Chicken shit on a thousand acres
I asked for my plate to be this full
Folks, I know I’ve been quiet on this thing. To be honest with you, I’m spread about as thin as chicken shit on a thousand acres. Have y'all ever driven through farmland and suffocated because some farmer fertilized their fields with chicken shit? I have. My Daddy doesn’t do that, but I have an uncle that does and it smells like shit because it is.
What isn’t shit are my excuses for being this spread thin. I’m head first in an album cycle. Thank you all for listening and your positivity around Planting by the Signs. It truly means the world. One time I was in a dollar store in Paducah, KY and overheard a conversation that would change my life. The clerk was talking to a gentleman at the counter, and when he asked her how she was doing, she said that she was busy but had asked for her plate to be that full. I loved that. I’m living that right now.
I’m about to leave for Europe to do my first ever headlining stretch. I have headlined a show in England, but this is the first stretch of dates I have had to my name and I am so excited about it all.
Even though I haven’t headlined dates, I have toured abroad several times and know what to expect. One thing is no wash rags. I don’t know why Europeans and British folk don’t have wash rags in the shower, but those folks just ain’t exfoliating. Don’t worry, I’ve packed my own. To their credit though, unlike in America where every hotel has the windows barred closed, folks abroad can open theirs fully and catch a breeze. I guess in America we are more likely to jump out and kill ourselves or something? Which I wish I didn’t find appropriate, but I get it, especially in these here times. Hell, some of us Americans may need to secure our home windows for our own sake!
It has been a real experiment going off on my own with my latest release. In case you didn’t know, my last two releases have been with the wonderful subsidiary of Universal, Verve. I loved every person I got to work with at that company, but the legalities were just not cut out for a developing artist like myself. So with one option left on my contract, I requested for the good folks at Verve to let me go. Since then, I have released my newest record under my own label Slough Water Records with the help of Thirty Tigers. To be honest and vulnerable, asking to be released from the company that gave me a chance at this was hard on my heart. I was raised to be, and to my detriment at times, loyal to those who I consider in my fold. It’s been a real heart lesson that you can honor the investments made from others even by striking out on your own. I’m here to say I have survived the lesson and feel right at home with my decision. My album Planting by the Signs was a heart project that was supported by a dream label I concocted back nearly ten years ago.
I’m not bragging about this, but sharing. The reason is I feel like for my first post in a while I want it to serve as a post of encouragement. There is so much uncertainty right now, and I want to tell anyone who reads this that the future is built on seeds you plant right now. Hope is resilient, and even if that hope doesn’t bear fruit for years to come, one day you will be reaping the harvest of a long held dream and vision.
When I formally created Slough Water Records I was on a couch in Western Kentucky navigating the Kentucky business portal without a clue. I was without a clue, but I did have a dream. In times of despair and trials, put some faith into the little seeds of hope you are planting. It may be years down the road before you see their potential, but if you care for them, they will produce. All this to say, you wouldn’t be reading this if my seeds hadn’t been planted. You wouldn’t be reading this if not for me trusting in the process and waiting out the seasons where things seemed fruitless. Planting by the Signs is here because of years of dormancy throughout persistent care. What seeds are you planting now? What are y'all dreaming about? Let me know. Here is a playlist of some songs that are hopeful. Thanks for your time and support. Dream on.
I’ve been telling fellow music-lovers on FB that your new album is my early pic for AOTY, and the closing song “Heaven Song” is the most “Dylanesque” I’ve heard in a long time. Some truly special seeds are growing! Thanks for all you give us!
I have loved your music ever since I saw a short on KET. I am here to tell you Space and Time
knocked me on my ass! I told my daughters I want that played at whatever they choose to do to celebrate the end of my life. I saw you at the Ryman the first time you were there with Jason Isbell for his 50th time. I follow your tour schedule and try really hard to get tix and go when you are in a close geographic area but the times and dates don't always work out for me. But I have told many others about you and I continue to listen to your music daily. I subscribed to Substack just for you! A loyal little old lady widow avid fan! Wish you the BEST!