Hi buddies!
Happy Spring! I’m writing from Knoxville, which is already green and blooming. Hopefully Chicago will follow soon.
Last month I released The Ceiling Reposes, which I celebrated with a sold out show at the International Museum of Surgical Science. It was a special night, surrounded by many friends, new and old. It really is wonderfully humbling and beautiful to perform for a room full of listening humans. Thank you to everyone who joined me that night and/or has listened to the album from afar!
I’ll be sharing a video of (at least some of) the performance soon.
If you want to see, a few people wrote some nice words about the album, here, here, and here.
Then I immediately went on tour up the West Coast with my dear friend Macie Stewart, opening with my solo set and also playing in her band. Macie is such an inspiring musician and person, and it was a real pleasure to spend a couple of weeks with her. I also got to see my grandma, my mama, and three high school friends!
I’m playing this weekend at Big Ears Festival with Macie and with Makaya McCraven, and then April is quieter — I’m diving into some recording and mixing, and spending more time at home. But —
a few shows:
April 1st: Solo and in collaboration with Elizabeth Metzger, 7pm Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee
April 8th: Honestly Same (-Zach Good) and a trio of Nick Meryhew, Ishmael Ali, and Jasmine Mendoza, 7pm Comfort Station, Chicago
April 21st: String ensemble led by Pascal Niggenkemper, with Anton Hatwich, Katie Ernst, Katinka Kleijn, Jason Roebke, and I. Doug Fogelson Studio (1821 West Hubbard St. Suite 208), Chicago
April 26th: Solo, sharing a bill with Eli Winter and Perfect Skin. 7pm, Color Club, Chicago
April 29th: Honestly Same, 2pm May Chapel, Chicago
tiny recommendations:
I did almost no watching or reading this month, but I am so excited to read Elizabeth’s new book.
N and I started watching Star Trek: Next Generation which is…so weird. Does it get better? Someone please tell me.
I’m remembering my Uncle David Lance Goines, an amazing print artist who died this month. And a less celebrated but equally wonderful artist, my great aunt Betty, who died at age 98. She was an organist and pianist, and an enthusiastic lover of music.
I love this Ottolenghi chickpea pasta, which I was craving when I got back from tour, so simple and savory. We substituted the gigli with fusili bucati, a birthday gift from my friend E.
On that note, pasta is a very good birthday gift!
The best roadside stop on our tour was Keough Hot Springs, which was just the perfect temperature to soak in while looking at the snowy Eastern Sierras:
Finally, there is a historic mayoral election in Chicago on April 4th. I am wholeheartedly supporting Brandon Johnson, who’s platform is one of the most progressive and compassionate I’ve ever voted for. If you’re in Chicago and haven’t made a plan to vote, please do! City elections are often so much more impactful than national ones.
That’s all for now! See you soon, I hope.
Lia