Skip to main content

Thank You Veterans...Great Shows On The Gulf Coast...Veteran Show Tonight

BILL BLOG

Monday November 11, 2024

 

Monday morning…last day on the beach. And a very happy Veteran’s Day to all of you who serve, have served, or have family that serve our country.



 

And one way some honor our veterans is by wearing a poppy which seems to have originated in the UK. But I can remember seeing my Dad wear a poppy when I was very young and growing up in Missouri and not understanding why. I sure do now.

 

THE WEEKEND

Friday was all about getting registered for the 40th Annual Frank Brown Songwriters Festival down here in Gulf Shores before two shows on Friday. The volunteers and staff take good care of the nearly 200 writers that come and play this festival every year. They give us a great “goodie” bag complete with a new T-shirt and ballcap and our official credentials to get us in and out of the venues we all need to be in to play.



 

Every day at noon the festival serves up a delicious lunch and it gives all the writers a chance to break bread, hang out and have fun but everyone goes their separate ways to separate shows scattered from Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and all the way into Pensacola.


 

 

SHOW WITH AN OLD FRIEND

At 5 pm I was at the Woodside Restaurant at Gulf State park with Brent Burns on an outdoor stage for an hour set.



 

This was the 3rd year we played on the outdoor stage at the Woodside and we had a great crowd show up. There were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd…some who make sure they come and see me and Brent every time we play together.



 

And it could not have been a nicer evening. We played a lot of songs we’ve written together through the years, and there were a lot of laughs added to the mix. It was a great way to start the festival.

 

FRIDAY NIGHT

And then I went straight from Gulf Shores over to Pensacola for a songwriter show with Wil Nance at the Warrior Beer Company. Owned by veterans…it’s a craft brew place that just opened this year.



 

Wil and I followed our friends Steve Dean and Mutt Cooper Friday night.



 

An old friend, Joe Engle who played guitar for me and my band back in the day…and for Wil as well, lives in Gulf Shores now…and he made the trip over for the show. Wil got him up to play lead guitar on a Texas Swing song of his “It Takes AllKinds” that George Strait recorded…and Joe sounded better than ever. That was a nice treat.



 

There was a great crowd there as well and Wil and I got a nice standing O after we finished our little songwriter set. Cool new venue in Pensacola. Glad we were one of the first to play there.



 

SATURDAY SHOW

Another great songwriter show Saturday night. This time with Steve Dean and we worked with Rhonda Hart for the first time who took the place of Victoria Venier in our “Hits & Grins” trio who couldn’t be here this year. Though Rhonda lives down here on the Gulf she spent time in Nashville and lived with artist Deanna Carter. And that led to her having this hit “Did I Shave My Legs For This” for Deanna that she sang to loud applause Saturday night



 

It was great getting to know and hear her. And thank you to the great crowd that showed up to listen!

 

SUNDAY NIGHT SHOW
Last night Steve Dean, Brent Burns and I played in the Main Listening Room at the world famous Flora-Bama.



 

To me, this listening room ranks as high as the Bluebird Café in Nashville as far as songwriter venues go. Audiences are so great there and last night was no exception for the three of us.



 

It’s just a pleasure to play that room every single time. Great audience and the 1 hour set we did flew by way too fast.

 

SONG OF THE DAY

Since it’s Veteran’s Day I’m going to share the song “Let Me Shake Your Hand” that was inspired by my friend Brent Burns who is a purple hear recipient. He served…I did not…and that’s what this song is all about. This VIDEO was shot several years ago when the two of us did a show down here. The lighting is not great…but you’ll get to hear his story and mine in this song-video.

 

STILL ON THE CHARTS

The Bluegrass Gospel 12 Chart came out this week and I’m blessed to have 2 songs on it that I helped write. “Country Faith” by Kristen Leigh Bearfield and gospel star Karen Peck is #6.

 

And “God Never Made A Mountain” by Kristy Cox is #9.

 

Always good news for a songwriter to see their songs on any chart. Thank you to my co-writers on those two songs Andrea Pearson, Josh Shilling, Kristen Leigh Bearfield & Bob Minner.



 

HEALTH NOTES

Australia is moving towards banning social media for kids 16 and under. Research is saying that it’s toxic for children’s mental health.

 

An expert says that hearing loss is the biggest disability among military veterans.

 

Here’s one for you. A psychologist suggest that listening to Christmas music too early can have negative effects on your mental health. (And what about those who started watching Hallmark Christmas movies a MONTH ago?

