RE-STRING APPALACHIA
The ol' ‘Star 19’ guitar (photo below) has been getting a good workout lately. With back-to-back-to-back tours it has traveled some miles in the last couple months. Although I alternate between it and a 2nd ‘working’ guitar, equally loved, the ‘voice’ of the Star has suited the recent tours a little better, so it has taken on the lion-share of my recent work. I have a 3rd working guitar at home but it hasn't come out of its case in over a year, which makes me a bit twitchy as it should be played a lot. So when I heard about Re-String Appalachia, my ears pricked up. Their mission is to get instruments back in the hands of those who lost them in Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton last Autumn (2024). At the time my thoughts went to my musician colleagues, especially the friends and acquaintances Jo & I have in the mountains of Western North Carolina, a place we love to visit, but also a hot-bed for acoustic music and musicians. Come to find out the losses for many were astronomical. And, to be fair, replacing a beloved instrument is far down the list of priorities when your house is wiped out and you've got to find a new place for you and your family to live. Re-String Appalachia steps into that gap trying to place guitars, fiddles, banjos and the like with the players that lost them. They've just found a new home for that 3rd guitar of mine and soon it will be in the hands of someone who will play it, record with it and gig with it. Over the years I've been in acoustic music, I've been looked after and helped by so many people. Now maybe it's time for me to join with others and help with the helping. Loads of people have caught the vision of Re-String Appalachia. Earlier this week I read that banjo ‘super-stars’ Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn donated a load of banjos. It's 100% right that those North Carolina Appalachian hills are now ringing with the sound of those gifted banjos. Lord knows the world needs all the music, singing and harmony we can muster. Now more than ever.
READ MORE ABOUT IT ALL HERE. (photo by Oren B. Helbok)
BROOKS & AARON GIGS MARCH 2025
13th Garstang Replugged, Garstang, Preston
15th Manley Village Hall, Frodsham, Cheshire
17th The Bell Inn, Bath
25th Blue Room Sessions, Den Bosch, The Netherlands
26th Crossroads Radio Concert, @ de Kaai, Bergen Op Zoom, The Netherlands
27th Cultuurpodium De Speelplaats, De Harmoniezaal, Tegelen, The Netherlands
USA “WORKING HOLIDAY” TOUR APRIL 2025
April
5th Sunroom Songwriter’s Series House Concerts, Dover, DE USA
6th Blues Cafe, Southbury, CT USA
11th PFM Concert, Bass Hall, Peterborough, NH USA
12th Golden Link, Rochester NY USA
SOLO TOUR UK APRIL + MAY + JUNE 2025
April
24th Loughton Folk Club, Loughton, Essex UK
26th St Saviour’s Community Centre, Retford, Nottinghamshire UK
27th The Green Note, Matinee Show!, Camden, London UK
May
1st The Doublet, Glasgow UK
2nd Stonehaven Folk Club, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire UK
4th Bothy Folk Club, Southport, Merseyside UK
8th Folk At The Bridge, Milford On Sea, Hampshire UK
9th Rampton Village Hall, Rampton, Cambridgeshire UK
10th Folk On The Pier, Cromer, Norfolk UK
11th Tredegar House Festival, Newport, South Wales UK
14th Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, Cumbria UK
15th House Concert, Seaton Sluice, Northumberland UK
18th Hitchin Folk Club, Hitchin, Hertfordshire UK
31st (tbc) Knox Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA USA
June
6th-7th Arisaig Americana Festival, Inverness-shire, Scotland UK
14th Beardy Folk Festival, (Nr) Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire
15th Brackley Folk & Acoustic Club, Brackley, Northamptonshire
27th Bingham Folk Club, Bingham, Nottinghamshire
PLAYLIST 2503 LET THE SUN BEGIN!
Use the code at the bottom of this email to access the tracks.
NEW VIDEO!
Be the first to view the premier of the video of “I Know Why You Moved Away,” filmed on tour a couple weeks ago. Watch it HERE.