Pool Party

May 3, 2010

Misty Loggins



Shane Hines

Pool Party

In addition to the many hours that Kathy & I spend attending the Key West Songwriters’ Festival each year; we also always try to find some time to help out, joining the many wonderful volunteers to help out the staff at an event or two, something small to give back a little to the wonderful event. This year we signed up for the Saturday afternoon Pool Party at the Southernmost on the Beach hotel, which was pretty much as it sounds a stage set-up poolside allowing people to listen to an afternoon of music while lounging in the sun.

Kathy & Trevor

The Roys

There are always a few of these type of beach or pool parties each year, taking advantage of the beautiful sunshine and beachside settings that are found in Key West. In the past, these have at times turned into somewhat raucous affairs as the songwriters enjoy the music, the sun, the water, the booze and more, but this afternoon was very relaxed and sedate.

Misty Loggins





Kathy & I joined our “lead” Trevor in handing out free samples of suntan oil, bags and brochures to the crowd. We set up next to the bar for the greatest exposure and spent the day relaxing and hanging out in what I really have a difficult time describing as work. If work involves listening to great music, while hanging out in a pool filled with bikini-clad songwriters and fans and drinking fruity drinks then sign me up for next year.

Elaine Roy

Dillon Dixon

The music was ostensibly the reason to be there and it certainly far exceeded the typical Key West poolside musicians. The entertainment kicked off right at noon with Steve Dean and the Roys, followed by Misty Loggins & Aaron Scherz, Shane Hines & Jennifer Kennard and wrapping up with Sammi Moore & Zach Below.

Aaron Scherz



Unlike the big names that we are for the most part familiar with, these songwriters may not have yet reached that level of acclaim, but they are all accomplished performers and writers on their own. In fact, these smaller, intimate shows offer an opportunity to see the best up and coming Nashville songwriters in a relaxed and enjoyable setting, one that attracts other songwriters, music industry insiders and the general public.



Kristen & Matt





As much fun as we were all having at the Songwriters' Festival, back in Nashville where most of the songwriters and people here for the festival are from, things weren't going so well as the entire middle Tennessee area was undergoing severe flooding from a series of storms. Many of the our friends returned home to find their own homes or those of friends devastated by the flooding. Having been through similar destruction when our home was flooded during Hurricane Wilma, Kathy & I know the sort of heartbreak that people in Tennessee are experiencing. I hope you will join us in making a donation to flood relief for the people impacted by this disaster. I have posted a link below to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee where you can make a direct donation to flood relief. Please help if you can.

Donate to Flood Relief Here!!

The Party Never Ends

May 2, 2010

Robert Earl Keen at the Parrot

Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra

Kathy & Raul Malo

The Party Never Ends



Day three of the Songwriter’s Festival saw things kick it up into another gear entirely. With the work week behind us, Kathy & I were able to step it up a notch on what turned out to be a long a very satisfying Friday night with performances all over the island, including a couple of rollicking bar shows by some of the headliners of the entire festival that got the weekend off to a great start.

Pinson, White & McEwan

Alissa Moreno

Moreno & Griffin

Having worked all day, we no doubt missed some incredible shows, but what we saw Friday night more than made up for any disappointment. We started off the evening back in the comfy confines of the beautiful San Carlos Institute for another showcase event. This one featured Alissa Moreno & Kevin Griffin, Steve McEwan, Bobby Pinson & Jason White and Kim Carnes & Paul Overstreet.

Jason White

Steve McEwan

Kevin Griffin

I had seen Kevin Griffin just last year fronting his band Better Than Ezra, but seeing him solo acoustic was fantastic. He played many of his BTE hits and some of the songs that he has written that others have recorded and sharing the stage with the delightful Alissa Moreno was a great pairing. Bobby Pinson was great as well, singing many of the country music hits he wrote that have been recorded by the likes of Sugarland, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, LeeAnn Rimes etc. He won the BMI “Songwriter of the Year “ award last year. He also had to hustle from his gig at the San Carlos straight over to the Green Parrot Bar to join the illustrious Robert Earl Keen for a gig there.

Keen & Pinson

Sandy, Shelley & Kathy

It was probably the event that I had anticipated the most when I first saw the schedule released, seeing the legendary Robert Earl Keen at my favorite bar was just too good to imagine. The show was all that I’d expected as Keen & Pinson entertained a packed house for well over two hours (and their allotted time). In a spirited display of one-upsmanship, the pair traded hits, barbs and laughs to the delight of the crowd.



While Keen had focused on his newer work the previous night at the San Carlos, he dipped deep into his bag of hits and crowd pleasers including the hilarious “Merry Christmas from the Family”, ending with a rollicking version of the anthem he is best known for, “The Road Goes On Forever”. Pinson meanwhile, played hysterical re-makes of some of his biggest hits changing “She’s a Hotty” into “She’s a Fatty” and a wonderfully twisted medley of his Sugarland hits.

