Hey friends: Let's have a brighter 2017 together. And lots of music.

I've been a big fan of Sarah & Johnny's music since we met at the Edisto River with jack Williams & Chuck Brodsky around 1999. I got snowed in at Arlo's house while touring the Northeast, and enjoyed their company and hospitality for a few days waiting out the storm. I'll never forget watching Johnny play Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings" on piano and then having to use my car like a pinball to get down the mountain after the snow was piled head high enough to slide / bounce down.

I LOVE Kim's music. And I love her as a person. Dave Potts, on the other hand, is a long-time friend and somewhat of a living legend ... at eating wings, Fantasy Baseball, bad jokes and writing great songs.

Jen and Jeff have been friends for nearly 20 years. (Holy shit I'm getting old) Their music and fiery performances are only eclipsed by how ridiculously awesome they are at being humans on this earth. Go listen >

I played bass w/ Taylor Hicks all through college at Auburn University. Before he hammed it up on stage at American Idol, he sang like Otis Redding backed by the Allman Brothers in our band Passing Through. All tv-star-crooning aside, I have watched him sincerely serenade Waffle House waitresses into tears and sorority girls into swoons. 

My wife, Amy, introduced me to the writing / blogging of Glennon Melton in a time when my disorder had me pretty handicapped and hopeless. Glennon has been there and writes so truthfully and hopefully about dealing with addiction, disease, parenthood and life's messiness. We were lucky enough to hang for a moment in Nashville and she's become one of my favorite foul-mouthed spiritual gurus :) Momastery.com

Have hosted these two brilliant souls a couple times and did a lot of late-night hanging at Folk Alliance. Go listen. Kim Richie & Danny Mitchell

Jack Williams is a friend, a mentor and one of the finest musicians, songwriters and entertainers the folk music world has seen. Go see him live now >

Glen Phillips (you may know him from Toad the Wet Sprocket) is my hero. In the 90s he was writing socially-conscious "alt" rock that snuck onto the airwaves and into the bedrooms of budding songwriters like me. Since Toad, he has released stellar albums that offer more intimate, present and compassionate glimpses into a world Glen shares with us. I've had the honor of hosting him in concert, shared too much wine and great conversations about family, suffering & celebration. Glad to have him on the planet with us. Go listen >  (The fabulous Ben Glover in the background)

At Folk Alliance Conference finally meeting Eric Heywood who played on "Before We Land" while I watched on Skype.

Post-concert shot at Iron City in Birmingham. Before Matthew and Phosphorescent became household names in the indie music / alt-folk / Americana world, we used to get drunk and play John Prine & Lyle Lovett songs in his apartment in Auburn, AL. He's still one of my favorite songwriters for his pure, intense, torturously beautiful sermons in song. Go listen >

In 2015, we made a trek to our old college stomping grounds to play tunes by Widespread, the Dead, Allman Brothers and other hippie-soul sounds. It was nostalgic at most. I just wanted to go to sleep before start-time.