Tuesday Afternoon

My nails are full of dirt and my overalls are filthy. It's been a productive and enjoyable afternoon, spent digging and transplanting Marguerite Daisies and Day Lilly's from garden to garden with my dog, Casey Lu. While I dug holes, I got to thinking about how if everything else fell apart tomorrow, I'd be okay - I have a healthy family, quaint house, beautiful herb and wildflower gardens, a wag-tail goofy hound, and crazy calico cat. It's all good.

Hope to see some of you out and about tomorrow night at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC. I'm sharing the night with my cousin, Amy Correia. I highly recommend you check her out... She's a real deal writer with immense talent. I'm happy we have an opportunity to perform on the same bill.

See ya soon.

Can't Sit Still

I've cleaned every crack and crevice of my house, washed and dried the laundry, baked a home made blueberry cake, and cleaned out my closets. In addition, I worked a pretty full week on the music side, securing a few new dates as well as working on some new ideas for another radio mailing. I have tried to do some songwriting but the muse must be off on a hot date with fate someplace else.

Heading to Allentown early Sunday morning to play WXLV's Americana Festival at the America on Wheels Museum. Then it's off to Philly to visit with Gene Shay on World Cafe Live @ 9pm.

Happy July 4th. Here's to fireworks and cheap repairs...

Telluride, 2009

Festival grounds, Telluride 2009


Jerry Douglas onstage @ Telluride Bluegrass

So much to report and the experience is difficult to fit into a limited blog space. Telluride is truly like stepping into a Bierstadt painting. I could settle into its little town quite easily and never look back. It's one of the most picturesque and friendly places I've been to thus far.


I went from dwelling at approximately 200 feet to pitching a tent and spending 5 days at 8500 feet. I had a bit of altitude sickness for a day or two but chose to ignore it as best I could in order to experience a genuine level of soul cleansing with 10,000 festival goers. It was great spending time getting to know my fellow songwriting finalists (who were all amazing), and I was flattered to have placed. And after four days camping and a full day of traveling, I arrived home with a newfound appreciation for 1. hot water and 2. my bathtub (not to mention my own bathroom, period).


The music was undeniably good. I'm somewhat reluctant to admit it but I was so exhausted by the time David Byrne took the stage on Thursday night I couldn't leave my tent. I didn't get to see his show but I could hear him every bit as well as if I were standing in the audience. His unparalled voice rose over the squall of the audience and made its way into Warner Field, home of several of Telluride's happy campers - myself included. It was a contemporary and far more interesting version of being lulled to sleep by cowboy songs under the Colorado stars. Apparently, David Byrne and his entire band were decked out in white and put on an incredible show. So bummed to have missed the visual but I was grateful for his songs.


I was fortunate to have played a song between Peter Rowan and 3 Girls and Their Buddy (Emmy Lou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Covin, and Buddy Miller). One of the most exciting openers I've played. Other highlights included Elvis Costello and The Sugarcanes (Elvis has been a long time fave), Railroad Earth, Jerry Douglas and his band, and Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson.

New buddies Lisa and Daniel.

View outside my tent door.

Dates are starting to firm up for summer. I'm planning on staying on the road as much as possible throughout the rest of this year into 2010. We'll be playing some amazing festivals - Philly Folk, Telluride (Troubadour), Strawberry Music Festival, and Plymouth Harbor Festival... gotta love belting out the tunes under a canopy of blue sky (hopefully). Inclimate weather is always a challenge, but fun none the less.

I'm performing with guitar man, Gary Goodlow. He and his wife Karen relocated from Nashville where he played with Kristi Rose and Fats Kaplan as well as a member or two of the E Street Band. I'm happy to have him on board.

Thanks to so many of you who came out and supported the MA and NYC shows... it was great seeing some familiar faces. And catching up with everyone was, as we say in Beantown, "wicked pissa."

Shows coming up in MA, NYC, PA, and upstate NY. Check out: www.myspace.com/kerripowers for full listings.

See you soon!

The Opera House

A few weeks ago, after a warm welcome and an afternoon spent at WXLV radio with dj Dawn Warner and her team as well as an engaging on air interview with Theo Anderson, I played The Opera House in Jim Thorpe, Pa, supporting songwriter and extraordinary guitarist, Willy Porter. The venue has been beautifully renovated and restored, and the sound was as close to perfection as it gets.

The town of Jim Thorpe is known for its coal mining and it was intriguing to discover this was the place of the legendary Molly Maguires (some of you must remember the movie starring Sean Connery), Irish anthrocite coal miners who were prosecuted and hanged for conspiring against exploitative conditions. Hard to know if they were all criminals (a fairly clandestine group). One of the Mollys, Alexander Campbell, exclaimed his innocence by leaving his hand print upon the wall of Carbon County Prison located in the center of town in Jim Thorpe. It's hard to believe it would still be evident but his handprint remains to this day.

This quaint historical town seems smothered in ghosts and unfinished business. And it stands to reason it is reminiscent of a small town in Europe as it was established by the English.

I spent the remainder of the weekend playing a live on air set (The Country Brunch) on Sunday to a gracious and very appreciative audience. Big thanks to everyone at WXLV and to The Opera House for such a great weekend.