I wrapped up the Bay Station Duo Go Out and Make Some Spring Tour with Kwame Copeland a couple days ago. Wowza. Over the past three+ weeks, we drove more than 6000 miles to play 22 shows in 15 states (including two double-days, one radio station, and (at least) one former brothel). We crossed the Mississippi River multiple times, skirted the base of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, and landed in the Mojave Desert. We ate tacos in New Mexico, hush puppies in Louisiana and fresh fruit pie wherever we could get it. Along the way, we happily gained a sense of the local music scenes in Nashville and San Antonio, connected with fellow touring artists in Dallas and Atlanta, and resumed old friendships in Austin and Chapel Hill. It was great to share our music with new ears, and get that much more inspired. Travel to different corners of the US is simply eye-opening.
Indeed, we experienced a sampler plate of what half the country has to offer: it's good, bad and ugly, red and blue. We were treated with the South's trademark charm while being constantly reminded of its oppressive and violent history. We talked to committed and aggrieved voters in Arizona, played the "only blue county" in Kansas, and were subjected to the gamut of political billboards in Missouri and Texas.
Mostly, we felt very fortunate to have music as our compass through such varied terrain, as it led us toward many warm-hearted and generous souls. I now feel much like I did when I finished a ride on the Big Dipper during childhood summer excursions to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: "when can we go again?"
While I figure that out, we’ve a whole bunch of fun shows lined up around the San Francisco Bay Area during the next few weeks. Find my schedule and Bay Station's, at our sites:
www.deborahcrooks.com
www.baystationband.com
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