Cowboy Bill's

Dallas Davidson & Jamey Johnson



While I am a huge Robert Earl Keen fan and wasn’t going anywhere, Kathy opted to head over to catch the final set of the evening at the Tropic Cinema with Raul Malo & Tom Douglas. Certainly it was a more sedate crowd, but no less enjoyable for Kathy, who is a huge Raul Malo fan. And while the crowd at the Parrot was raucous, it was nothing compared to our final late-night stop of the evening.

Raul Malo



Jamey Johnson

Cowboy Bill’s Honky Tonk lived up to its name as the late night packed house was treated to a special show by what has come to be known as the Trailer Park with Jamey Johnson & friends (including Randy Houser, Dallas Davidson, Jerrod Neiman and others) all gathering together to close out a spectacular day with a wild show for the thrilled legions of hardcore country fans packing the place.

Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, Dallas Davidson- “Boots On” live at Cowboy Bill’s

It’s hard to say who was more alcohol-fueled, the crowd or the performers, but whatever the case, the energy in the place really captured the spirit of some Honky-Tonk in the deep south and the everyone was primed. They played until they literally overheated the sound system in what was another incredible chapter in this years’ festival.

Feelin' Good Again

May 1, 2010

REK, Jamey Johnson & Raul Malo

Kalisa Ewing

Robert Earl Keen



Feelin’ Good Again

The first full day of music at the Key West Songwriters’ Festival featured over 14 continuous hours of musical performances spread over 11 venues, many of which were happening simultaneously, making for some difficult decisions for music lovers who were trying to catch as much of the action as possible. Both Kathy & I had full days of work which pre-empted us from being able to catch any of the daytime shows, what we lacked in quantity, was easily made up in the quality of the spectacular shows we saw at night.

Jamey Johnson -"The High Cost of Living"







It started for me right at 5 o’clock, when I conveniently had a work related meeting downtown at Truman Annex which got out just in time for me to slide over to catch the show at the Sunset Deck at the Westin Resort. The show featured a good selection of songwriters that included Dave Berg, Kalisa Ewing and Brett Jones in the round that I saw. The setting couldn’t have been more intimate and the threatening raindrops held off as well. I wished that I could have stayed longer but, I had another stop to make before going home to prepare for the big San Carlos show in the evening.



Cliff Cody & Dani



The next stop was at the Southernmost Beach Café where they were holding a beach bash at the waterfront stage on the beautiful beach where Kathy & I were married. I got there in time to see sets by Andi Zack & Ken Johnson and Sunny Helms & Neil Medley, but once again had to leave before Howard Livingston & the MM 24 Band played their set. The rain fell slightly harder at this event, but not enough to cause any major problems and it would be the only rain of the entire event as it soon cleared.

San Carlos Institute

Alex & Charlie



The show that we were most looking forward to did not disappoint. I met Kathy & her father Jim at the San Carlos for what was one of the big shows of the week. It certainly had the most eclectic line-up with the biggest “names”. The show opened with sets from Rebecca Lynn Howard and Kim Carnes, followed by Tom Douglas and Bob Dipiero with the finale that featured Jamey Johnson, Robert Earl Keen and Raul Malo sharing the stage.

John-Michael & Madison

Kim Carnes



Rebecca Lynn Howard

My press pass also allowed me to sneak over at times to the Tropic Cinema where I caught portions of sets from Hugh Prestwood, Chuck Cannon, Shawn Mullins and Chuck Jones, though the vast majority of my time was spent at the wonderful show at the San Carlos. It was spectacular. Each group got just that much better with the fnal grouping presenting a show that was as good as anything I have ever seen at the many Songwriters’ Festivals that I have seen, and ranking right up there with any musical performance I have ever seen.

Raul Malo- "Lucky One"

Tom Douglas

Bob DiPiero





Raul Malo kicked things off and it seemed at first as if nothing could top his outstanding performance, but Jamey Johnson gathered steam as the night progressed and by the end he was as clear and strong as anyone I have seen at this event ever. Robert Earl Keen was consistently awesome throughout and the three of them, different as they are, were excellent complements to each other and also seemed to raise the stakes as they each seemed to want to keep up with the other. It was remarkable and wholly satisfying.

Robert Earl Keen

Jamey Johnson

It was also exceedingly entertaining as all three men played off each other and were at times very funny. The crowd was excited, at times almost overly so, it was easily the most raucous crowd that I have ever seen at the San Carlos. An incredible evening all around, one that I feel fortunate to have witnessed.

Raul Malo