Happy Autumn!
It’s the season of songwriters and album making. The summer has slowed down and most musicians take a little breather to rest and prepare for the next year’s shows. September brought a little respite for me and I was able to get up to the mountains for a couple of days and see the aspen leaves change.
But the retreat is over and it’s back to work this month starting with a big tour in western Kansas and northern Texas.
High Plains Public Radio in Amarillo, Texas and Garden City, Kansas has an artist residency program they call Music Ambassadors that helps promote musicians to perform in communities throughout their broadcasting area. After years of wrangling and figuring we worked out a schedule and time to get out to the prairie for some of these great shows. I will list them below, and if you are in any of these locales please stop by and say howdy. If you’re not, make sure to subscribe to my social media and YouTube channels to follow updates from the road.
Ok, here are the shows and dates for my Kansas & Texas Tour:
October 13th, 2023 - Lamar, Colorado - Shore Arts Center - 7pm
October 14th, 2023 - Goodland Kansas - Terra Bona - 7pm
-earlier in the day I will be doing a lecture on the history and music of the
American West - High Plains Museum - 2pm
October 15th, 2023 - Garden City, Kansas - With John Depew - Tumbleweed Festival Fundraiser - 2pm
October 16th - On Air at HPPR Studio 10am
October 17th - Larkin, Kansas - Cottonwood Coffeehouse - 11am
October 19th - Garden City, Kansas - HPPR Studio “Living Room” - 7pm
October 20th - Toppled Turtle Brewery - Dumas, TX - 7pm
October 21st - Buffalo Grass Music Hall - Panhandle, TX - 7pm
October 22nd - Starlight Canyon Bed & Breakfast - Amarillo, TX - 3pm
My great-grandmother and grandma were from Amarillo originally, and they lived in Lamar, Colorado while my great-grandfather was driving a bulldozer for the Department of Reclamation. I’m looking forward to walking some of those same streets that they walked and put some more of those stories together.
If you would like to support this tour, but you can’t make it to any of the shows you can donate to tour expenses here https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/martintgilmore or by contributing to HPPR Radio!
I’ll get a little jump on some November happenings as well because I have a lot of stuff early in the month.
I’ll be opening some shows for Singer/Songwriter and National Geographic Photographer Andy Mann On November 2, 3, & 4 around the Denver/Boulder area. Andy will be performing with my old friend and master musician Eli West. These guys are awesome and I’m so excited to be part of these shows. Please come and hear us at the Jamestown Mercantile on November 2nd, next we will be at Stone Cottage Studios in Boulder on November 3rd, and then a venue TBA on November 4th (check my website for details). I won’t be with them but they will be playing at the Lefthand Grange on November 5th.
I’m very excited to be heading east to play some shows with my good friends John & Julie Pennell. I’m looking forward to playing at with them at the world famous Station Inn in Nashville, Tennessee on November 9th at 9pm. It’s one of the most legendary bluegrass venues and I can’t wait to play there with my friends. If you have never been to Nashville, it’s a “not to be missed” venue. And if you’ve never been to Nashville…ahem…I know a good band playing there on November 9th [hint, hint]…There’s still time to plan your trip. Ha!
That’s about it for shows. But I also have some classes and seminars coming up.
My new classes at Swallow Hill start on October 25th. I’ll be offering an Intermediate Bluegrass Ensemble. Swallow Hill is a fun and supportive place to learn music. Players of any skill level and style can find a class to push them or an ensemble to play in at this Denver institution. I would love to have you in my ensemble class, but it would be great just to see you in the halls around the building. If you have questions about Swallow Hill please reach out to me.
November 4th I will be part of the Lighthouse writers Poetry Fest here in Denver, Colorado. I will be participating in a panel discussion at 12:30 and then leading a writers session on the craft of songwriting starting at 1:45pm. If you are a writer interested in poetry and songwriting this will be a great event. I’m excited to apply some of my poetry lexicon from college. Villanelle, sonnet, iambic pentameter, oblique rhyme, etc.
Finally, I’ll be offering a Wernick Method bluegrass jamming course at Swallow Hill starting November 19th and running four Sunday afternoons. These are perfect places for closet players to meet other pickers and start playing bluegrass. They are so much fun, and it’s always inspiring to see people learn bluegrass music and find this wonderful community. Several students from these jam classes have continued playing with ensemble classes at Swallow Hill and it has been so much fun to see their progress. If you play music at all and have an interest in meeting some folks and playing some bluegrass, come join us. We would love to have you. More information can be found at Wernickmethod.org.
Thanks! Have a happy October and I hope to see you if you are around.
Martin