Harper and Midwest Kind May Blog, 2015

Hey Everyone,

Hope you are enjoying this Spring weather, here in the Northern hemisphere!.  We are entering into the festival season in the USA, the best part of the touring calendar.  We had an amazing tour to Ohio, Alabama and Florida.  We had a delicious Soul Food dinner with Cedric Burnside and his partner Mona, Trent Ayers and their family.   The best fried chicken, mac n cheese and black eyed peas ever.  We absolutely chowed down!!  Bobbi is now booking Cedric Burnside Project as part of her new agency- Hwy Key Touring Artists and doing a great job.  It was an absolute pleasure to meet them all. In Florida we caught up with my former but fabulous guitarist Tyler Mac at The Paradise Inn in Pensacola Beach,.  It was so cool to jam with Tyler.  Jame's Brother Paxton also got up to play guitar.  Nick from Nick and the Overals also jammed with us, which was very cool.  It was a fabulous three nights of music in beautiful Pensacola Beach.  Then it was on to Guanabanas- our favorite club in the jungle and then on to Terra Fermata in Stuart - a new stunning out door venue with incredible sound.   We made some amazing new friends, Katie, Rhett, Dawn and Scott.  We stayed with these fabulous folks in Jupiter for a couple of days. We had a rocking show at The Little Bar in Goodland followed by our favorite Irish Pub- The Celtic Ray in Punta Gorda.  Many of you will know that our scheduled show at  2 Brothers was cancelled due to the venue burning down in late March.  The Celtic Ray kindly gave us a make up show at the last minute.    Happy to say the Celtic Ray was packed for this last minute show. 

Two weeks ago we performed at a new club in Jackson, Michigan called Grand River Brewery.  Lots of friends turned up for some great brews and tasty treats.   Last week we toured to Upstate New York for the Dinosaur BBQs then south to New Jersey for Camp Jam in the Pines and further south to the Rowan Jazz & Blues Festival in North Carolina.

Hope to see you all out on the road this Spring and Summer!

Thanks and Peace,

Harper and Midwest Kind
www.harper.biz (Official Harper Website) CDs, Tee Shirts
http://www.harper.biz/workshops.html    Australian Didge-ucation
www.youtube.com/harperband (for live video clips)
www.facebook.com/harperandmidwestkind
www.musicpage.com/harper
www.reverbnation.com/harperandmidwestkind

Harper and Midwest Kind April, 2015 Blog

Hi everyone,

Its Spring here in the USA!  We have a very cool announcement  to make:  our amazing guitarist of the past few years-  Mike Howe and his girlfriend Angie gave birth to a healthy baby boy.   We wish Mike all the very best regarding his decision to go off the road to be a great father to his new born son.  We welcome Will Rideoutt  from Lansing, Michigan on lead guitar- front man of the Big Willie Band to the Midwest Kind lineup! 

Harper and Midwest Kind have been booked for a few festivals and club dates in Australia in late October/ November, we are all very excited to be making this trip.  Its been quite some time since Bobbi and I have seen our families.  We had some fun March shows at The Manistee Spring and All Music Festival in Michigan, held at the stunningly beautiful Ramsdell Theater followed by a wild show at The Cabbage Shed in Elberta.  Mash Bar in Ann Arbor was crazy as usual.  We had a sold out show at the Mangia Mangia Jazz & Blues Concert Series in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  It was a completely acoustic show with Mike Howe and Will Rideoutt on acoustic guitar,  myself on harp/didgeridoo/ djembe and James Norris on Bass Guitar.  It was a truly wonderful send off for Mike Howe.    We had to cancel our show at BBs in St Louis, Missouri due to a change in management and their refusal to honor our contract for the show.   Unfortunately although we let everyone know on our Facebook page/ twitter and our websites, BBs didn't bother to take our band's name off their calendar.  So some people turned up to the show.  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience - this made even worse because even the staff at the club were not informed of the cancelation. 

For our upcoming tour south please note that Brackins in Maryville, Tennessee has closed and 2 Brothers in Punta Gorda, Florida burnt down a few weeks ago!   The Celtic Ray has kindly replaced our Punta Gorda, Florida show by giving us a date on Sunday May 3 at 7pm.  So please spread the word.   Another amazing venue has opened up in downtown Jackson, Michigan- Grand River Brewery- at Market Place.  We have a show there on Saturday May 9th, @ 8pm.  They brew their own beer and  also its a winery and fabulous restaurant.  If this show goes well, Bobbi will be putting together a Sunday afternoon national blues concert series in the fall through her new agency- Hwy Key Touring Artists.  So Michigandas please spread the word.  It would be super cool to get this event off the ground!

