If this just landed in your inbox, hallelujah! As the internet becomes increasingly enshittified, I still feel its democratic promise in old-fashioned stuff like websites that work and emails that tell you something. For starters, this one wants to tell you that there are still seats left on our bus trip around Scotland May 26-June 5, and we’d love to see you in one. It's great for couples or traveling companions, but the organizers have also just opened up a few more single spots for solo travellers who’d rather not share a room. We’ll be visiting Edinburgh, the isles of Skye and Raasay, Inverness, Loch Ness, Pitlochry, and more. We’ll take in music most every night, including two concerts from Pamela and me, concerts and sessions from Scottish musicians, and hopefully jams with any pickers on the bus! We know most of the folks who’ve already signed up, and they’re great company. If you want on board, have a gander here, and feel free to drop a line to our organizer Alexis at admin@scotlandfolktours.com if you’ve got any questions.
We’ll be making our way over from Denmark before the bus tour starts, and we’re hoping to play a show or three along the way if we can. We’ve got Sunday May 17 through Saturday May 23 free, taking trains from Denmark through northern Germany and the Netherlands, catching a boat from the Hook of Holland to Harwich, England, and then riding the rails north to play Café #9 in Sheffield Sunday May 24. If anyone has ideas of last-minute venues or house concerts we could play anywhere in between, we would be incredibly grateful. Drop a line to scottcooksongs@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to make it happen.
Aotearoa
Our first week in New Zealand was a whirlwind, singing on national radio the morning we arrived, playing Undercurrent Books in Wellington that night, driving north through torrential rain for Taranaki’s Festival of Lights the next day, then bombing it another five hours up the country to play Auckland Folk Fest the day after that, but it’s calmed down since then. The festivalgoers in Taranaki and Auckland were impressively hardy through the frequent drenchings, and folks have been incredibly kind everywhere. We got invited to play the director's-cut finale concert on Sunday night, and it was a joy to sing for the big crowd.
photo by Den O'Keefe
On the Monday after the fest we got to visit the Bunker, a world-famous, sixty-year-old outpost of folksong in a decrepit 1899 military installation atop an extinct volcano overlooking Auckland.
Their open stage has long served as the afterparty for Auckland Folk Festival, and among the illustrious guests that night was Jennifer Reid, an impressive singer and scholar of working-class ballads in the Lancashire dialect, who got the room vibrating like an organ.
On Thursday night we played for a full rooftop in Auckland at the long-running Ministry of Folk series with Hoop, and two sweet dogs in attendance. And on Friday we played for a full house at the wonderful Katikati Folk Club, where a very good girl named Tess modelled our new hats.
Photos by Neil Shepherd and Maree Limpus
We've been camping in a tent since then, enjoying some downtime at a quirky animal sanctuary and in a campsite on Hawke's Bay, revelling in birdsong and moonlight and the strange beauty of this country.
Tomorrow we’re back in the saddle for the first of three nights at the Small Hall Sessions, a series of shows in tiny community spaces around Hawke's Bay presented by legendary impresario Jamie MacPhail. Tickets are a little pricey for these, since he's contending with some mighty production costs, but he's just announced that they'll be two for one for these three shows. All three venues are special, intimate spaces, and I reckon it's worth making a road trip to catch us at one if you can. We're continuing on southward after that, and if you’ve got friends anywhere in our path, please let ‘em know! The grapevine continues to be the best publicist there is.
