October 24, 2025
Lisle, IL
I've been apart of the Folk Alliance International organization for 20+ years. They are dedicated to bringing together musicians, radio personalities and venue operators from mostly the U.S. and Canada, but other places around the world also. I've showcased with them many times over the year. Tonight we're outside of Chicago with the regional arm called FARM (Folk Alliance Region MidWest). I am grateful for the main stage showcase, knowing there were hundreds of other worthy musicians hoping for a coveted spot on the big stage. A bonus is catching up with a lot of musician friends who show up at these events. It was great fun!
August 10, 2025
Portland, Maine
Tammy and have arrived in Portland, thanks to the good folks at Delta Airlines.
This is the week! After we get our rental car, we'll drive up the coast to Rockland, where we'll move onto the boat at the marina, then walk back into town for a bon voyage supper with friends.
This is our fourth adventure with Captain Sam Sikkema, and it takes place on a sailboat built in 1882, the historic schooner Grace Bailey. Combining my love for both sailing and singing, they hire me to do 3 one-hour concerts during the week, after we've anchored.
It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it! :)
The Grace Bailey can comfortably seat 28 passengers + a crew of five. We have our own chef on board who caters to everyone's preferences, including my own vegetarian desires.
It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it! :)
I'll post some photos here after we're back on land.
After sailing around the islands of coastal Maine for a week, Tammy and I will head up to Prince Edward Isle and Nova Scotia. These are places we've never explored before, and we're looking forward to visiting our Canadian neighbors.
One of the guests, Claire Thompson, painted a wonderful water color for my birthday!
May 18th, 2025
Minneapolis, MN
Whew! What a day. I was invited to sing at St. Joan of Arc church in Minneapolis today.
This is an amazing space with a large congregation. I was told afterward (I didn't count!) there were 1,400 in attendance between the two services. It's not often enough that I get to perform with a choir and a band comprised of such accomplished musicians. St. Joan's has a reputation for having great music. It was truly an honor to be here today, included in their stellar Sunday lineup.
I found out today there are still two rooms available on our sailing trip to Maine on the 1882 schooner, Grace Bailey. For more info go to my tour schedule and scroll to August 10 for the link. This will be my 4th trip with Captain Sam Sikkema and it'll be a fantastic adventure sailing among the thousands of islands off the coast of Maine.
It's my dad's birthday today. He would've been 104 years old today! I can't even fathom that. He passed away in 1991 from a smoking-related cancer. He struggled with health issues in his 60s, which I'm at now. I think about that a lot.
So I raise my coffee mug to you, Rodney Warner. You were a good guy and a fun dad. And there's a reasonable chance I never would've picked up a guitar or had the music career I've enjoyed (including today's performance) without you sharing your gift of musicianship throughout my youth.
Wednesday April 23rd, 2025
Watertown, SD
I just wrapped up my 4th appearance at the historic Goss Opera House in Watertown, South Dakota. Betsy Fjelland, Jamie Mack and crew do an amazing job organizing these community events. Thank you!
On our way out of town, we stopped in Milbank, South Dakota at the Valley Queen cheese tasting room and museum. They have some really wonderful cheeses that you can't get in a store. Well, you can, but they are sold under different names from companies that slap their own labels on them. Valley Queen employees won't tell you what they are! I'm partial to their super sharp cheddar.
Well, this will be my last concert for a few weeks. You see, the sailing season is right around the corner here in the north country and this is the time of year to make repairs and to paint the Heart's Desire before we launch in early May. Given the number of concerts I've performed so far this year, I'm ready for a little break and hopefully a little sailing in May.
Happy spring, everyone!
April 18, 2025
Burlington, Iowa
On the road this morning after a wonderful visit to the Capitol Theater with two concerts yesterday. The afternoon concert was for the kids, featuring Beads on One String. The whole town embraced the book and song as the school incorporated the beads curriculum into its lesson plan. The sweet kids knew all the words and sang with all their might. The evening "adult" show was for everyone. The crowd was hot! We went a little long, and after both encores, we were exhausted from the long day. We all slept well. Thank you, Burlington, for the warm welcome.
It's a long drive back to Minnesota, but the new van is comfy for all of us. I'm always grateful when I can cross through Iowa without a blizzard or icy conditions. This can be tough terrain in the winter/spring with the hills and curves. Danny, Derrick, and I have memories of fog, ice, and lots of snow as we would travel to Missouri and Tennessee for winter gigs. On one trip, we counted over 100 vehicles in the ditches. That was a long travel day!
