Wow!   nearly time to go home.   It seems so long since my last blog on February 10.   No,  I have not become lazy about my blogs,  I just have not had time ! ! !  I will give you some idea of my time since.

I left for the Folk Alliance in Memphis, TN on February 15 and the highlight of the journey was stopping for lunch in TUPELO, MS,  which is the birthplace of Elvis Presley.   I was very surprised and delighted also when I walked into the local Tupelo foodmarket,  the music in the store was by a local Limerick group called The Cranberries,  that was great.

The Folk Alliance itself was bedlam.   Met a lot of incredible people and perhaps my highlight was seeing Michelle Shocked in concert.   She is the REAL DEAL.  True Folkie,  just as I imagined her.   She sang one of my favourite songs,  Anchorage Alaska,  which made me very happy.

I did some great business including a couple of different type ventures,  more about that later.   Saw some wonderful artists including James Keelaghan,  Grace Pettis, (she is going to be a big star)  Had a really great time there with Johnsmith,  with whom I shared a room .

Then John Spillane arrived.  He was a few days late due to visa problems.  The less said about this the better.   He did 3 showcases on Saturday night,  all within a couple of hours after CROSSING THE POND.  He is a great trouper.

Then our Magical Mystery Tour started.  We pulled out of Memphis and headed for Jackson, MS for John’s first concert,  which was in an Irish Pub.   We did not know what to expect,  but he knocked them dead.  A great start to the tour.   Then we went back to Nashville,  where we stayed with Kate Campbell for a couple of days.   What a woman !  She looked after us so well.  I cannot wait for her Irish Tour.  John did a house concert in Kari Estrin’s house.   The was a great turn-out of local musicians and writers.   We had songs from Still on the Hill,  David Llewllyn,  Buddy Mondlock,  Kate Campbell,  David Glasser and even one from myself.   A really great night.

We then headed for Columbus,OH,  which was covered in snow,  but nothing to get excited about as we now were seasoned travellers.  A little bit of snow, (8 inches) was not going to deter us.  We had wonderful hospitality from Parker McDonnell and John played a great gig in the local Arts Centre before 130 people.  He knocked them dead also.   We had friends from the Peter Pavarini Tour in attendance and we had a great night with them.

Our next stop was Columbia, MD which we reached after travelling through a snow storm somewhere in West Virginia.  We were driving at 20mph with the snow freezing on the windscreen,  for about 3 hours.  I had a great co-pilot who kept talking and laughing and singing,  so I had no time to worry about the elements outside.  The gig at Sherry Panzers house was lovely and again we met some old friends,  including members of the ISH Tour,  who were busy making plans for a Re-union Tour next year.   Reba Hayman was in attendance,  even though she was leaving to start her World Tour at 6.00am the next morning.

We next moved on to Hampton, VA to meet my wonderful friend Kelly Murphy.   Kelly wined and dined us so well,  but I expected this anyway.  I gained about 5 lbs. on my previous visit to her house.   John Killed them at this concert also.   I would have loved to have spent more time with Kelly,  but this is SHOWBUSINESS.

We then headed for Sumter,SC where John played in the local Opera House.  We were hosted here by my friend Linda Peterson.  We were treated like rock stars here.  Our adjoining hotel rooms were full of food hampers with copious amounts of beer and champagne also in evidence.  We did our best not to leave anything behind…………..Linda was a wonderful hostess and southern hospitality came shining through.   The gig was great also and John played before about 120 people.   Linda called me a couple of days later and told me that John was the TALK OF THE TOWN.  He will surely fill the Opera House when he returns next year.

We then left for Monroe, LA,  but stayed in Birmingham, AL on the way.   We met some friends for dinner and let’s just say that we serenaded the locals in the city centre that night.  We were sitting outside a pub with the temperature at 28f,  but we were not feeling any cold.   John played Enoch’s Irish pub the next night for what was perhaps the best gig of the tour.   the people REALLY got him there.  There was not one Irish person there,  but what an atmosphere.   Some friends, (people who toured with me) travelled from Shreeveport for the gig.  We had a really great night there.

Now on to the last leg.   Austin was next for the last 2 gigs.   the first was at Tom and Vicki Belanoski’s house.  Vicki helped greatly to organise this tour.  She worked so hard to make it work.   John finished at a church the following morning and this was a super gig also.  He finished with our Irish National Anthem,  which made me very proud.   I am also proud to say that I sang a little song at the gig.

John went home the following morning.   This was one of the most magical times of my life.  John was so gracious.  We talked,  sang and laughed through 3,500 miles and 15 states.  It looks like we will be doing something similar next year and I also hope to tour with my favourite Irish group,  Foolin in Doolin.  I am sure a lot of you will have seen them in Doolin,  while on tour with me.

I will finish here for the moment.   I will talk about my time since then on the day before I leave  the USA