Also happy to announce that in July we will be heading to Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California and Colorado.  Please check out the dates below:

Hope to see you all out on the road this Spring and Summer!

Thanks and Peace,

Harper and Midwest Kind
www.harper.biz (Official Harper Website) CDs, Tee Shirts
http://www.harper.biz/workshops.html    Australian Didge-ucation
www.youtube.com/harperband (for live video clips)
www.facebook.com/harperandmidwestkind
www.musicpage.com/harper
www.reverbnation.com/harperandmidwestkind

Harper and Midwest Kind March, 2015 Blog- Stolen Guitars Returned!!!!

Hey Everyone,

Yay Spring is finally here in the USA!  We have some amazing news!!!!.  The two stolen guitars of Mike Howe and James Norris have been recovered and shipped home to the guys as good as new.  James found the two guitars with serial numbers listed up on Ebay last week.  Bobbi our intrepid manager called the Mount Pleasant Police in South Carolina to let them know.  She was told that EBay are very difficult to deal with when it comes to stolen items being listed.  So Bobbi and Detective Fey put together a ruse to find out exactly who was selling the guitars and the exact address.  So Bobbi pretended to be a guy named "Pete" and contacted the seller on Ebay asking if she could come and look at the Les Paul  and was willing to pay $2000 cash.  The seller immediately replied.  As it turned out the guitars were at a Pawn Shop in Charleston, South Carolina.  So Bobbi set up a sting with Detective Fey at 3pm last Monday.  The Pawn Shop seller was arrested as was the guy who pawned the guitars.  Woohooo!!!  A huge thank you to The Mount Pleasant Police and Detective Fey!  So happy for Mike and James

The next big of amazing news is that I have been nominated for two 2015 Detroit Music Awards-  Best World Music Songwriter and Instrumentalist.    The final bit of great news is that Harper and Midwest will be appearing on PBS Television on Friday March 20th at 11pm Eastern  USA as part of WKAR Backstage Pass.  For those of you who would like to see the concert now here is the link to the concert on line  http://video.wkar.org/video/2365430223/

Lots of touring coming up here in the USA. A big sorry to our New England fans we had a change of routing in May due to an offer to headline the Rowan Jazz & Blues Festival in North Carolina. We will get back your way, promise!!    Good news for Aussies- We will be touring Australia in late October/ November, working on dates as we speak!

Hope to see you all out on the road this Spring!

Thanks and Peace,

Harper and Midwest Kind
www.harper.biz (Official Harper Website) CDs, Tee Shirts
http://www.harper.biz/workshops.html    Australian Didge-ucation
www.youtube.com/harperband (for live video clips)
www.facebook.com/harperandmidwestkind
www.musicpage.com/harper
www.reverbnation.com/harperandmidwestkind

Harper and Midwest Kind February Blog 2015

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to the first Blog of the year.  We are heading to the Lancaster Roots and Blues Festival in Pennsylvania as we speak and the sun is shining!!!!.    We've been dealing with alot of snow here in Michigan, I have had close to three feet of snow on the front porch of my house.  In January we had  a few very snowy Michigan gigs. In early January, a huge snow storm was blowing through, yet folks still seemed to make it out to our acoustic show at the Sandhill Crane Wineyard in Jackson,  Mash Bar in Ann Arbor and Scooters in Flint.   The Scooter's show was part of the Greg Nagy Presents Concert Series, so there were a lot of very talented musicians in the audience.  Greg got up for a few tunes, guitarist Will Rideout  also played a few tunes and our drummer Cam Lewis did a great soulful rendition of "The Thrill is Gone".  The drive home from Flint was white knuckle scary, but we made it home- slowly but surely!

The Following week the weather was fabulous, lots of sunshine and clear, dry roads. Our tour to Nebraska and Iowa was alot of fun.  We played a fun double bill with Jim Suhler at the 21st Saloon in Omaha then we headed east to Burlington, Iowa for a show at The Washington.  Owner:  David Hazel has done wonders with this amazing listening room.  Midwest Kind and I had a great show at The Washington and definitely plan to return in the Fall.   Next up was The Cherokee Jazz & Blues Festival in Cherokee, Iowa.   This was a multiple venue event, we had the pleasure of performing at a very new and happening club called "Loft 101".   We had a packed house of intense music fans, unfortunately we were having some major sound issues, so we cut our set short and sent in Mike Howe our amazing guitarist/ sound engineer to sort things out.   After a bit of rewiring and adjustment of graphics, we were good to go!.  We did a long set and the place was jumping.  We loved playing at Loft 101 so much that we will be doing a repeat performance - back by popular demand on Saturday April 11th.   So please spread the word!  The next day was a full house at the Legendary Byron's Bar in Pomeroy, Iowa.   You all need to put "Byron's on your bucket list because this bar is truly a unique experience that can't be explained!

