Well,  as you can see I did not write a blog as promised in the USA.   I am now approx.  6 weeks late in writing this one.   I was so busy in America and since I got home.(That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it)

My trip to America was wonderful.   It started with the Folk Alliance in Memphis and I made a lot of great contacts,  which now have turned into solid bookings for 2010.   I was a little intimidated at first by it’s size,  but when I came to terms with it I really enjoyed it.   I met an old friend Drew Nelson, who is a great singer/songwriter from Michigan and he really steered me around the event.   Drew will be hosting a tour with me next year .

When that was over I went to see Graceland,  which was a longtime ambition of mine and I enjoyed it so much,  but I will have lifelong memories of my visit to the Civil Rights Museum.   To stand on the spot where Martin Luther King was assasinated was a humbling experience.   I would advise anyone who visits Memphis to go there.   Memphis is such a great city.

I then rented a car and drove to Charlotte, NC to visit my friend Paul Finnican and his wife Stephanie.  I stopped off in Nashville and spent a night listening to great music in The Bluebird Cafe and then went on to Asheville and called on Chuck Brodsky to finalise details for his upcoming tour in June.   I then had 5 days in Charlotte and one day in Greensboro, NC,  where I met Jill and Brian Higgins,  who are friends who toured a few years ago.  We had a great night.   Paul and Stephanie were wonderful hosts and Paul and I hope to do a lot of business together in the next few years.  I then drove back over the Appalachian Mountains in a snow storm and stayed another couple of nights in Nashville,  where I listened to music in The Bluebird again and went to the Station Inn on the second night to listen to some Bluegrass.

Texas came next and an unforgetable tour with my dear friend Johnsmith.   This was the icing on the cake.  We had a wonderful trip there.   I did my little piece on stage every night and to see John perform on 8 nights was a joy.   I met some incredible people and of course met some old friends from past tours.   I had a meal in a little roadside cafe in Texas,  but I will not talk about that,  as I thought I was going to  die after it.   the weather was strange in Texas.   We arrived in Kerrville at 3.00pm and the temperature was 86f.   By 6.00pm it had dropped to 36f.   Incredible…………..

I have been doing some work in setting up an American Tour for the wonderful Irish Singer/Songwriter,  JOHN SPILLANE.   I am so excited about this project.   It looks like he will be doing it in February/March,  2010.      As of now it looks like he will be performing in Texas,  Arkansas, Tennessee,  Alabama,  South Carolina,  North Carolina,  West Virginia and Maryland.   Don’t miss him if he is in your area.   I will keep you  posted both in the blog and on my web site.

I then flew to Savannah for the last leg and met my friend Billy Hogan who flew out from Ireland  to spend St. Patrick’s Day with his cousins Marty and Colleen Hogan.  We had a pretty wild time but we behaved ourselves,  after all we are not getting any younger !!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We then drove to Florida and stayed mostly in Sarasota where I have friends.   We also went to Everglade City and has such an exciting trip on an Air Boat.   Back to Savannah then and home to reality.

Well,  that was my USA trip.  I will never forget it.   I have been working hard since I got home getting ready for Johnsmith’s Tour,  which starts on May 5th.   I am looking forward to getting going again.  I feel we have stepped up a notch again this year,  so hoping things will go as well as other years.

My wonderful rugby team, Munster have been giving us great joy again this year.   They are about to win their league and are in the last four of the European Cup again.   My home club, Shannon are in the All Ireland Final.  I will be on tour the day of the final,  so that is sad.   Ireland also won the Grand Slam in European Rugby for the first time in 60 years.   We actually saw the winning game on TV in Tampa,  Florida.   What a day !

That’s all for now.  I hope I will get to write a blog after every tour.   Well……………..that’s the plan anyway