Update!! Huntsville, Nashville, Decatur, Guntersville, Hartselle!!

Just a quick "Hello!" to all my blogger buddies to tell you about some of my upcoming "gigs" and updates on the past couple of days! Since I home school and keep busy with music, I'm still busy with school work. So, the past few weeks and several weeks ahead have been and will be BUSY! But a good and exciting kind of busy. I hope you can drop in on some of my performances if you happen to be in Nashville,TN,  Guntersville, AL, Hartselle, AL and of course here at home in Huntsville, AL.

Hard Rock Cafe
Nashville, TN
Saturday, May 28 - 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM

This is a TCGMA event presented by Sweet Southern Entertainment. The show starts at Noon and I will be on stage around 4:00. This will be a talent-packed show at a famous venue with great food and gift shop. Hope to see you there!

Lakeside Concert 

Civitan Park Amphitheater, Guntersville, AL 

Tuesday, May 31 - 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

I'm doing a "songwriter round" with Matt Morrow and Liz Riehl by the lake. The spot is beautiful. There will be pop corn, hot dogs and soft drinks! The music will be awesome! This event is sponsored by the Mountain Valley Arts Council. Hope to see you there!

Emily D. Orr Benefit Concert

Hartselle Fine Arts Center, Hartselle, AL

Friday, June 3 - 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Admission is $20.00 for this annual benefit and silent auction. The proceeds provide scholarships to the Hartselle High School Senior Choral Students in memory of Emily D. Orr. I'll be joining Jeff Whitlow, Allen Watkins, Robin Stewart, Chapman James, Ted Whittington, Jeff Lemmond with State Representative Ed Henry. This will be a GREAT show! ***AND, great for me and my family!!! Our cousin, Dr. Bob Cockrell from Greensboro, NC, is coming to the show on his way to Birmingham for a get-together with his siblings! Haven't seen him in a few years. He gave me my first guitar that got me started playing for myself! Woo-Hoo!

More events coming up in June that I'll tell you about in a few days, but I wanted to tell you about last Sunday at The Coffee Tree Books & Brew. Kitty and Tom  have been generous to many over the past several years. "The Tree" suffered loss during the April 27th tornadoes and five day black-out. We decided it was time to give a little back!! The Coffee Tree was packed with singers, songwriters, patrons, fans ... Ken Dupree, Wednesday Songwriters Host, and Wayne Hemmerly, Saturday Night Open Mic Host were joined by our now Official Auctioneer, Patsy Trigg! There was continuous music with auction breaks which were as entertaining as the music! And of course being the sweet generous people they are, the Coffee Tree staff gave up their one day off to serve food.  Thanks to all who came out to support this event. Proceeds from the door and the auction almost hit $2,000.00. I hope we do this again .... Soon!

Last night was an awesome show at Rhodes Ferry Park, Decatur, AL with Cristina Lynn and friends. I was honored to be invited to perform for this event along with the Steve Owen and his Double Shot band, Russ and his Dolbro! Cristina Lynn invited mandolin player John Boyer. John, an electrician  from Indianapolis who was sent down to help with getting his company back on line after the tornadoes. Thanks, John! Jeff Whitlow made a surprise visit and joined us on stage! What a beautiful setting by the Tennessee River! What a nice crowd! The weather was perfect.

There are lots of exciting things coming up in June that I'll tell you about in a few days. Gotta run!

Here's What's Happening!

Just a quick note to say hello to all my blogger buddies and tell you about some of my upcoming "gigs".

The Coffee Tree Books & Brew - Bailey Cove Road
If you are in Huntsville this afternoon drop by for a tornado benefit concert and auction.
May 22 - 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Adm: $5.00

The Coffee Tree Books & Brew has been generous to many over the past several years. Now it's time for us to give back a little, as they suffered loss during the April 27th tornadoes and five day black-out.

Rhodes Ferry Park, Decatur, AL - 

Monday, May 23 6:00 PM - 8:00

With Cristina Lynn and Friends ... this will be a fun evening of music on the Tennessee River so bring lawn chairs and a picnic! Settle back and enjoy!

Lakeside Concert 

Civitan Park Amphitheater, Guntersville, AL 

Tuesday, May 31 - 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

I'm doing a "songwriter round" with Matt Morrow and Liz Riehl by the lake. The spot is beautiful. There will be pop corn, hot dogs and soft drinks! The music will be awesome! This event is sponsored by the Mountain Valley Arts Council. Hope to see you there!

Emily D. Orr Benefit Concert

Hartselle Fine Arts Center, Hartselle, AL

Friday, June 3 - 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Admission is $20.00 for this annual benefit and silent auction. The proceeds provide scholarships to the Hartselle High School Senior Choral Students in memory of Emily D. Orr. I'll be joining Jeff Whitlow, Allen Watkins, Robin Stewart, Chapman James, Ted Whittington, Jeff Lemmond with State Representative Ed Henry. This will be a GREAT show!

There's more coming up in June! 

VHCC Songwriter’s Showcase

It was an honor to be invited by host Billy Ward to open the second Songwriter’s Showcase at Valley Hill Country Club last Friday (April 1, 2011).  I thoroughly enjoyed performing there.  The set-up was comfortable and warm ... a relaxing and intimate environment for performers and the audience.

Thank you, Ms. Paula Dickson, for the great introduction. You and the country club staff and members made me feel very special.

I like the way  Billy  sat on the stage while I sang... just added that down-home friendly touch.  Great job, Billy (He told me to call him Billy!) ... terrific night with some great entertainment!

After finishing, my set I joined my family at our table and sat back to enjoy the rest of the show featuring of course, Billy Ward.  His other guests were Chapman James, Cristina Lynn and Robin Stewart. Did I say it was a terrific night with some awesome entertainment?

