Doc MacLean & Michael Pickett Announce 60 Dates

Back at you again. And what's been going on at National Steel Blues Tour headquarters since I last checked in? Well, we've been busy booking dates and more dates. I should say that "we" now includes the very able Louise Pickett of Mother Earth Management. This is going to be a GREAT tour! We've got some 60 shows confirmed and about another dozen TBC (to be confirmed) in progress. Michael has been to Europe and back, and has also had smaller tours of the eastern seaboard and Florida. I've followed Johnny Winter and have been the street level opener for a bunch of shows. It's funny, I make more money busking the wait line for half an hour than I do when I'm officially on some of these bills. Heck, that's not funny at all. Kim Simmonds was teasing me that I was cutting into his merch sales. Nice guy— always shares the Green Room goodies... But you really want to know about the National Steel Blues Tour, Canada's biggest blues-roots tour of the year, 20000 km of blues highways from coast to coast!

Dates and places are pretty much in order, and are listed in the sidebar here. We've still got the odd date available, so if you're a booker, or maybe a fan who wants to do a house concert, post us regarding any date not already listed in your area! We roll out of Toronto on September 4th and will finish up in Victoria, BC on the 10th of November.

East coast dates are all but sold out— I've got a Wednesday in Charlottetown, anybody want it? We're doing the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in Fredericton, the Great Atlantic Blues Festival in Halifax, and a bunch of theatres, even some cafes and house concerts... Nearly half the tour dates will be played in Atlantic Canada. Great blues scene— heck, great music scene— with lots of good young players, and a bunch of older journeymen to kick their butts. For sure it's an honor to be invited to the Harvest Blues and Jazz Festival two years in a row. Hands down one of the best blues events held anywhere. The Director of the Great Atlantic Blues Festival lived in Atlanta back when I did, and knows his stuff. He's launching a very, very big festival, and we're pleased to have been the second hire (after Johnny Winter) —even if we're no longer at the very top of the bill! In addition to our concert duties we'll be doing daytime media events all week to help promote the new Halifax festival.

I'll be blogging here on a much more regular basis as we gear up to hit the road in a few weeks time. Jackets and posters are in production... the price of fuel is high. The Tour Book is in production. Next blog I'll ramble on about some other part of the country. I could rant about Manitoba, but perhaps I'll have Friday, October 17 filled by then??? Or do we have to sit in with Big Dave McLean that night? Now that might be an excuse to book a rest day.