Vancouver, Washington
March 19th, 2008

My wife Debbie reminded me it was time for some new notes, so here they are;

It has been such a busy, productive year I scarcely know where to begin; except to say I am wonderully blessed by Debbie in my life, my

dear freinds and band members, and by my son, Dylan, moving back to the Pacific Northwest this year.

My book (along with Dick Weissman, co-writer, pal, and editor extraordinare) "Promoting Your Music; The Lovin of the Game", came out in June to good reviews. It is available most everywhere, either in the rack at your local bookstore, by ordering it online at my web store, Amazon.com, etc, or from me at a live performance. You can read some reviews elsewhere on this site.

July and early August were filled witl concerts in Wyoming, Colorado, and Nevada with my dear freind Chris Kennedy. The Black Forest concert in Colorado was a real highlight, as were all the Carson City shows. We all spent an extra night in Denver with my freind and piano player from days gone by, Avery Grimes and his lovely Eve.

Also in August, I was very honored to be asked to do a concert at the Rose Garden Ampitheatre/Washington Park Concert Series. The weather that day turned out to be less than optimal, but the quartet (including Peggie Moje on fiddle) sounded great.

Those were also the months to finish songs for the new CD, including "Celilo Falls", (with Fuzzy Purcell) "Yukon Journey", and "The Eyes of Rembrandt".

September began the long process of rehearsals, writing charts, and beginning to record "Blue Roads, Red Wine" at Billy Oskay's wonderful Big Red Studio close on to Mt. Hood Oregon; where I also recorded "Vested"

Throughout the autumn, we chipped away at that new project. I was very gratifyed that my old freind, Andrew Calhoun, believed in me enough to make the commitment to release the new CD on his highly respected national label, "Waterbug".

In October Donny Wright traveled with me to do a lovely concert at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. December opened with a lovely concert, again featuring the quartet, at lovely Skamania Lodge. There was a romantic skiff of snow to mark a magical winter evening in front of a full house.

All through the year, there were the 7 nights a month shows at Kells in downtown Portland, and assorted other concerts and gigs of all descriptions.

December 19th we finished up the recording process for "Blue Roads, Red Wine" with a memorable session with Nolan Murray, fiddle/mandolin player for the super-celtic group Tillers Folly. Bruce Coughlan, writer and singer from the group, was also there; and lent some nice harmonies.

Fuzzy Purcell, Billy Oskay, and I mixed the CD in three long days after Christmas, and mastered it the following week.

In January a notable show was the wonderful "Winter Folk Festival" in Florence, Oregon. Though I opened the festival with a set at 10:45 in the morning, I had almost 300 people in attendance by the end of the set. My son, Dylan May, did a terrific job playing bass on that set.

Then, Time for "Winterfolk 20" at the Aladdin Theatre. The tickets wre thankfully sold out before the door opened. All the performers played great, and Peter Yarrow closing the show was inspirational, and a joy.

Just a week later, the new CD "Blue Roads, Red Wine" was unofficially released at the Alberta St. Public House. It became knd of a "mini Winterfolk" and a really nice evening.

The CD goes out to 450 radio stations this month, and its official street date in stores around the country is April 22nd. If you get a copy, I promise you will not be dissappointed- It is the best work I have ever done.

Coming Up? Concerts and "River City Folk" radio tapings in Omaha in April; A Seattle CD release concert for the Folklore Society, and the Juan De Fuca Festival in Port Angeles, a concert for the Portland Folklore Society in June; The Trout Lake Festival (Washington ) and a special quartet concert in Salem, then off to Colorado and Wyoming for shows.
August I will be at the Maryhill Winery on the Columbia River. Lots of other things in the works too.

I am so grateful for all of you listening and giving me the privilege to do this profession for the last 36 years........

Cheers!

Tom May