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Hi again, friends.
We continue to be safe and healthy, and I hope the same is true for you and yours. It's becoming more apparent to me that I make my way forward by listening to that which is somehow even louder than all the noise in this world - my inner guidance and the people I know and trust. This isn't easy with all the shouting coming from all directions!
I've set a path for 2022 that includes getting back to work out in the world, starting early next month with
~ my beloved Cape Cod Songwriters Retreat in Provincetown, MA - this will be the first time we've gathered since March of 2020. I've got a couple of rooms to fill if you're interested, and joining me on the teaching staff will be Sloan Wainwright and Joe Crookston.
February 28 - March 4, 2022
~ and then again in mid-June with the first of my two group tours to Ireland. I'd been doing these magical trips since 2014 thanks to my friend Johnsmith (beloved singer/songwriter from Wisconsin) until the pandemic, which negated traveling there the last two years.
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We resume in June 2022, visiting counties Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Clare, and tho this trip is full with a waiting list, I've got a second one September 24th - October 3rd (2022) that has
6 openings at the moment. In the fall we visit counties Cork, Kerry, and Clare, and it's just a wonder-full group adventure. Our size - 22 guests ~ makes it feel like we're showing a group of friends around the Emerald Isle, encompassing tradition, culture, history, camaraderie, breath-taking scenery, variations on the color green, and importantly, MUSIC!
We see the sights by day, and every evening we have a private concert by the finest traditional musicians in the area (there's even one by yours truly), followed by a trip to the local pubs for even more music. It can truly transport you to another place and time.
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Write me if you have any questions. The company I work with ~ Inishfree Tours ~ calls these trips "tours for people who don't like tours". We don't kiss the Blarney Stone, we don't follow the beaten path of the big tour buses, and Inishfree goes above and beyond to ensure our safety, comfort, satisfaction, and ease.
Co-owner Paddy Downes has become a dear friend.
I'm going to be doing live shows again upon my return to the States as of July 1st. Already underway is a tour to the Carolinas August 11-16 (I'm booked on the 12th and 14th so far),
so kindly get in touch if you'd like to add on or start something.
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~ Concert halls
~ Coffeehouses
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All things are possible.
Finally, here's a photo of a site in County Cork called "Kindred Spirits". This monument commemorates the Oklahoma Choctaw Nation’s aid during the Great Famine and is in tribute to the actions that inspired me to write "Trail of Tears" with my pal Freebo a few years back.
Hear the song HERE
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"Trail of Tears" © 2014 David Roth & Freebo
1830, Congress had a meeting
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Andrew Jackson went before the House
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They took a vote to relocate some people
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The ones they didn’t want there in the South
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One dark and cloudy and day
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Little food or clothing, out the door
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Fifteen hundred miles, Oklahoma bound
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Little did they know what lay in store
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That winter was the coldest one on record
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Many of the Choctaw passed away
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Those who did survive did so just barely
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The ones who never really had a say
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Trail of tears, trail of tears
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Crawling down a trail of tears
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The Brits decided they would get the food
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All the healthy crops from their green neighbor
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Everything imported that they could
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The only crop that wasn’t for the eating
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Potatoes were diseased and everywhere
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But no one in that country dared to eat them
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And many in the other didn’t care
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Those starving years will never be forgotten
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A million people died in utter pain
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More painful is it might have avoided
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If not for those so selfish and insane
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Famine years, famine years
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Suffering through the famine years
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What would I do in such a situation
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Could I find it in myself to survive
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Is there healing to be found within injustice
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The Choctaw now were settled on their land
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Even after such atrocious journeys
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They kept their noble values close at hand
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This is when they learned about the Famine
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That took so many lives across the sea
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They knew that they could not ignore the anguish
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The same that they endured so recently
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A leather sack went passed around the village
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Donations were collected one by one
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A hundred seventy U.S. dollars later
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This collection was sent off to Ireland
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Trail of tears, trail of tears
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Rising up, rising up
Rising up
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