Hallelujah

Here I am on Thanksgiving Day, looking out over the hills outside my window in England (where most people do not know that it's Thanksgiving Day for me), taking a moment to give thanks for all that I'm fortunate to have - and I realize that I haven't properly given thanks about some things that happened about two weeks and three thousand miles ago! So here goes:

On Thursday 12 November I had the pleasure of being part of a singer-songwriter showcase sponsored by Putnam Music at the Northwood Inn. I performed alongside Leo, Elliot Glick, and Laura Joy. It was a wonderful musical evening in a truly lovely venue. If you are local to Mahopac, New York, you should pay them a visit - you can find them here. Here's a copy of the lovely promotional posters they had made for the event:

Sorry, it's not in perfect condition - but it's well-traveled! :)



Then, on Friday 13 November, I was part of a very special evening dedicated to raising funds for schools in Africa. Libby Johnson joined by her family as well as Mick Hargreaves, Carrie Johnson joined by her family, and Patricia Santos and I performed at the 15th Street Meetinghouse to an audience whose ticket purchases will provide much-needed funding for schools in Kenya and Tanzania. Together we raised nearly $3,000, which will be matched by a donor - for a total of nearly $6,000! I am hugely grateful to have been part of this project (about which you can read more here), as well as to have shared such an amazing musical evening with Libby and Carrie and friends. For the last song of the night Libby, Carrie, and I sang 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen. And Hallelujah summed it up very well.



I am so thankful to be living the creative, adventurous life I am, and for the many beautiful, loving people with whom I share it. Happy Thanksgiving!

Blue Catitude

Hey folksies. Just a quicky post to thank all of you who came out the show last night, as well as those who couldn't but sent your happy thoughts my way.

I have yet to review the video footage - I suspect it was a bit noisy background-wise to get anything good, but we shall see. At the very least, fellow musician Lorelei Loveridge snapped a few photos which I'll post as I can.

I hope you all had as good a time as I did! :)

Lammy's Birthday, More Shows

It's very unlikely that I'll forget the launch date of Hold On, because it was on my birthday - and that's pretty much the one date I don't have to put in my Blackberry to make sure I remember. On the other hand, 17 October is not quite as etched in my memory. Over the weekend, which I spent mostly heads-down working on a fabulous new website for a fellow artist, it dawned on me that Saturday marked two years since I released Transatlantic Lammy.

I'm not big on birthdays and anniversaries - I think we can often see too much meaning in the calculated passage of time and not enough in the day to day. But I did take a moment to reflect. (Pause for reflection. Ok that's enough.) I had a look back at this post and chuckled. I can't believe it's been two years. Happy Birthday, Lammy! And thanks to everyone who has shared the journey with me. I take great pride in the fact that I'm an independent musician, but by no means have I done it alone.

In other news, several shows coming up: This Friday 23 October at the Blue Cat, and then off to New York - One show Upstate at the Northwood Inn on 12 November, and the Barnraising Benefit on the 13th. Lots on the go!

Lucky Dancer

Fancy freestyle dancing on a plinth with a giant paper chain in front of a world-wide audience? Well, that's just what my friend Cecilia did. As part of Antony Gormley's One & Other, she took her place on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square on 12 September. As the living artwork exhibit wraps up later this week, I thought this little clip was worth sharing.

In stark contrast to the statue or monument that might otherwise occupy such a space, Cecilia spent the hour - well, you'll just have to watch, won't you? (Pay particular attention at 24:34 - you might hear a lyric or two you recognize...) :)

As a 'plinther' she calls herself 'Luckydancer', a reference no doubt to the 'charmed life' she's led so far. If you've been reading long enough to remember this post, you already know what an inspirational woman she is. Known for her courageous and fabulously well-documented one-woman world tour, she is no stranger to adventure. She is a beautiful example that life is what you make it.

Oh - and recently added to her very long list of talents is teaching English as a foreign language. So if you or someone you know would like help learning English, please get in touch with Cecilia!

Fuzzy Details

Right. So if you listened to Fuzzbox last week, you no doubt heard a great show with some great punk music. You did not, however, hear my chirpy little voice. This is because I got it wrong: This upcoming Monday's Fuzzbox (12 October) will feature that little bit. So tune in at 107.8FM if you're local to Stockport, or listen online if you're not. Sorry for the confusion. I assure you I will make up for it in spades with improvisatory lyrics that at one point, I believe, involved something about a cow.