July 2023

It’s morning and the coffee’s just starting to brew. There’s a steady drip in the kitchen as the toasty smell fills the air. The only other sound is the whirring of a ceiling fan. The heat of day is still hours away. It’s cool and humid outside. This is my favorite time of the day. Sitting quietly, anticipating the first cup of coffee and contemplating the screen of the iPad is a comforting ritual.

When the coffee’s done, I pour a cup, add milk, and sit down with my guitar. I play softly so as not to wake the house. Our dog, Millie, sleeps on her bed, dreaming of chasing something. Her legs twitch and she makes soft noises. I’m holding a guitar that I bought from my friend JT and playing a Mike Sumler song. A few sips of coffee and I can feel the day coming into focus. There is a meeting with our agent and errands to run. I’m making shrimp tacos for friends tonight so I guess it’s time to shower and get ready for the rest of the day.

I am grandfather to Bertie Sue Rocket Richmond. That’s a long name for such a tiny person. Bertie Sue slept overnight at our house for the first time a couple of weeks ago. She was having a tough time sleeping and was cranky. I know that she loves our song Lullaby. Bertie requests that my daughter, Dana, sings it to her before she goes to sleep. I figured it would be easy to settle her down if I got my guitar and sang Lullaby to her. Bertie started crying and saying, “No! Mama sings that!” I quit quickly and she calmed down. We just got back from playing the Moccasin Creek festival in Illinois. We played Lullaby and Keith asked Dana to come onstage and sing it with us. She brought Bertie up with her and we all had a pretty beautiful moment as Bertie grabbed the microphone and started singing and then eating it. Thanks to our friend Sue for capturing this on video.

We have some exciting upcoming dates. On July 11th, we’ll be in Golden City, MO playing the Miracle of Music concert series. We head to the east coast to play a couple of shows after that. We’ll be in Bryn Mawr, PA on July 23rd for the Twilight Concert Series. We’ll also be returning to Mohonk Mountain House on the 25th of July. It’s hard to believe we’re already coming up on August. We’ll be back home in Fayetteville, Arkansas with afternoon and evening shows at the Mount Sequoya Center on August 5th. Hope to see you at some of those shows.

Troutfully yours,

Ezra & Keith