This weekend marked the start of the dirt kart racing season in Eastern Ohio. Things kicked off with a great night at Little Muskie Speedway on Friday. If you love motor sports, racing, and/or America, you need to get to a dirt track!
Twenty-four years today since @holleyjohnson3 and I wed. She's the most amazing wife, mom, teacher, business woman, and livestock wrangler that a guy could ever hope to find. I love you Hojo!
Had another great time in Turkey TX. There is no better place on Earth to watch live music... or to grab breakfast, dinner, lunch, or cold beer for that matter... than @hotelturkeytx . @low__gap and The Great Divide put on a great show. @charliestout was his usual brilliant and hilarious self.
Spent a few days at @hotelturkeytx last week, and I can't wait to go back. This is an old school, small town American hotel. It's something like a cross between an Agatha Christie novel and Lonesome Dove. After 2 or 3 days, you'll know everyone staying there.
The restaurant is amazing. The menu is small, but you'll love everything on it. The business center is a table in the upstairs hallway. The fitness room is Cap Rock canyon State Park, a 20-minute drive away. The hotel was updated just in time for Eisenhower's inauguration, but that is part of the charm. It is quaint, friendly, and comfortable. The staff is outstanding. If all of that sounds good to you, make your reservations now.
It was a great week in Texas with @low__gap . Met some cool people...@charliestout@hotelturkeytx@cmataofficial@cameronallbright ...Rachel the vet student, boar hunters from Nebraska, Morgan, Corey the rancher, Chance the manager...
The band sounded great and they learned a lot about life on the road. They'll be in Texas for another week, wrapping up with a show at the Blue Light in Lubbock.
It is a real joy to get to spend time with your sons doing the things and going to places that you've always enjoyed. Walking around the Fort Worth Stockyards and stopping in at @billybobstexas . Eating at @coopersbbqatx . Hiking through some of the most beautiful terrain in God's creation.
Many thanks to everyone who has welcomed Low Gap to their venue and has come out for shows and have said generous things about the band. Hopefully, Miss Holley and I will get more chances to see the guys on the road in the future.
It's going to take some effort to keep this post short.
I got the coolest phone call tonight. When I answered, it was Phinehas Paul - He said "I'm with somebody you need to speak to"... Then, a voice I recognized immediately came on the line and said "Hey Dad, this is Robert Earl Keen".
Robert Earl Keen is the best country and western recording artist. Ever. I first heard him on the radio when I was a freshman at the University of Kentucky in 1994. There was a great college radio station in Lexington in those days, and on Sunday afternoons, they played what we would today call Americana music. Robert Earl Keen was a favorite on their playlists.
This post isn't really about REK... But it could be. In the 30 years since I first heard him, he's done nothing but produce excellence. So many recording artists do their best work in their twenties, and then just ride that success for the next 50 years. But not REK. He has aged like a fine bourbon. Maybe that will be the subject of a future post.
This post is about Gus and Phinehas. They are amazing young men. They work hard at their music, and they're good at it. I don't think there's anything that makes a dad prouder than when his sons appreciate the same things he did, and when they excel at those things. They're in Nashville right now playing at a music festival. Some very cool things have happened during that festival, including a guest appearance during one of their gigs by Read Connolly (Read is another hero who deserves his own post). But, when they had the opportunity to see REK in concert, there is nothing that was going to keep them from that. And when he came out and spoke with them after the show, their first thought was to call me so that I could say hi to my hero.
Thank you to Robert Earl Keen. Thank you to Kym Warner (in photo with Phin..Phin's inspiration for picking up the mandolin). They say you don't want to meet your heroes, but the boys met their heroes tonight, and they came away more excited about their career choice than ever. @readconnolly@robertearlkeen1@low__gap@tgrassbaugh_@keystoneartistconnect@gradywsmith@kym_warner
