Bill's Blog

BILL BLOG Monday, May 11, 2026   Another Monday morning has rolled around. A little rain is falling early this morning, but the day will bring a high of 75 with sunshine in Nashville today. Pretty near perfect.   THE WEEKEND It was pretty quiet at the Whyte House . I did get to watch my Cincinnati Reds break an 8-game losing streak. Got to the gym a couple of times, and did a little yard work. (Not my favorite thing in the world) And we quietly celebrated Mother’s Day.   My wife once told me not to buy expensive flowers, but to get a cheap arrangement. In fact, she said, “Just get me cheap flowers and dark chocolate.” So, guess what she got for Mother’s Day? This…   And this…   Made her laugh. Hope you treated the Moms in your life this well.     THE ROAD AHEAD I’ve had a little time off the road, but that’s about to change, as between now and the end of June, I’ll be busy. I’ll be playing in three towns in Illinois: Marion,...

BILL BLOG Friday, May 8, 2026   Friday morning, ready for the weekend.   17 tornadoes touched down in Mississippi yesterday, taking a bunch of houses with them. 17! Geez.   Here in Nashville, calmer. A high of 74 is expected today.   YESTERDAY Caroline Owens and I tackled another song yesterday, and that’s always fun. Caroline is a hit artist on Billy Blue Records, with a great voice, plays guitar, plays great piano, AND she can fly-fish and tie her own flies.     Oh, and she’s a great songwriter as well. Her #1 song, “ Telluride, ” which I wrote with Andrea Pearson, is up for IBMA consideration for “Best Bluegrass Song of the Year,” so we both have our fingers crossed that the song might make the final ballot. We’ll know soon.      She’s got a big show with her band coming up in town soon at the world-famous Station Inn , and I’m planning on being there that night to hear her sing that song and others.   ...

BILL BLOG Thursday, May 7, 2027   Thursday it is…all day.   Crazy weather across the country for early May. In South Texas, they’re asking folks to stay indoors because of the extreme heat. Meanwhile, in the Rockies, there was a huge snowstorm.   Here in Nashville, it’s cool, with a high of just 66 today.   YESTERDAY I got to catch up with Pennsylvania friend Troy Engle for the first time since he joined “Kentucky Thunder”, Ricky Skagg’s great band.      Troy is playing a lot of different instruments for Ricky: fiddle, banjo, steel guitar, guitar, dobro, mandolin, and whatever else Ricky might need. And he’s singing harmony as well. Did I mention how talented Troy is? This is Troy sitting behind the steel guitar with the band.      I’m so happy for my friend, as this was his dream job. He’s already played for Eric Church, Tom T. Hall, The Isaacs , and others, but this was the one job that he wanted so muc...

BILL BLOG Wednesday, May 6, 2026   And here it is…the first “Hump Day” in May. Wednesday. And it’s bringing rain to Nashville, with a high of just 58 today.   YESTERDAY I had a great lunch meeting with my “ Evening in the Round ” partners, Lang Scott & Linda Davis .     It was great catching up and pulling out our calendars to compare notes about where the road is going to take us between now and the end of April 2027. We will be playing shows in that time frame in Tennessee, New Mexico, Texas, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina for sure, with more dates to come.   The first of those dates will be in Mountain City, Tennessee, on August 22 at the Heritage Hall Theatre for a 7 pm show, with another possible date in North Carolina either the night before or on the 23 rd . Stay tuned for info on that.      And I’m certainly looking forward to returning to the beautiful Spencer Theatre i...