BILL BLOG
Tuesday September 2, 2025
The holiday weekend is over, it’s Tuesday, and it’s back to work. 82 degree high on tap for Nashville today with some light rain.
YESTERDAY
There was no Labor at the Whyte House yesterday. How about you? Watched some kind of Reds game yesterday as the good guys pulled one out at the end against the Toronto Blue Jays, then settled in and watched Bill Belichick’s debut as a college football coach for the North Carolina Tarheels, which did not go well for him.
I also did a little advance work booking hotel rooms for a couple of road trips coming up. One for a baseball trip to Cincinnati, where I’ll catch two games, Reds vs Pirates…and then a trip to Chattanooga for the IBMA (International Bluegrass Association) Convention. I’ll be there a couple of the 4 days, and I’ll be there on the evening of September 18 for the big Bluegrass Awards Show that Steve Martin will host (yeah…that Steve Martin) and his banjo-playing buddy Alison Brown.
I’m blessed because one of my songs is up for the Gospel Bluegrass Recording of the Year. That would be “Blue Collar Gospel” from Jerry Salley and the Oak Ridge Boys, which I wrote Jerry. and Rick Lang. Fingers crossed.
SPEAKING OF BLUEGRASS
What a nice digital poster this is that Billy Blue Records just released, promoting the new single “Telluride” from Caroline Owens that I wrote with Andrea Pearson.
Andrea and her band will be performing at the IBMA this year, and I’ll be there to hear her and her band play our song “live” for the first time. That will be a moment.
SONG OF THE DAY
Since I’ve blogged so much about bluegrass music, today’s song is a bluegrass-gospel song from Troy Engle that we wrote together titled “Never Too Lost”.
Within the last couple of weeks, Troy joined one of the best bands in the land, Kentucky Thunder to play behind the great Ricky Skaggs. I could not be happier for my multi-talented friend. Last week, Ricky, the band, and Troy played a beautiful theater in Lancaster, PA, where I played a few years ago with Linda Davis and Lang Scott, opening for the great Gene Watson. Troy lives in Pennsylvania, so his family and friends got to see him playing with Ricky. What a thrill, I know that was. Troy is the one holding the fiddle in this picture.
HEALTH NOTES
A new study has found that drinking beetroot juice, rich in nitrates, can help reduce blood pressure in older adults. (I’m waiting for the study that says Mac n Cheese will do the same)
Scientists have found that activating (exercising) the small calf muscle, through a seated movement, can dramatically improve blood sugar and metabolism.
More good news for coffee drinkers. An FDA review says 3-5 cups of coffee a day may lead to a longer life.
HERE’S YOUR SIGN
I always love football fans who keep up with the game.
JOHN MADDEN
Speaking of football. They are making a movie about the beloved coach and longtime football broadcaster John Madden. And actor Nicolas Cage was chosen to portray him. When I read that, I thought, No way. Then I saw this picture.
So now I want to see it.
Madden made watching an NFL game more fun. And he had lots of great moments, including THIS TIME when he made the call on a pigeon that landed on the field in the middle of a football play.
NO BILLIONAIRES
Nobody won again last night. Including me! The Powerball drawing so no winners again, and it’s now worth 1.3 BILLION dollars. Which brings us to that old lottery joke.
What’s the difference between a man arguing with his wife and a man with a lottery ticket? The man with a lottery ticket actually has a chance to win.
VEGAS
For the 6th straight month, Las Vegas has lost visitors. Higher hotel prices, higher everything is being blamed. I kind of think the fact that you can find a casino now on every corner, and you can place a bet on your phone, has something to do with it as well.
I have to admit it doesn’t appeal to me anymore either. If I went, I’d want to go check out the Sphere more than I would want to hit a buffet line or the craps table. Oh, and right now the Wizard of Oz is playing at the Sphere, and they’re saying it’s truly remarkable.
My favorite ever trip to Vegas was when my radio show went there to cover a TV Awards show. Everything was paid for except for gambling, so what’s not to like? I did a broadcast every morning for two or three days in a row with a lot of other radio stations. There was a country room, a rock room, an R&B room, and the artists who came in to be interviewed would be taken to the proper room. But I looked up from my broadcast table one time to see Gene Simmons of Kiss playing harmonica with the country group Trick Pony. THAT was a surreal moment.
SURVEY SAYS
Half of all Americans admit to ordering kids’ meals. They’re saving money, and they like the smaller portion sizes. (I order them for the free toy myself.)
TODAY’S HEADLINE
Tuna Fishing Threatens The Mermaid Population. (I’ve suspected that for the last time. I mean, when’s the last time you saw a danged Mermaid?)
TODAY
My Labor Day weekend has extended one more day before getting back to writing, and hitting the road this weekend with Freedom Sings USA.
Have a great Tuesday!
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