More later.

Well, it's nice to see the days getting longer. Winter is much more tolerable when you have more than a few hours of sunlight each day.

I have been teaching an intermediate Banjo class through the "Summit School of Traditional Music and Culture" in Montpelier, VT. It's great fun and challenging for one and all. See the links page for more info on the school.

There is some heavy duty touring coming up with Woods Tea, including a trip out to the left coast in February and then an extended tour to the upper mid west in April.

I will try to post some updates during and after the trips.

Keep well and keep in touch!

Had a great time out west, now it's time to button up the old homestead for winter. Woods Tea will be staying fairly close to home for the next couple of months with a few side trips down to Virginia. See the Calendar page for more info.

We hope to have a new recording out soon with a combination of old and new material. Maybe even a ukulele song for good measure.

I continue to teach Banjo and Hammered Dulcimer and am always looking for new students.

Spread the word!

Today is the last of four wonderful days at this great festival in Winfield, Kansas. The weather has been on some wild swings, from low 90's to high 50's and back again. Great for allowing you to practice your Hammered Dulcimer tuning.

There are some incredible musicians here, on and off the stage. Everyone has treated us grandly, especially the folks at the Chuck wagon who have kept us fed with authentic campfire cooking. Great biscuits folks.

We take off later today toward Wyoming where we will be spending the next few days. More later.

I will be performing with the Woods Tea Company quite a bit in the next few months. A few local gigs and then off to Kansas, Wyoming and Montana for a couple of weeks. It will be great to see some old friends during this tour. Come on out and support the band during this difficult time.

My good friend and fellow musician Rusty Jacobs passed away on August 15th. Rusty was the front man and founder of the Woods Tea Company which has been performing throughout the country since the mid 80's. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. You can find more information on the Woods Tea website. Go to the links page to navigate there.

Time for a month of jigs, reels and drinking songs. I will be joining Woods Tea Company for a number of concerts in Vermont and New York in the next few weeks. Guess I will have to bone up on my Irish Ukulele chops. See the calendar for particulars. Hope you can make it to some.

Well, I have entered the world of YouTube. I will be putting up some music videos to provide some balance in the world. There is just one Banjo piece up at the moment but I hope to get more soon. It is truly addictive.

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/banjodulce

I continue to create new music and hope to get some of it onto a recording soon. Been having great fun with my new Ukulele. More later.

Well, its not quite Oswego but 35 inches in one 24 hour period is a lot of snow. We still haven't been plowed out yet so we have been stuck at home for three days now and I have had enough shoveling thank you. The poor dogs are confused with no where to go and do their business. They just keep staring at me with that "fix it" look in their eyes.

Not much new on the music scene. Still continuing to write songs and tunes. I hope to start recording some of them soon. I did put up a page on Banjo Hangout which is a great resource for Banjo players. The web site is http://www.banjohangout.org

That's all for now. Keep well and keep in touch.

Off today to Austin, Minnesota, which just happens to be where Spam was created. We had a good time in Nebraska but I miss the hills and trees of Vermont. I would really appreciate a good cup of coffee with some real cream.

Remember, the holiday season is coming and CDs make a wonderful gift.

I leave this Friday (the 10th) to join up with Woods Tea in Denver. We will be working our way east for the next two weeks with a lot of time spent in Nebraska. I look forward to the skiing.

That's a joke son.

I just got a nice new ukulele made by Kevin Crossett of Guitar Sam's in Montpelier, VT. Its a beaut and I hope to do it justice.

More later.

The wood is under cover. This may not mean much to the folks down south or in places where every conversation this time of year doesn't start with "got your wood in yet?" but for those of us in the northeast, it's a reason to crow.

I'm off to the sunny south this weekend for the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival in Hamden CT. Check the Calendar page for a link.

Some new and interesting things coming up in the future. As soon as the details are nailed down I'll be doing some updating here.

Till then, keep well and keep in touch.

Things should start to slow down a little in a few weeks but the summer has been rolling along at its usual hectic pace. I've been busy with weddings, private parties and festivals as well as yard work, and getting the wood pile stacked. Never enough time.

The Champlain Valley Festival was a highlight of the summer for me. Lots of great talent and wonderful people in an ideal setting .

Next week I'm off to do my yearly stint at SAMW over in New Hampshire. You can go to the calendar page and click on the link for more info.
That's all for now but I may have some interesting news in a week or so.

Remember that CDs make wonderful gifts. See you all in hyperspace.

Made it back safe and sound after a whirlwind tour of Belgium and France. Spent the first part of the trip up in Flanders, then on to Brussels before going to Marseille and finishing up for a couple of days in Paris. I have posted lots of pics so go have a look at www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Folkids

The black flies are out here in Vermont which makes doing anything outdoors very challenging. Ah spring!

More later.

I leave on Thursday, April 20th for 16 days in Belgium and France with Folkids of Vermont. Nine kids and seven adults will be dancing and playing their way around the country side. If you care to take a look, I have set up a travelblog site that should be up in a day or two. Go to http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Folkids/ to check on our progress.