Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Harper and Midwest Kind November Blog 2018

Hi everyone,

Sorry for delay in posting this blog.  This year's Harper and Midwest Kind summer tour was absolutely full on.  We drove from shows in Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota to shows at Mammoth Lakes California, San Jose, Sacramento, Reno Nevada then on to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois then back to Michigan.  The festivals were amazing - Mammoth Lakes Bluesapalooza right close to Yosemite National Park was incredible fun.  It was very smokey from all the wild fires and lots of roads were closed but the sky seemed to clear for a few hours while we performed. There were 13 fires burning in the area - very sad to experience.  Helicopters were swooping around us collecting water from the lakes.  The club shows at The Poor House and The Torch club were great, lots of old friends coming out of the woodwork.  We then decided to do some touristy stuff - spending a day in Las Vegas - there we had some incredible sushi!!  Then we took the winding scenic drive along the Vermillion Cliffs on Hwy 89 in Utah.  The redness of the rocks surrounded by sage grass were something to see.   Then we took a day in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  The weather was stunning and the views beyond imagination.  The drive out the east gate was really something to see.  Large mountains, winding rivers, bright blue sky turning in to a golden sunset as we drove towards Montana.    Sorry we didn’t make it up to the North West - Washington State but we will try to do it next time around.

After Montana we played a cool concert series on Spirit Lake in Menahga Minnesota.  Then we finished the tour with a great show at Waukesha Blues Festival in Wisconsin and Pop’s Place in Decatur Illinois.  We ended the summer over Labor Day Weekend at Old Daufuskie Crab Company on Daufuskie Island in South Carolina just before the hurricane hit.  Thankfully the island was spared!  In September, we got to visit one of our favorite festivals - Camp Jam in the Pines in New Jersey.  Wonderful people and good times.   In October we headed down to Mississippi for the incredible Bukka White Blues Festival on a stunning lake out in the countryside of the town of Aberdeen. 

The new "Harper and Griebe” CD has been released and has received heavy rotation in Europe on Top 40/ Rock Stations which is a very nice thing to happen.   Please check out the facebook page and the website   "Distant Unity” is available online at, please check it out .   https://bsc-music-gmbh.lnk.to/S-AeF

We are about to head out on yet another tour - to Illinois, Missouri and Florida.  Wishing you all the best for Thanksgiving - despite the negative appearances we see on our televisions and on social media, we all have a lot to be thankful for!
See you all out on the road this Fall/ Winter!!!

Thanks and Peace,

Peter D. Harper,
Harper and Midwest Kind
#harperandmidwestkindspringtour
HarperWebsite                                                                                                                         Didgeridoo/HarmonicaWorkshops                                                                                         HarperandMidwestKindYoutube                                                                                                          HarperandMidwestKindFacebook                                                                                                                                                       HarperMusicPage                                                                                                                                                                              HarperandMidwestKindReverbnation
https://www.instagram.com/harperandmidwestkind
https://www.twitter.com/harperband

Harper and Midwest Kind August Blog

Howdy Everyone,

We are in the thick of festival season, and we are heading West as we speak.  Some exciting news has happened, my new CD - as part of "Harper & Griebe" - called "Long Distant Unity" is due to be released on August 10th.  The style of music is more progressive Adult contemporary, but I think you all will dig the tunes.  There is an incredible backstory to this CD.  Back in the year 2000, German Guitarist Joachim Griebe, contacted me in Australia, after hearing my CD "Glass on The Stepping Stone" being played at a Berlin club called "Quasimodos".  He invited me to come to Germany to write with him.  We put together a CD but it was never released due to a falling out caused by a misunderstanding and the language barrier.  16 years pass and Joachim emailed, out of the blue.  I was so happy to hear from him and he was amazed to hear that we were going to be performing in Germany just 2 hours from his house.   We met up at the hotel in May and it was like meeting my twin brother again.  We laughed so hard, people were looking at us strangely.  To top it off, Joachim wanted to write with me again and was able to get our original recording deal back with a major European Label - "Rough Trade". 

