it’s been a while– too long, really.

We had a lot of fun last year, gallivanting around Texas, the East Coast, and Europe. So, after considerable thought, and weighing the positives and negatives of such a tour (really, it took us about 2 seconds, and the scales were tipped 100% to the positive side, so it wasn’t very difficult) we’ve decided to do it again this year.

That’s right, the New American Voices Tour will ride again in 2010.

We’re going to head out west this time– New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Arizona. Rodney and I have played in a few of these places, but for the most part this is entirely new and uncharted territory for us. We’re excited about that. Sure, it’s nice to know you can travel to a far off locale like Richmond, VA or Hamburg, Germany or San Marino with the knowledge that you will draw a crowd. It’s safe, and it’s comfortable. This time, we’re shooting into the darkness. I kind of like that– it adds a new level of risk and excitement to the whole thing.

It is our hope that we can open these markets up to regular touring in the future, but for now, we’re going to have to be content with the notion that we’ll be the new kids on the block.

No, we won’t be performing Hangin’ Tough… I was using the phrase in the expressive sense.

So, check out the tour dates on the right side of the screen. If you’re close to any of these shows, we hope that you will come out and introduce yourselves. If you know of anyone close to any of these shows, we also hope that you’ll let them know that we’re coming to their neck of the woods. We’d appreciate the help, and we’ll buy you a beer for your troubles the next time we see you.

Stay tuned for blogs from the road, pictures, tweets… the whole shebang, just like last year.

We’ll see you out there on the road.

dk

You can watch more on The 9513 YouTube channel, but they can’t replicate the excitement of seeing the real deal, so check the tour schedule to the right and make plans to see an upcoming show. Dates are continuously being added.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Rodney and I will be playing Gruene Hall tonight, and a theater show on Friday in Pleasanton, TX. I’m really looking forward to them both, and I’m also excited to get the tour cranked up again.

Before it does, I want to thank the guys at the9513.com for putting this whole shedaisy together. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty impressed with their technical wizardry. They also seem to be decent human beings, but reports are still too vague to make a final decision on that.

We’ve had some good times out on the road thus far. Rodney got to see a little bit of where I come from when we were visiting various spots on the East Coast leg of the tour, which probably made him worship me even more than he previously had. I can’t say that I blame him… I am, after all, pretty righteous. This weekend we’ll be gigging around his ol’ home base, Pleasanton. I’ve been told it’s the birthplace of the cowboy, and I believe it. Rodney wears a cowboy hat, so I know at least one cowboy that’s been born there. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone. And please, if you have a few spare minutes and you think about it, bring out all of those embarrassing photos of Rodney as a little kid. Come to think of it, bring out the embarrassing photos of Rodney that you took last week, too. I hear he’s going to be making a new record, and he’s looking for a cover shot to rival the one he had for “The Real Thing.” Oh yeah… now that I think about it, forget the embarrassing photos you took last week. Save those for your own personal gain (i.e. blackmail) once Rodney’s star really takes off. If he’s going for another cover like “The Real Thing,” better stick to those embarrassing kid photos we were talking about.

Well, that about does it.

dk

The show originally scheduled at The All Good Cafe for April 10th has been moved. Sorry to anyone that had made plans to come out.

The first leg of the tour was amazing. As much fun as I’ve ever had on the road. I’m still shocked at how great the crowds were every night. Thanks to everyone that came out to a show and for everyone else hopefully we will see you soon.

RH

We decided to drive half way to Nashville from Raleigh today. The decision whether or not to drive the whole way and get there a day early got a little easier when we saw that Asheville, NC was the midway point between destinations. This is a great town, nuzzled way up in the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina. A lot of cool joints in this town. We’re both baseball nuts, and it’s opening day. Plus, the NCAA mens basketball championship game is on tonight, so why not take a breather and watch?

Just ate some good pizza and had a couple of local brews. I’m happy.

The last few days have been awesome. We had a packed crowd in Raleigh, and then we headed up to Richmond the next day. Richmond was good to us. Sold out our show and played an extended set in front of a ton of dialed in fans. The music business can be a pretty mean thing when it wants to be, so a victory like that is huge. Thanks to everyone that has been out to our last couple of shows. You all have shown us a lot of love, and we hope that every one of you walked away from the show feeling the same way we did.

One more date for this leg of the tour, in Nashville at 12 and Porter at 7 PM, and then we’re heading back to Texas for a few days off.

Keep an eye on our dates, we’re about to add some more shows for the Texas leg of the tour.

See you soon!

dk

Our show tonight in Virginia Beach was cancelled for some reason….sorry to those that were planning on coming out. Hopefully we’ll be making another run back out this way later in the year.

Today we’re just hanging out at our friend Sweet Will’s beautiful condo in downtown Raleigh and getting ready for the Phillies/Braves game tongiht. One great thing about this tour is that Drew is one of the few people I know who’s as big of a baseball fan as I am – so tonight should be fun.

Hope to see all of you soon.

Rodney

I wrote that here, one lazy Friday morning a lot lime this one. I was sitting in this very chair, as a matter of fact. My friend Sweet Will’s place sits five stories above the streets of downtown Raleigh. It has a ton of windows, and they stay open most of the time. Light and sound mix with the high ceilings of the room well. I like it here. Macon and charlotte were a ton of fun, and we’re looking forward to tonights show.

Off to do some exploring.

dk

Have you made it out to one of the New American Voices shows, or plan to make one in the future, and want to commemorate the experience? We’ve got just the thing: autographed New American Voices tour posters. And we’re giving them away.

To enter, simply leave a comment below or tweet the following message: “Win an autographed poster from Drew Kennedy & Rodney Hayden. RT to enter. http://budurl.com/ltbl”

We’ll sort through all the responses on Friday and choose five random winners. Don’t worry if you don’t win this time, we’ll be giving a few more away in the future. If you really want a poster though, we’ve got a limited number for sale. Just send us an email through the contact page and we’ll get you set up.

We played a private party for some friends of ours last night that couldn’t have been more perfect. The room sounded incredible. Possibly the best sounding place I’ve ever played.

The best thing about music, for me, is the places it can take you, and the people you can meet. Sharing a night of music, food, and conversation with good friends is a luxury when you’re so far from home, and last night we took full advantage of it. I’m riding in the car back up to Oxford for a night off with my mind and spirit fully refreshed, and it feels good.

Tomorrow we’ll shove off for Macon and the adventure will continue, but for right now, I’m content to live in the moment.

I love my job.

We’re going to catch some music tonight at a place called Taylor Grocery, so look for some more pictures to be uploaded.
See you tomorrow, Georgia.

dk

Just a quick note before we hit the highway. We played a house concert last night in Madison, MS…..and it was honestly one of my favorite shows ever! Everyone was so great to us, the living room we were in sounded great and ….and some amazing food. 

If anyone wants to book a house concert on this tour just let us know.  Why go out when we can come to you? 

I was going to blog a bit more but Drew just informed me that we need to get on the road.  We hope to see you all soon…….

RH