Wed Feb 4 • Pukehou, Hawke’s Bay • Small Hall Sessions
Thu Feb 5 • Ongaonga, Hawke’s Bay • Small Hall Sessions
Fri Feb 6 • Twyford, Hawke’s Bay • Small Halls Sessions
Sat Feb 7 • Palmerston North • The Globe Theatre
Sun Feb 8 • Wellington • Petone Abandoned Taproom
Wed Feb 11 • Onekaka • Mussel Inn
Fri Feb 13 • Nelson • Ruby Bay Store Theatre
Sat Feb 14 • Barrytown • Barrytown Hall
Sun Feb 15 • Hokitika • Old Lodge Theatre
Thu Feb 19 • Invercargill • Southland Musicians Club
Sat Feb 21 • Christchurch • A Rolling Stone w/ Adam McGrath
Sun Feb 22 • Dunedin • Dunedin Folk Club
Speaking of publicists, we’re working with a great one for this tour named Cheree Ridder, and she lined up an interview that just landed in a regional paper, the Manawatu Standard. With the ever-growing pile of “articles” written by AI or copied and pasted direct from my press release, it’s a joy to read an opinion piece on art written by a human being, that even brings in current events. It’s paywalled, but here’s a link to the article in PressReader, or here's a PDF:
“It can reach people's hearts: Folk duo bring hopeful songs in troubled times”
More Australia
After we’re done here, I’ll be flying back to Australia to play and record an album with my pals The Little Rippers, though we've had a personnel change — our dear friend Liz Frencham had an attack of Bell's palsy that postponed our recording plans at the end of our last tour, and although she's improving, it isn't happening as quickly as hoped. If you're friends with her, sending a little love and light her way couldn't hurt. Luckily, we've found capable help from our friend Robyn Martin, who's also a great artist in her own right. She'll be stepping in for all but one of the gigs, and hopefully the recording too. I’d encourage booking in if you want to come to any of these shows, including the festivals, both of which have been known to sell out.
Thu Feb 26 • Stanwell Park, NSW • CWA Hall
Fri-Sun Feb 27-Mar 1 • Cobargo, NSW • Cobargo Folk Festival
Sat Mar 7 • Newcastle, NSW • Newcastle and Hunter Valley Folk Club (solo)
Thu Mar 12 • Melbourne (Clifton Hill), VIC • House on the Hill Concerts
Fri Mar 13 • Eaglemont, VIC • private house concert
Sat Mar 14 • Upwey, VIC • Burrinja Cultural Centre
Fri-Sun Mar 20-22 • Yackandandah, VIC • Yackandandah Folk Festival
As always, all the details and ticket links are on www.scottcook.net.
Our last Aussie ramble was wonderful, including three ferries, three festivals, and my first-ever glimpse of aurora australis aka the southern lights. We got to spend some precious days offline in a campsite in Tasmania, where we saw oodles of possums and pademelons. We got to share a Canadian-style workshop stage at Cygnet Folk Festival with our fellow Canadians The Pairs, Old Man Luedecke and Sarah Segal-Lazar. And at Illawarra Folk Fest, a young Aussie duo called North and Elsewhere surprised me with a cover of my as-yet-unreleased song “From Here on the Curve”.
From here on the curve
That’s the last thing I want to talk about in this rare tidbit of a Travelogue — not the song, but the idea behind it, which is that it’s nearly impossible to know where things are going from our vantage point in history, but we still always have choices to make: between cruelty and compassion, between defeat and imagination. This has been an especially heavy month in an especially heavy year, watching from afar as ICE murders two American citizens who posed no danger to their officers, then lies and slanders them while their bodies are still warm. It’s tempting to think there’s no hope, that America's descent into tyrrany is inescapable. The current administration would love for us to think so, or to be goaded into violence so they can respond with martial law. But Minnesotans continue to organize, demonstrate peacefully, care for their neighbours, and embody an America worth saving. From the looks of it, the President’s chickening out, like he usually does under pressure, and more of his cult followers are losing faith. If you know any of these people, welcome them in whatever way you can. If you’ve got money to spare, consider donating it to the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund or another of the many mutual aid and immigrants rights groups working in Minnesota. And no matter how noisy the waves get, keep your ears open to the sound of the tide turning.
I recorded a song for my Fellow Travellers on Patreon the day before yesterday, thinking about the lessons that stay through the swirl of current events. I've released 53 new songs and counting there for my supporters' ears only, but I've decided to let this one out into the wild for whoever needs it.
It's inspired by the bravery of everyday Minnesotans, and the historical power of non-violent resistance. History's got a lot to teach us, especially when we're witnessing the world turning in our time. Lately I've been fuelling my hoping machine with Rebecca Solnit's Meditations In an Emergency, and with the knowledge that things always look impossible until they're done.
Sending love from here to wherever you are,
s