Catching up...
Shame on me for dropping off the face of the social media earth after this segment of our Front Porch Tour! As I write this now, I am half way through another tour, this time closer to home through California and Oregon.
But before I get into that, I can't not share just one more story from the Front Porch. From St. Louis, we traveled next to Indianapolis, Chicago, and Wisconsin, with audiences ranging from big city crowds to intimate dinner parties. Wonderful folks everywhere we went, a continuing testament to the power of music to bring folks together a forge friendships in just moments.
I find it particularly fitting that we ended our tour with a show for 5 people in a tiny Wisconsin town, and I've continued to carry their story with me. There's nothing melodramatic out here in the country, just simple and strong people doing what they believe is right. They live in an area of the country where many farmers are going larger scale, and accepting help from Monsanto and other companies who are changing the face of single-family farming. These folks are definitely in the minority as they insist on growing food without the use of harmful chemicals, and it was clear that their social status in their community has been affected. And yet, they've held on to their values, their ideals, and the friends in town who are trying to do the same.
We traveled over 3,000 miles on The Front Porch Tour. Everywhere we went, we were welcomed warmly, fed, put up for the night, engaged in meaningful conversation. People talk about the road being a hard place to be, and I'm sure it is when you're out there for months at a time. But, interacting with the folks we met on this tour, I would venture to say it is much harder work to do what they do: they stay. It's easy to leave and move on to the next adventure, whether you know what's coming or not. It's hard to stay, to build relationships, to take risks in those relationships, to make history as a community instead of striking out on your own. I have such immense respect for these people, from the farmers of Wisconsin to the community volunteers of Iowa; from the much-beloved Flying Cat House Concert of Indianapolis to the first-time concert hosts at Wildwood Park of Little Rock. It is a privilege to witness everything they do, and humbling to share my music with them.