The next week we did a TV spot on Fox 4 Morning Show in Kansas City.  We had a blast at the TV station and even got to meet the dancer- Amy of "So You Think You Can Dance".   That evening we played a show at The Trouser Mouse in Blue Springs.  We did a double bill with a fabulous local band called "Blue Plate Special" - a very talented and extremely nice bunch of guys.   Then it was on to one of our fab clubs- the incredible BBS Jazz, Blues & Soups in St Louis.  We ended the month with a new club called Pop's Place in Decatur, Illinois.   We had a full house and received lots of good vibes from all there.   In February we head south (yay) to West Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. 

Hope to see you out on the road this winter and Spring!

Thanks and Peace,

Harper and Midwest Kind
www.harper.biz (Official Harper Website) CDs, Tee Shirts
http://www.harper.biz/workshops.html    Australian Didge-ucation
www.youtube.com/harperband (for live video clips)
www.facebook.com/harperandmidwestkind
www.musicpage.com/harper
www.reverbnation.com/harperandmidwestkind

Harper and Midwest Kind December Blog, 2014

Hi everyone,

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Winter/ Summer Solstice and a Happy Holiday Season.    In November we welcomed our new drummer from Chicago - the amazing Cam Lewis, who we met earlier  this year in Pensacola Beach, Florida.  I prophetically told Cam at the time that we would be working together someday!  Funny how things turn out.   We had a fabulous acoustic show at Trinity House in Livonia, Michigan, followed by the amazing and very wild Mash Bar in Ann Arbor and the fabulous Celtic Ray in Lexington over Thanksgiving weekend.

In early December we headed out on tour to The Alamo in Springfield, Illinois.  The next day Bobbi and I presented Australian Didge-ucation to the beautiful children of Montessori's Children's House.  Afterwards we visited the Illinois State Museum's Research and Collections Center. Curators: Terrance J Martin and Jonathan E. Reyman gave us a tour of an ancient Australian Aboriginal collection from the 1800s, Western Australia.  There were ancient didgeridoos, shields, spears, boomerangs, jewelry plus more.  It was an amazing collection of artifacts.  The plan is to return the collection to Canberra, Australia.   We then headed south to Brackins in Maryville, Tennessee which was a fun show.  Then its was on to Charleston , South Carolina for Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ.  We had a great show and the BBQ was fabulous.

Unfortunately early on Saturday December 6th my van was broken into at The Sleep Inn in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.  The front passenger window was smashed and the door was damaged.  Mike's Gibson Les Paul guitar and Jame's 5 string Fender Jazz Bass guitar were stolen.  The thief also tried to get into the back of the van but was unable to.  Two other cars were also broken into.  I made a police report and have been checking Craig' s list, music stores, pawn shops- you name it, since.  Such a horrible thing to happen.  Our insurance covered the damage to the van but not the guitars.   We had the window taped up with plastic so we could make our show at Darwins in Marietta, Georgia.  Two wonderful local musicians loaned us their guitars for the evening.  Then the next week our good buddy Steve Arvey loaned us two guitars to finish the rest of the tour to Florida.  A big thank you to these generous musicians and also to our friends and fans for donating some cash to Mike and James to help them replace their stolen guitars.

Bobbi and I finished the year with an Australian Didge-ucation presentation at the JVS in Detroit for the PTS veterans.  These programs put together by the JVS really do work.  One veteran in particular was so sad, isolated, depressed and defensive when we met him earlier in the year.  We were astounded by this his beautiful smiling face this time around.  He had been transformed.  Bobbi told Psychosocial Specialist Donna Rhoades that she had given back this man's humanity.    It was so beautiful to see.   Thank you all for sharing this journey with Bobbi, my band "Midwest Kind" and me, this year.  We truly appreciate your support and love.

May 2015 best a year of peace, prosperity, joy and love for us all.  See you out on the road next year!

Thanks and Peace,

Harper and Midwest Kind
www.harper.biz (Official Harper Website) CDs, Tee Shirts
http://www.harper.biz/workshops.html    Australian Didge-ucation
www.youtube.com/harperband (for live video clips)
www.facebook.com/harperandmidwestkind
www.musicpage.com/harper
www.reverbnation.com/harperandmidwestkind

Harper and Midwest Kind November Blog, 2014

Hi Everyone,

Its starting to get cold here in Michigan and my log fire is getting quite a lot of work.  Very sorry to announce that we had to reschedule our Australian tour.  The day before we were due to board the plane to Sydney, I was involved in a car accident.  I was the passenger in a friend's car, when another car drove right through a stop sign and barreled right into us.  I sustained three fractured ribs.  Very very sore but not serious.  My doctor put me on the "No Fly List" so we were forced to cancel our tour.  Thankfully all our Aussie clubs and festivals have graciously agreed to rebook us for the same time next year.  So we will get there eventually!  Very sorry for the inconvenience to our Australian fans!.

