“Love is wonderful the second time around.”
– Sammy Cahn

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Just Married

On October 2 at 6:00PM, Barry Walsh and I affirmed our longtime relationship before family and friends in a beautiful ceremony in a churchyard near our home in Nashville. Rodney Crowell officiated, and after the ceremony performed his song “I Know Love Is All I Need”. There was not a dry eye around.

It was a gorgeous, if somewhat windy evening. At the reception, Bryan Adams, who interrupted his tour to be there, serenaded us with “Heaven” for our first dance. Afterwards, a seemingly endless parade of friends, including Matraca Berg, Suzy Bogguss, Rodney Crowell, Jeff Hanna, Tom Russell, Mary Gauthier, John Lester, Conni Ellisor, Tia Sillers, John Hobbs, Christine Bougie, Tania Elizabeth all performed. The evening ended, of course, in a massive jam session.

After the wedding we honeymooned in New Orleans, where we ate, drank and floated on memories of a magical night. Barry and I are grateful for the lovely messages of congratulations and well wishes we received from many of you, from all over the globe. We are tremendously, giddily happy.

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“Independence Day” released on Warner Brothers

Warner Bros. Records is releasing two volumes of The Original Songwriter Demos, a collection of original demo performances of some of country music’s most influential hits written and performed by the creator’s themselves – the songwriters. The original demo of “Independence Day”, as Martina McBride first heard it, is included on Volume 1.

Check it out at Warner Bros. website.

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Dutch Tour dates & our first German tour!

As most of you know, our European tour, which was originally planned for this month, was postponed until March 2011. We have confirmed the Dutch and German tour dates, and they’re now posted at the website. More European shows will be posted as soon as they’re confirmed – stay tuned, and as always, check the tour calendar often for updates.

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Wine, Women & Song news

 

Matraca Berg, Suzy Bogguss and I just came back from a three day songwriting/recording retreat in Leipers Fork, Tennessee. We wrote a great song, worked out harmonies on a few cover tunes, drank some good wine and cooked some great meals, and now we’re cooking up another Wine, Women & Song UK tour in May 2011. We’ll keep you posted on dates and other exciting news as it’s confirmed.

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Ping!

Apple has introduced Ping, a social network for music via the new iTunes 10. They have provided me with an official Ping artist profile. I’m posting favorite songs and new discoveries at least once a week there. For those of you who miss the old “GP Picks”, this might make up for it a little bit. If you’re an iTunes user, you can follow me on Ping here.

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Christmastime is here

Well, not yet. But we have a fresh batch of my holiday/winter album, Northern Lights in stock, so if you don’t have yours yet, you can order it in plenty of time to get in the spirit. Here’s where to get it.

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Tune us in on The Music Row Show

On November 7, Barry and I dropped in on Scott and Heino of The Music Row Show for a song and a chat. A podcast of the show will soon be available on the website for listening.

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Download of the Month

This month’s free download is “This Used To Be My Town”, a song that started out as a collection of memories about Pelham, NY, the small suburb of Manhattan where I grew up. “The station wagons in the pouring rain”, and “walking by the football field” were just pictures in my head, until I connected those images with the story of Elizabeth Smart, whose abduction was all over the news that summer. The track was recorded live at the Rutledge, Nashville, TN on August 8, 2009 by Frank Sass.

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