Gretchen Peters "On A Bus To St. Cloud"

It is travel day, though I daresay, for some this whole week has been the great escape. Of course there is the attendant hustle and bustle if you are doing the entertaining. Hope your preparations are nearly completed, and that you will have a warm and wonderful time. For those of us who have lost loved ones, whether through death or by parting, let us take a moment to remember sweet times together.

           

This song makes me cry. Gretchen Peters visited us during our Music Fog Marathon in Nashville in October with Barry Walsh. She is about to release a new album, Hello Cruel World in January, which is being hailed as her bravest ever. We will be bringing you some tunes in future posts that Music Fog recorded from the upcoming album, but in the meantime, the snow is coming down (well, it is in this song) and the holiday is upon us. We are traveling, “On A Bus To St. Cloud.”

-Jessie Scott

Mary McBride "Home"

Having a home is harder these days than ever, for any number of reasons. We got together with Mary McBride last year at The Mansion On O in Washington, DC. She played us some songs, and this one was to be on her fourth album, The Way Home, which was released in June, 2010. That night at the Mansion, Mary told me she was going to do a very interesting tour, she was going to all kinds of homes. She launched "The Home Tour" in the summer of 2010. Mary and the band traveled to "places people call home" - including supported housing communities, long-term health care centers, homeless shelters, homes for people living with HIV/AIDS and homes for people living with mental and physical disabilities. They played for the elderly in Washington, DC; for Navajo families living in supported housing in New Mexico; for children in the Treme' district in New Orleans; for a farm worker community in rural Washington State; for veterans recovering from injuries and living indefinitely at a VA hospital in Long Beach, CA. That’s just part of the list. The band partnered with non-profit organizations which hosted the community-based concerts. You can find out all about it here.

We wish you home for the holidays, home within yourself, “Home.” Mary McBride.

-Jessie Scott

Carrie Rodriguez "Lake Harriet"

Christmas in love. Sigh...honestly, is there anything more wonderful than sharing the holiday with a new partner? The intimacy is worth the price of admission alone. The exchanging of gifts is almost superfluous, but is especially delicious with a sip of the bubbly. And no matter whether graced by material wealth, love provides its own ‘in it together, for richer or poorer’ kind of bond. If you are newly in love this Christmas, may your holiday be especially bright.

Today’s video is the perfect soundtrack tune to celebrate romance. Carrie Rodriguez gifted us with a brand new song when she visited Marathon Recorders in Nashville in October during Americana Fest. It is simple and pure and joyous. Carrie is plenty busy, as she does dates with Luke Jacobs, and then a few with the masterful Bill Frisell in Texas, the second week in January. Then look out for The Acoustic Cafe Tour, featuring Erin McKeown, Carrie Rodriguez and Kelly Joe Phelps after that.

Carrie brought Hans Holzen (acoustic guitar), Kyle Kegerreis (bass), Ryan Lovan (drums), and Luke Jacobs (electric guitar) to the Music Fog Fall Marathon. Here is “Lake Harriet,” and a wish from us, for love to surround you too.

-Jessie Scott