October saw us heading back to the Downhome Blues Festival in Camden, South Carolina.  it was fun to run into Chef Jimi and his lovely wife Leslie plus many more familiar faces.  We also visited Asheville, North Carolina- Westville Pub which was a lot of fun.  Then it was down to Florida for an amazing visit with our special needs kids at the Buckingham Exceptional Student Center in Fort Myers.  We've been performing for these kids since 2009 and every show is an absolute blessing.  New principal Doctor Ruthie Lohmeyer was absolutely blown away at the way the kids were reacting to the music especially the didgeridoo session at the end of the show. Ive known for many years that  music is a very powerful and healing force!. After Fort Myers we headed to the stunning Guanabanas amidst a tropical rain forest then it was Englewoods on Dearborn.  We also performed at the Inaugural Camping with The Blues in Brooksville.  Got to see Doug Deming and Bryan Lee perform.  We had an all star jam at the end with about ten musicians on stage which was just magical! The festival was a lot of fun with good vibes all round.  We finished our tour at a new club for us-  Two Brothers in Punta Gorda, a very nice outdoor show indeedy!

 We hope to catch you all out on the road this fall and winter with dates in Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska!

Thanks and Peace,

Harper and Midwest Kind
www.harper.biz (Official Harper Website) CDs, Tee Shirts
http://www.harper.biz/workshops.html    Australian Didge-ucation
www.youtube.com/harperband (for live video clips)
www.facebook.com/harperandmidwestkind
www.musicpage.com/harper
www.reverbnation.com/harperandmidwestkind

Harper and Midwest Kind September Blog, 2014

Hey Everyone,

October is upon us and we are having some amazing Autumn weather here in Michigan, USA.   After our beyond crazy summer tour it was nice to have an easy September, a time to regroup and write some new tunes for a new CD, I hope to release in early, 2015.  A big thank to those of you who bought our Aussie Tee Shirts.  They were all sent out this week.   The last weekend of August was spent at a new festival for us- The Snowy Range Music Festival in Laramie, Wyoming.  A 19 hour drive from Michigan but well worth the trip.   Unfortunately the weather was not the best.  We were having a great set and the crowd was really getting into it when a huge storm blew through.   The wind was howling and the rain started to pelt down, my band "Midwest Kind" and I kept on playing.  The overhead lights were swinging and then suddenly the backdrop ripped and fell- landing  on our drummer's head.  Like a pro, Greg kept playing and didn't miss a beat.   The backstage crew removed the back drop and the show went on.  This was a great festival to catch up with a huge bunch of friends: such as Erika Brown and Billy Branch. Also got to see the incredible "Dumpstafunk" perform!  The backstage hospitality was fabulous - great food/drinks and even several masseuses.  It was heaven!   We did a late night jam- I got to play some harp with the amazing Billy Branch and the next day I presented a didgeridoo workshop.  

September brought us a new Ann Arbor club - called Mash which was fun.  Then the next week we played the Niagara Falls Blues Festival.   Great crowd, sound and good vibes but again it was ccccold!!!!   The next week we played the Old Town Bluesfest in Lansing, Michigan.  WKAR Backstage Pass filmed the show for PBS- The weather was just right and the sound was superb.  I think we will have a nice TV feature coming  out in 2015.   It was so much fun catching up with all the Michigan musicians after the show.  We then headed south to the Rathskellar in Indianapolis.  We were kinda rained out for a bit but then the weather cleared and all was well.  Our good friend Justin Brown did a great version of "Help Me" which brought the house down.  We finished the month at our favorite Lexington, Michigan pub- The Celtic Ray!   We head to Florida next week, then our much anticipated tour to Australia for the Sydney Blues & Roots Festival and The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz!!   Hope to see you out on the road this fall and winter!

Thanks and Peace,

Harper and Midwest Kind
www.harper.biz (Official Harper Website) CDs, Tee Shirts
http://www.harper.biz/workshops.html    Australian Didge-ucation
www.youtube.com/harperband (for live video clips)
www.facebook.com/harperandmidwestkind
www.facebook.com/pages/Harper-and-Midwest-Kind/163124467948
www.musicpage.com/harper
www.reverbnation.com/harperandmidwestkind