Being on the Verge of Tears All the Time is Not a Bad Thing

Plus Spring Shows in Greensboro, Carrboro and the Midwest AND 3rd Sunday Livestream is 4/20.

I picture a rock cracking open, revealing a crystal whose beauty has never been seen.

I picture a flood of tears that washes away the anger and leaves us reborn, tender.

When everything crumbles, who are we?

A guided meditation I listened to asked, “If everything you define yourself by - possessions, image, relationships, career - if all of those were taken away, what would be left?”

Join me this Saturday, 4/19 at the beloved Flat Iron in Greensboro. I’ll share a bill with Doug Davis, and Mike June will make a brief cameo as well. EARLY SHOW: 5 pm.

What I saw - what was left inside me - was a flame. A small, constant campfire, just burning on its own in the middle of an empty concrete lot. It didn’t need anything else to keep going; it just steadily burned. The message was, “You are here to create, for the sake of creativity.”

That’s what I’m turning to - when structures fall, belief systems reveal their fragility, when all else feels collapsible, I am still this flame. That’s where I move from and that’s what I am.

There’s a baptism that can happen when we move through something terrifying; we can be transformed into something much more powerful. But we must show up with every ounce of our faith and good conscience and we must be willing to be deeply transformed. We must surrender our myriad layers of “self” in service of something higher. I think that beneath the fear and defensiveness, most of us feel this truth instinctively.

No easy feat, and not something most of us would consciously choose to have to do. But this is how every great work of art is made. This is the high calling of creativity and the deepest desire of our souls: transformation.

Let’s create the great work of our lives. I’m ready to show up with my guitar, kleenex, and a hefty dose of unreasonable joy. Are you?

CARRBORO, NC May 17th!

I’m very excited to return to ArtsCenter in Carrboro, NC Saturday, May 17th. I’ll be joined by Grammy-winning guitarist and composer Charles Newkirk [Rissi Palmer, Tiera Kennedy, Chapel Hart]. We’ll be playing songs from across my catalog, and probably try out a couple unreleased songs as well. You’ll want to get tickets in advance for this one!

Our 3rd Sunday Salon is a Livestream Concert this month! This Sunday 4/20. Free for paid subscribers - link to join is below the paywall!

UPCOMING SHOWS

4/19 The Flat Iron, Greensboro, NC

5/2 Trinity House Theatre, Livonia, MI*

5/3 WFMT Folkstage, Chicago, IL*

5/4 Bishop Hill Creative Commons, Bishop Hill, IL*

5/7 Cafe Carpe, Ft. Atkinson, WI - supporting Richard Shindell

5/8 Cafe Carpe, Ft Atkinson, WI - supporting Richard Shindell

5/9 The Stellar Cellar, Effingham, IL - ticket link coming soon

5/10 Bluff View Concerts, La Crosse, WI

5/17 The ArtsCenter, Carrboro, NC