 

HERE’S YOUR SIGN


Well...something was!

 

GRAMMY NOMINATIONS

The face of country music has most surely changed. The leading Grammy nominees in the “Country” category this year are Beyonce’, Post Malone, Jelly Roll, Shaboozey and Kacey Musgraves. Nope. That ain’t your Loretta, Merle, Jones, Garth nor Patsy list folks.

 

SOBERING

7 people are still missing and 102 are dead in North Carolina from hurricane Helene. Beyond tragic.

 

IF YOU OWN A HOME
Then over the past 5 years you’ve done pretty well. You’ve made at least $150,000 according to those in the real estate know.

 

FUNNY PARENTING TIP

A Mom wrote this. “I haven’t talked to my sons for a few days so I changed the Hulu, Netflix and Amazon passwords. I heard from all 3 of them within 20 minutes.”

 

HEADLINE OF THE DAY

My Boyfriend Forgot I Broke Up With Him After Getting A Concussion…Now We’re Married. (I’m going to need a minute to digest that one)

 

TODAY

Final day here on the Gulf Coast and it will be special as I’ll be part of special Veteran’s Day show here at the festival with Freedom Sings USA. Myself and songwriters Bobby Tomberlin, Steve Dean, Wil Nance and Mutt Cooper will be on stage at the beautiful Coastal Arts Museum in Orange Beach singing songs we’ve written with our veterans.



 

The veteran I wrote with in Orange Beach recently, Larry Perino will there. Larry was in the middle of “Blackhawk Down” and I’ll be singing his song “Make It Matter”.



 

It should be a goose bumpy emotional kind of concert this evening giving all of us to say “thank you” to our veterans and veteran families.


Have a great Monday!

 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Bluebird Show...New Album In The Mail...An Interview With An Old Friend

BILL BLOG Tuesday November 26, 2024   Tuesday morning…couple days away from carving the turkey. 50 for the high today here in Music City…bracing for some cold weather on the way.   YESTERDAY I had nothing musical on the calendar yesterday…but had one of those “had to do” things that took up a chunk of my day. Sometimes you can’t control a calendar…the calendar controls you and give you no choice. But there was some good news that came rolling in.   NEW SHOW On Tuesday January 28 I’ll be hosting a songwriter round at the world famous Bluebird Café. And the great part about this news is that I’m going to be able to add my longtime friend Brent Burns to this show…something that’s been a bucket list item for him.   And I’m so glad that I’m the one who will get to make this happen for him. EVERY songwriter wants to play the Bluebird. And somehow, even though my friend lived in Nashville and wrote very seriously for a long while, he ne...

Trio of Writers...Post CMA...Alligator Bread

BILL BLOG Friday November 22, 2024   Friday…the weekend be here! Little chillier going into the weekend with a high of just 49 today and the low tonight will dip down to 37.   YESTERDAY I rhymed with two friends yesterday Rick Lang and Kristy Cox . Though I have written with both many times, and each of them have recorded songs I’ve written with them, it was the first time the three of us sat down together. And yesterday we wrote a gospel song idea that Rick brought with him…pretty much an entire chorus.      I was able to share with Rick that I heard one of our songs “ Church Bells A Ringin ” that’s on the Blue Collar Gospel Album-Songs of Rick Lang on Sirius-XM on the way to our appointment sung by Danny Paisley and a group of great harmony singers. That was pretty cool.     And we got to celebrate with Kristy for her album “Let It Burn” that’s up for a couple of big Golden Guitar Awards this year including Best Albu...

Turkey Day...Road Schedule...No Degree Jobs

BILL BLOG Friday November 29, 2024   Happy Friday! 32 degrees right now with a high in Nashville today of 43 before dipping to a cold 25 later this evening. Time to put the trap door up. YESTERDAY Anyone else still in a turkey coma after yesterday? My wife and I sat at a long Turkey table with the Scott family and some great friends. We could not have been in better company so thank you Chris & Hillary and Lang and Linda for inviting us.   We certainly missed seeing our daughter Heather again this year and her husband Casey who are stationed overseas with the Army right now. But we were surrounded by people we love.  I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day as well.    SONG OF THE DAY Today I’m sharing a song I wrote with Paul Bogart about his youngest daughter Gentry . Paul lives out in Oklahoma…a real deal cowboy George Strait singing son of a gun. The two of us wrote a song for both of his sons that he recorded...