Joshua’s ‘True Stories From the Van and Beyond.' (6/23/09)

Hello Folks

Lots of big news this week from the Drifters Compound in Nashville, TN. Lots of time on the road and in the studio. This has been an amazing Spring/Summer so far with lots of great new friends and great musical collaborations. We got to spend a recent weekend in Connecticut playing a festival with our new friends The Greencards. Our friend Ted Lehmann wrote about it in his blog which you should check out (about half way down the page). Also been spending some time in Nashville hanging out and listening to our new friends and a great new band Michael Ford, Jr. & The Apache Relay. We are hoping to put together a show with these guys soon. Zach and I got a chance to gather around the imaginary mic and sing a few old tyme gospel tunes in the parking lot of Mafiaozaz in Nashville with these guys and good old David Mayfield. Which leads me to the next bit of news..

Shows with Cadillac Sky

We have it all lined up to play at least one show with our favorite band Cadillac Sky next Friday, July 3^rd at the Kirk Music Hall in Roanoke, Virginia. These guys put on a perfect live show. They just released a new EP which is very good and for sale on their site. Come check out the show if you are around Roanoke. Here is a video of us together with Cadillac Sky and The Greencards at Merlefest playing a song that we worked up in the bathroom backstage.

Show with Peter Rowan

While we are on the subject of musical collaborations, I should mention that we are headed up to sunny Burlington, Massachusetts on July 15^th to play with one of our musical heroes Peter Rowan. We spent a little bit of time playing theaters in upstate New York with the Rowan/Rice Quartet last year and it was great. Clayton and I took Tony’s place for a while at the last show we played with them and it was definitely a night to remember. We also got some good backstage jamming video footage of Clayton playing Tony/Clarence’s old Martin that maybe I will post here sometime. So if you are around before Grey Fox, come out and see us at The Real Room.

This week at the Song of the Mountain Festival

We will be heading out to play the Song of the Mountain Festival along with a lot of great acts like 10 time Grammy award winning Dan Tyminski and the John Cowan Band. We will be playing two sets on Thursday and then heading back to Nashville for a weekend at the Rec Room Studio. We are really working hard to get a new album out this Fall for all of you dedicated listeners.

XM/Radio

Two big pieces of news here. First of all, our song “Birmingham” from the Sweet Summer Breeze album reached #3 on the Sirius/XM charts! They have been playing the whole album all the time and we definitely thank those guys at Bluegrass Junction for that. They have also begun giving a lot of spin to our new single “River Song.” We got a chance to go into the Sirius/XM radio studios yesterday to record an interview with Kyle Cantrell and it was a lot of fun. It will air on July 7^th so check our website for the times.

See you at Grey Fox!

Thanks for keeping up with us. We have had a perfect year so far with amazing festivals like Merlefest, Strawberry Park, and Gettysburg. We have a lot more coming up so check our site out for the calendar. We are looking forward to our first Grey Fox and we hope you come join us in New York. Thanks for all the wonderful support and spread the word if you feel like helping the cause and request your music Farewell Drifter style from your local bluegrass/folk radio stations. Also check us out at Itunes and subscribe to our blog here.

-Joshua Britt