The weather is beautiful today, with no problem pulling the trailer.
The new recording project is coming along. I'm still in the song selection process, recording voice/guitar tracks to see what songs would make up a cohesive, strong album. Stay tuned!
March 31, 2025
Santa Fe, NM
After a couple of fun concerts in Colorado, we've arrived in Santa Fe.
Such a cool town with great art and fabulous food. The best huevos rancheros I've had in quite a while.
I did a little jewelry shopping today and found a handmade silver and turquoise bracelet that fit perfectly. Keep an eye out for it at one of my concerts!
A previous bracelet that many of you commented on was made from copper with a gorgeous black onyx stone surrounded by two intricate silver feathers created by careful soldering. Sadly, it was stolen from me after a performance in Brainerd, Minnesota a few years back. Weird stuff happens.
The Native artist who created it lived outside Estes Park, Colorado and I haven't been able to locate him.
This is my first trip this way since COVID. It's always great to get some mountain time.
Hiking in New Mexico outside of Santa Fe. Beautiful country!
January 12, 2025
Grand Marais, MN
We are now two weeks into a four-week concert tour. It's been amazing from the very beginning. Twenty-four concerts in twenty-four towns in twenty-eight days. And yes, it's below zero much of the time, but we're good. It's Minnesota in the winter, and we have the clothes for it. Every show is a bad hair day, and we accept that!
Grants were written by both the Arrowhead Library System and me to fund this traveling circus. Everyone thanks the Minnesota State Arts Board for the great opportunity to bring entertainment to these often-forgotten small towns during the winter. Libraries and community centers are the venues we chose.
Many days, we didn't need a PA system, so we treated the event like a house concert. Up close and personal. While some performers struggle with that kind of intimacy, I've always thrived in a house concert setting. We sing, we laugh, we share stories, getting to know each other. House concerts are a special vibe that you can't get in a theater or an outdoor festival.
Most of the concerts on this tundra tour are solo events, definitely enhancing the intimacy of these shows. But this week only, my band "the D's" showed up for six of the concerts. Danny Neale on guitar and backing vocals, DK Kennedy on percussion. So many stories, so many laughs along the way.
Here's what a typical day looked like. We played and stayed in International Falls, along the Canadian border. The next morning, we drove two and a half hours to Hibbing (Bob Dylan's hometown, as you may be aware), where we set up the PA and had a fantastic show in the library that also houses a little Bob Dylan museum. I've played there several times over the years.
Afterward, we tear down the equipment, reload the van and trailer, and head off to Grand Marais, about three+ hours east and north, trying to stay ahead of an impending winter storm. It's a rural drive through what I remember as beautiful country, but it was nighttime. We kept our eyes open for deer and moose, common road wanderers in this country.
Grand Marais is a cool, artsy town located on Lake Superior, also very close to the Canadian border. But there's not a direct way to get there from International Falls or Hibbing, so that's why there's a long day of driving. Throughout the drive, the temperatures plunged and the snow started to fall, especially when we joined up with Highway 61 along the shore of Lake Superior. Lake effect snow and wind made that last leg of the drive interesting.
Pulling in late to the motel, we all slept very well! Despite the snow, wind, and impending winter storm warning, we had a large crowd in Grand Marais. These are folks who are not deterred by snow or cold. My peeps!
The D's headed home after the concert, about a five+ hour drive through the snow. Tammy and I continued on to the next gig in Duluth with a van in serious need of washing!
We played here in Grand Marais a year ago in the Arrowhead Center for the Arts auditorium. A wonderful venue. By coincidence, we discovered that friends of ours were performing last night in the auditorium! It was a great show and a fun time catching up with these fine Twin Cities-based musicians, Prudence Johnson, Gary Rue, and Randy Sabien. Prudence and I have recorded several songs together over the years.
So today we are in the middle of the winter storm warning, up to 16 inches expected. Grand Marais is bustling, and Tammy and I have just returned from snowshoeing on the Superior Hiking Trail, about a 20-minute drive north and west of us. We got the last parking spot in the lot! These folks have been waiting for winter. It's great seeing families out together and hearing kids laughing. It's below zero and snowing like crazy. I love it.
And today we have a day off. Laundry and maybe a local brew pub for happy hour are both on the agenda.