So "Harper and Griebe" is once more!  Please check out the facebook page and the website (still being built).  "Distant Unity will be available online from August 10th onwards.   
 
Here are some sample tunes from "Long Distant Unity" : Please enjoy!!!  http://www.joachimgriebe.de/harper---griebe-.html

Harper and Midwest Kind 's summer tour is choc full of festivals/ concert series and club dates.  We will be performing in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Sioux Falls, Minnesota, Nevada and California.  We will be headlining Mammoth Lakes Bluesapalooza for the second time,  we have a show with Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band in Reno, Nevada, we will be returning to Sounds Of Spirit Lake in Minnesota and Waukesha Blues Festival in Wisconsin and some new ones : Microbrew Fest, Mancelona Michigan and Eckhert's Apple Orchard in Belleville, Illinois.   Please come out and say hi.

See you all out on the road this summer!!!

Thanks and Peace,

Peter D. Harper,
Harper and Midwest Kind
#harperandmidwestkindspringtour
HarperWebsite                                                                                                                         Didgeridoo/HarmonicaWorkshops                                                                                         HarperandMidwestKindYoutube                                                                                                          HarperandMidwestKindFacebook                                                                                                                                                       HarperMusicPage                                                                                                                                                                              HarperandMidwestKindReverbnation
https://www.instagram.com/harperandmidwestkind
https://www.twitter.com/harperband

Harper and Midwest Kind June Blog 2018

Happy Summer Everyone,

Just back from Germany, Kentucky and South Carolina.   Our visit to the Grolsch Blues Festival in Shoppingen, Germany was outstanding in every possible way.  The crowd, hospitality, sound and atmosphere was incredible. We had the 9pm slot and it was fabulous.  Great artists like Ronnie Baker Brooks, Lucky Peterson and agency pals - Jeremiah Johnson Band were also there.   And an amazing thing happened!.  My old german writing partner - Joachim Griebe emailed me three weeks prior to our trip to Germany.  After a falling out, 16 years ago, he emailed, out of the blue.  I was so happy to hear from him and he was amazed we were going to be performing in Germany just 2 hours from his house.   We met up at the hotel and it was like meeting my twin brother again.  We laughed so hard, people were looking at us strangely.  To top it off, Joachim wanted to write with me again and was able to get our original recording deal back with a major European Label.  So "Harper and Griebe" will be releasing a CD very soon.  

Once back in the US we performed at the Blues Between the Bridges in Lexington, Kentucky.  It was a very hot but great day of BBQ and blues and roots music.  We had an absolute blast.  Then we had three shows at Old Daufuskie Crab Company on Daufuskie Island in South Carolina.  It was a really unique gig because we had to leave our van on the main land at Hilton Head and travel by boat with our gear to the island.  We were given two golf carts to get around in - got horribly lost on our way to our accommodation one night and rained out on one show.  But all in all it was a fun weekend and great soft shell crab to boot.  But a word to the wise, keep away from the "scrap iron hooch" .

This June/ July/ August we have a bunch of cool festivals/ concert series and club dates.  We will be performing in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, Wisconsin, Iowa, Sioux Falls, Minnesota, Nevada and California.   Please come out and say hi.

See you all out on the road this summer!!!

Thanks and Peace,

Peter D. Harper,
Harper and Midwest Kind
#harperandmidwestkindspringtour
HarperWebsite                                                                                                                         Didgeridoo/HarmonicaWorkshops                                                                                         HarperandMidwestKindYoutube                                                                                                          HarperandMidwestKindFacebook                                                                                                                                                       HarperMusicPage                                                                                                                                                                              HarperandMidwestKindReverbnation
https://www.instagram.com/harperandmidwestkind
https://www.twitter.com/harperband