The Welcome Will Not End

So here I am, packing up the dreams God planted, in the fertile soil of... wait, no... I'm packing my bag for two and a half days in a van with the Square Peg Alliance!  So excited.

We're off to St. Louis in an hour or so.  I won't be taking my computer, which will be weird for me, but I feel like it will be a nice break to "unplug" from the matrix for a few days and devote the time to my friends.  Says the dude who's bringing his iPod, in-ears, cel phone (and promises to twitter and facebook update the whole time).

Still, for me, it will be one less distraction and that's something I'm looking forward to.  Oh, and the music.  And the friends.

Upcoming Shows w/ the Square Peg Alliance and Jars of Clay

As some of you know, this year I decided to take the show off the road and spend my time in Nashville, working on records and writing.  It's been great and I've loved seeing my kids every day and diving into helping other artists achieve their vision.

That said, every now and then you need to get on the road with some friends and play some music.

And over the next couple of weeks that's what I'll be doing.

This coming Tuesday and Wednesday my friends in the Square Peg Alliance and I will be teaming up to play a few things.  The bulk of us (sans Derek) will be at:

Grace Community Chapel
7661 Mexico Rd
St Peters, MO 63376
(636) 970-1311
June 30, 7:00 PM
$5

From there we'll head up to the Cornerstone Festival, where we will meet Derek, and the nine of us will have about five hours to ourselves on the Gallery Stage.  HERE'S THE SCHEDULE if you want to make sure you also get to catch Bloodline Severed and Austrian Death Machine.  I know, I know.  Sometimes it's hard to fit it all in.

June 1, 6-11 PM.



The following week I'll achieve my high school dream and fill in playing guitar for a couple of Jars of Clay shows.  15-year old Andy is nervous and giddy while 30-year old Andy is calm and professionally charting out the songs and running over harmonies.  My dream, of course, always included our national pasttime, so gloriously both shows I'll be playing with them will be at baseball games.

Nashville, TN - Greer Stadium (Nashville Sounds)
Thursday, July 9
5:30 p.m. concert, 7 p.m. game
Ticket Info

Minneapolis, MN - Metrodome (Minneapolis Twins)
Saturday, July 11
6:10 p.m. game, concert afterwards
Ticket Info

If you haven't heard their new record, The Long Fall Back to Earth, you need to.  It's my favorite thing they've ever done.  Including their first record.  Go get it.

I said when I came off the road that I would only go back out for things that were really special.  Needless to say, making music with both these groups of friends is a rare gift and I'm grateful for the opportunities and excited that they're coming up soon.  If you can make it to any of these shows please come and say hi!

Ellie's Run Update - A week late

Sorry this took me a week to post.  Quite lamely, I wanted to gather pictures before I posted.  So for an entire week I have been crawling through the jungles of Nashville, camo vest, black paint on my face, machete in my teeth, just hunting and gathering these elusive photos.

Now that I've captured these wild beasts I can tell you THANK YOU!  You helped me raise $395.  My goal was $250.  That's $5 shy of 15 African children in school next year.  So cool to be a part of this.  So without further adieu, the photos...

My family and I before the race.  Sadie just learned how to wink.



Here's Sadie talking to Mandy Mann about who knows what.  Probably princesses.



My Dad, who ran the race too (!) and I with the girls afterwards.



Ella and one of her best friends cruising to the finish line in the Kids Run.



Sadie and I crossing the finish line for the Kids Race.  (Confession: I carried her 96% of the way, and I got tired so we cheated.)



And now to what's really important.  Mr. Andrew Peterson started bragging all over the internet that he would beat me.  I could not let this happen.  So it was an actual race.  For about two miles we were neck and neck.  Then we were both tired, so we just ran next to each other, not trying to win.  Then we got another burst of energy, declared that we would cross the finish line together, holding hands, and then both sprinted as hard as we could hoping the other believed them.  Then we crossed the finish line.  I thought he won.  He thought I won.  We both thought that we would puke.

Who are these girls?  They're not even breathing hard?



The final results:



A tie.  To the second.  NEXT YEAR, PETERSON!  NEXT YEAR YOU'RE MINE!

Randall and Andall in Ohio

My dear friend Randall Goodgame and I headed up to Xenia, OH this past Sunday and played a show together.  Without denying the reality that the 11 hours of driving was one of the more fantastic times in the past few weeks, the show was a lot of fun.  Our old buddy Jud put on the show and, as always, was an incredible host.

I thought it'd be fun to share a few photos of our journey.  Our musical journey...

Randall and a grand piano.  This is never a bad thing.



Randall, Jud and I



The git-fiddles for the evening...



We get by with a little help from our friends...



It was a fun show.  Thanks to everybody who headed out to spend the evening with us.  I think we need to do it more.  If you want us to come play, let me know!