Thanks to all the local songwriters for coming out to support the show. We are family!

The Valley Hill Country Club is a wonderful venue. The sound system was awesome.  I look forward to other shows there.

Showcase Sample!

We had a great time ... here's a sample of  our March 4th showcase at the Coffee Tree Books & Brew. It was awesome to play to a standing room only crowd.  Thanks to everyone who came out to support us. I hope you enjoyed the show as much as Matt and I did. This was our first full showcase together "in the round" and will not be the last! 

"Talking To Strangers" is on Matt's upcoming album "Burlap and Gold" due to be released in April!

There's lots more. I'll include some of our chatter in later videos. Gotta run... I hear my English book calling!

Come Join Us!

Hey, everybody! Come on out Friday night, March 4th and join me and my friend, Matt Morrow. We have fresh, new originals, some great new covers and will give you a sample of what's on Matt's upcoming new album, "Burlap and Gold" ... I was so honored when he asked me to record harmonies on a couple of his album songs.

We'll see you on Friday, March 4th, 7:00pm at the Coffee Tree Books & Brew in Huntsville, Alabama!

Cooper & Company

Today, I woke up around 4 a.m. to get ready for the drive to Athens to sing on the Cooper & Company show with Jamie and Gloria Cooper!!:) It was soooo much fun! Thank you Mr. Cooper for hitting me with a snowball!! Thanks to Mrs. Cooper for being such a fabulous hostess! Everyone there was so nice, and I look forward to doing this again!!

SINCE January 2003, WTZT-TV in Athens, AL, known as ZTV-11, has been Local and Lovin' It with shows that focus on local people and places in the Tennessee Valley. Jamie and Gloria Cooper own and operate ZTV-11, as well as host and produce the morning show, Cooper & Company ... On Knology and Mediacom.....or, view on-line......
http://www.jamiecooper.com/default.html
Click the "WATCH US LIVE" LINK" ... archieved shows are also on YouTube.

Opening Song "Your Love Is Where I'm Found"

First question Mr. Cooper asked me, as we were chatting before the show, "Are you an Alabama fan?" Really, how do you get off on the right foot with a tried and true Bama fan, by telling him you are an Auburn fan?! So, I could have lied...but, I would rather him remember me as an Auburn fan, than a lying Auburn fan!! On the set, two rugs meet in the midde of the room...one has the Auburn logo, and the other has the Alabama logo......for the first song, Mr. Cooper states that I have to stand on the Auburn rug......
When I came back to the mic for the second song, I noticed the mic had been moved, and there I was ...... "a house divided".....one foot on the Auburn rug and on on the Alabama rug ! So, I had to ask, "Mr. Cooper, are you trying to convert me?" Too funny......you have to watch him....he is quick, and sly......

Remember how I said Mr. Cooper was quick and sly ? He hit about 4 people in the studio with snow balls, including his wife, and me, while we were live ... on camera !!!!

What a whirlwind ... not a second wasted ... intros, guests being interviewed, quick breaks, songs sung, and lots of laughs ... met some really nice people, a Chic-fil-A rep, a very dapper dentist, a cameraman/musician named Corey, an anger management counselor, and a gentleman named Frank, who not only delivers a very accurate weather forecast, but bakes a mean chess pie!

Check out Cooper & Company ... but you better get up early!!!! Live 6:00 AM CT!


Tomorrow, Saturday the 22nd, I'll see you in Nashville for the Nashville Spotlight Showcase at the "World Famous" Nashville Palace!

What's Happening!

Hey, everybody! Just a quick note to let you know what's happening. We drove to Nashville on January 8th and were greeted by snow flurries when we hit the city limits! We had a busy day filming the Nashville Spotlight Valentine Show.

Our producer, Mike Jennings, does an awesome job of putting the shows together. It's a great learning experience. We taped two Valentine Shows and two regular shows. Nashville Spotlight airs on Nashville Cable TV Channel 19 weekly on Wednesday 8:30 PM, Thursday 2:30 PM, Friday 5:00 PM and Sunday 5:30 PM.

Hey look who we found behind the camera!
Jonell Polansky of DaCapo Music.
It was great seeing you again, Jonell!

We finished taping by 5:30, jumped in the car and headed back to Huntsville. No more snow flurries! But, it was cold ... Whew! We got back in Huntsville in time for me to sing in the last round of open mic at the Coffee Tree .... a fun place to be on Saturday nights ... then on for some hot wings with some fellow performing songwriters ... and up early on Sunday morning for church and Sunday school.

Sunday night it started snowing ... covering EVERYTHING within two hours. Okay, everybody got a lot of snow days, but since I home school it was pretty much business as usual for me. I did miss out on Driver's Education for a week. Did I mention that I'm learning to drive?!! Woo-hoo!

So, finally the snow melted and back to business ... oh, yeah ... and driving :) And ... coming up January 21st, Friday morning ... very, very early Friday morning, I'll be with Cooper & Company on WTZT-TV in Athens, Alabama. Known as ZTV-11, this station focuses on local people and places in the Tennessee Valley. This live performance broadcasts on cable television and will simulcast on the internet. I'm excited about being invited to sing on the show ... thanks to my friend, George Wells, who set up everything.

Saturday, January 22nd, I'm heading back to Nashville for another awesome Nashville Spotlight Mini-Showcase at the "World Famous" Nashville Palace. The show starts at Noon and will run until 6:00 PM. If you are in the area, drop in for the show. I would love to meet you! Meanwhile, check out my MySpace.

(Our weatherman is predicting more snow in the next few days...brrrr!)

"I'll See You Soon"