BILL BLOG
Monday November 10, 2025
And a good Monday morning to you from Gulf Shores, Alabama. We’ve had postcard weather here on the Gulf since I got in on Saturday, but there’s a two-day cold front starting today with a high of just 53 and a low of 33 after being up near 80 the past couple of days. Still…the view is not bad from the condo.
Meanwhile, snow in Chicago, and maybe some flurries back home in Nashville. Yikes.
THE WEEKEND
Friday, our “Evening in the Round” trio with Linda Davis, Lang Scott, and me piled into our cars and headed south to Toccoa, Georgia, to play the Ritz Theatre for the second time. We had a beautiful drive through Fall foliage and managed to find an awesome BBQ joint in the middle of nowhere.
The kind of place we love to find on long trips. But this is the kind of stop I’m not fond of. We took two separate vehicles on this journey because I had to go on to Gulf Shores. So, I called Lang once and told him I needed a bathroom stop. So, he stops at a place with iron bars on the doors and no plumbing. The late behind the counter pointed outside, where I got to visit one of these.
First time I’d seen the Yellow Pages in years.
THE SHOW
We had a great show Friday night in the historic Ritz. This theatre has been there a very long time, as you can see from this picture…
To this picture…
We love playing in old theatres that communities restore, like The Ritz.
Our thanks go to the new GM, Tim, and the sound guy Chris, whom we worked with before. The audio was so great. When the sound is that good, it makes us sound better, and makes our night so enjoyable.
Thank you to all who bought tickets…you were great. And we can’t wait to come back to Toccoa again sometime.
SATURDAY
I got up with just a little sleep under my belt and made the 7-hour drive to the Frank Brown Songwriters Festival, where I had a 12:30 show Saturday with my buddy Brent Burns at the Woodside Restaurant. We had a great crowd with a lot of familiar faces. Always a bonus to see so many friends I’ve made through the years coming here.
A couple of co-writers of mine came by, Kristie Krause, and Lauren Mascitti, with “Nana”. And Nana took a video of me performing this brand new song written with Brian White and Don Poythress a few months ago, “What Are You Waiting For”.
That hour flew by, and I then stopped at the Flora Bama to register and get my credentials and a great "goodie bag" that they hand out to the songwriters...thank you.
They take pretty good care of the writers here.
CONDO
Then I finally got to poke my head into our condo that I get to share with my “Hits & Grins” trio with Victoria Venier, and Steve Dean. With a great ocean view!
It was great to put my feet up on the deck for a couple of hours before our trio headed to “Lulu’s” to play our 6:20 pm show.
Even though the Alabama football game was on (it’s religion here in Bama with the “Roll Tide” thing, we had a great show with a crowd that really got into the music…more than the game. Made me feel like “Hits & Grins” had just beaten Alabama in a stunning upset!
Again, there were some familiar faces there with other folks from all over the country, and then there we just some big fans of songwriters who come to this great festival every year.
SUNDAY
We had a beautiful sunrise over the Gulf on Sunday morning.
We soaked up some of the sun before going to a free breakfast Freddy Powell’s widow provides every year for the songwriters. Freddy wrote a bunch of big hits before he passed at the age of 85 a few years ago, including hits for Merle Haggard and George Jones like this George classic. “I Always Get Lucky With You”.
Then I had a 12:30 show at the Barometer Waterfront Grille in Orange Beach with Brent Burns. Once again, a lot of wonderful familiar faces were out front who made us feel great with their applause and laughter.
THE FLORA-BAMA
Sunday evening found our “Hits & Grins” trio playing in the Main Room at the Flora-Bama, which most songwriters compare to playing at the Bluebird in Nashville. It’s SUCH a great listening room, and has been for a very long time. A place any songwriter wants to play.
And last night the room was packed. Gosh, what a great crowd. We had so much fun, and as a bonus, we invited our friend Wil Nance, a Missouri buddy, to sit in and play fiddle, which gave our set even more thump. There was consistent loud applause, and lots of laughter going on out in front of us…the way we like it. And when our last note faded, we were rewarded with a raucous standing ovation from the crowd. We hated having to stop!
Thank you to all who made last night one for the books for sure.
MORE ON TELLURIDE
The song that’s currently number one on the Banjo Radio Chart…
Telluride by Caroline Owens, a song I wrote with Andrea Pearson, received some more good news. I’ll let Caroline pass the news along right HERE.
That’s big news for anyone making bluegrass music, as more people listen to Bluegrass Radio on XM than any other outlet, so more folks are going to start hearing this fun song about “hitching a ride”…to TELLURIDE.
SONG OF THE DAY
I’m going to make this Alex Miller, Emily Ann Roberts duet, “More Country Than You,” our “Song of the Day” again.
Over the weekend, Alex let me know that Alec Baldwin, the actor, put a “like” on the song. Looks legit, so that’s kind of cool. And, on Instagram Alex shared a couple of young kids singing this tune I wrote with him and Emily Ann. I always love it when someone else wants to sing it too. And this song is truly fun.
HEALTH NOTES
Haagen-Dazs has recalled their ice cream bars in over 30 states over an undeclared wheat allergy risk.
Pfizer has agreed to buy the weight-loss drug startup Metsera in a deal that could be worth more than 10 BILLION dollars following a heated bidding war.
Not good to hear. Experts are warning that this could be the worst flu season in more than a decade.
HERE’S YOUR SIGN
Great. Just as I was getting to walk in drunk, cursing with my pet penguin.
THIS YEAR’S CHRISTMAS BRAWL
That would be over the new Starbucks Christmas mug, “Bearista”.
(Pic
Folks reportedly line up for hours hoping to get one, and a brawl broke out at one Starbucks between folks trying to grab one. Wow. You can just put my Pike in a Styrofoam cup…I’m good.
HARD TO BELIEVE
The Farmer’s Almanac, which has been around since for 208 years, is closing shop. There goes your long-range weather predictions. I remember many bathrooms having a copy nearby when I was growing up—no more. I guess folks will start putting an iPad or Kindle in bathrooms now.
JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Over 2,500 flights were cancelled over the weekend because of the government shutdown. No time to be trying to grab a plane to Grandma’s house. You might want to call Uber for your ride to Granny’s this year.
SOME HEADLINE HERE
“Teacher of the Year Placed On Leave After Allegedly Trying to Mow Down Baby Daddy In a Walmart Parking Lot”.
I know Walmart allows trucks and RVs to park on their lots overnight, but I don’t THINK they encourage running down your “Babby Daddies” on their asphalt. I could be wrong, of course.
MEGA
The Mega-Millions jackpot is now over 900 million. Just saying. That’s a lot of million. Once again, since my chances are…no chance…it’s time to buy a ticket. I consider it a donation, so I’m not sure why I can’t it write if off.
TODAY’S QUOTE
Since I’ve been on the beach quite a bit lately, here’s something from my favorite Pirate Over 40 guy, Jimmy Buffett:
“If life gives you limes, make margaritas.”
TODAY
I have a complete off day down here in Gulf Shores, and even though the weather has turned a little colder, it’s still going to look pretty darned good outside my window.
Tomorrow I’m part of a Veteran’s Day show here at the festival before returning home to Nashville on Wednesday.
Have a great Monday!
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