Billy Kemp

Back in Tennessee

Going to Britain in May was much warmer than on our last tour in November of 2017, which was a chilly one. I toured Britain five or six times, always in May, and had wanted to try a different time of the year. I remember one night on the November 2017 tour when we were so cold, and so ready for more than just moments of sunshine. That’s an expression you’ll hear in a BBC weather forecast that always makes me smile. But enough about the weather.

Note to folks traveling with carry-on instruments. British Airways can’t guarantee the space anymore. Their overhead bins are smaller now and not as wide. Had it not been for a hanging bag closet, our instruments would have gone into the checked baggage hold. That may have been the end of Lomo and Mildred, our Martin guitar and Lyon & Healy banjo.

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We hired a small, compact Renault Captur that served us well. Driving on the wrong side of the road, shifting with your left hand and driving on roads meant for horses has become familiar enough. I am grateful all was well, considering the many squirrels driving way too fast and texting. In York we had to park under some trees that were having a bird gathering. They covered the car with digested mushy peas and chips that would have worked well in plaster repair. It was laughable.

We are grateful to all of our hosts, presenters and friends who kindly shared their homes, concert venues and new stories with us. Our tour was called The Pour Tour because of the new record, The Painter’s Bucket, and we poured songs out of the bucket, as well as many cups of builder’s tea and a few bitter pints. Builders Tea is a strong, thick, sweet made tea with milk and often multiple teaspoons of sugar. Boiling water, poured over a teabag (black Assam) placed directly in a mug. Then stirred with a spoon, a drum stick or any building site implement that comes to hand until it’s strongly steeped. Yes indeed. No shortage of caffeine.

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It’s good to be home in Liberty for a couple of weeks. We’ve had a visit with Willy, our neighbor’s bull and the girls. They added two calves to the herd while we were gone. They love bread and apples. We’ve cut the grass and weeded some of the garden. The basil, sorrel, thyme, sage and chamomile are doing fine, but the peppermint isn’t. I was amazed at how well the herbs had done since we hadn’t seen them in over six weeks.

In the winter we had stink bugs and Japanese beetles. Now we’re having the millipedes. If anybody has any ideas about how to collect rent from them or how to evict them, please let me know. We’ve tried peppermint oil, diatomaceous earth and Ortho home defense.

We got to go to the Smithville Jamboree this past weekend and had a big time. We heard some great music, saw our friends from Quarter Springs Farm, picked a few banjos at the Nashville Banjo Company booth and got some chocolate honey from The Honeybee Farm & Pantry.

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We have some new venues coming up later this month in Abingdon, Roanoke and Jonesborough. Here’s a link to the shows page. Then in late July and early August we’ll be in the mid-Atlantic doing shows from Hanover, Virginia to Brunswick, Maryland. We’re looking forward to the new venues, as well as the older familiar ones. I will be doing a radio interview on Sunday, July 28 at 11 am with Robbie White and Weasel on Forbidden Alliance at WOWD-LP Takoma Park Community Radio.

I will be doing an update to the website hopefully before we head out for the mid-Atlantic tour on July 26. Don’t forget, you can listen to all of the music from the Another Life record as well as the latest, The Painter’s Bucket at my website.

Looking forward to seeing you at a show while we pour songs and stories from The Painter’s Bucket, as well as a few cups of tea and some bitter pints.

Much Happiness,

Billy