We start this year with a nice surprise – an invitation to perform at the Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival! This delightful festival brings world-class and regional acts to the tall pines at Medical Lake, WA. It takes place August 8-10th (we’re on Sunday). https://www.bluewatersbluegrass.org/ We’re working on other potential gigs and you can keep track on the show tab or on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/blueribbontea. For now, it’s winter, a time for remembering… shadows of friends. Here’s a link to the song and one of Bill’s earliest photos – Delwood Park, Lockport, IL, near where he grew up. Wishing you health and peace in this new year ~ Bill & Kathy https://blueribbonteacompany.bandcamp.com/track/shadows-of-friends-2 .

Saturday and Sunday – November 9th and 10th. Thanks to the festival for highlighting us in the performer spotlight this year! https://www.spokanefolkfestival.org/performers-spotlight-2024.html We play on the Sasquatch stage, Sunday at 12:30. We’ll also play a few songs on the KPBX Spokane Public Radio Live Broadcast promoting the festival. Tune in on Saturday the 9th at 11:20. https://www.spokanepublicradio.org/ It’s a great weekend to celebrate Spokane’s music and culture. Join us!

It’s fall and it’s time! We’re kicking off the Inland Northwest Bluegrass Music Association’s season of showcases on Saturday, October 5th. We’ll be playing some fun old songs, and some of ours, that fit an old time feel well. Next up we’ll be playing at Spokane’s Fall Folk Festival the weekend of November 9th/10th. See the Show dates tab for details about the shows. The photo is courtesy of Rick Singer and was in his Spokane Musicians show at the Chase Gallery in Spokane’s City Hall years ago. Thanks Rick! By the way check out his retrospective show that is up now in the Chase. It’s great! Wishing all a peaceful fall… Bill & Kathy

This year’s plans were thrown off the rails but we’re rolling again and set to play August 31st at the Tumbleweed Festival in Richland, WA. In addition to our BRTC set we’ll be playing Kathy’s song Rolling River at the Jane Titland Memorial Songwriting Contest finalist show. We’ll be helping to kick off the Inland Northwest Bluegrass Music Association season of showcases on October 5th, and we’ll be at Spokane’s Fall Folk Festival on the weekend of November 9th/10th. See Show Dates tab for details and updates. For now, how about a song for summer? It’s another of ours that doesn’t fit neatly into a modern folk box but a favorite among some friends. Listen for free to “At the Dairy Queen”, by Bill… https://blueribbonteacompany.bandcamp.com/track/at-the-dairy-queen

https://blueribbonteacompany.bandcamp.com/track/the-devil-is-beating-his-wife

March 2024: This song was born on a day much like this photo. Standing on the front porch watching a rain shower while the sun was shining, I said “The devil is beating his wife.” Bill replied, “What did you just say???!” He had never heard this old folk saying for a sun shower. He went inside, sat down, and in 20 minutes the song was done. Rich with imagery, I think you will like it. It’s free to listen to on Bandcamp, and if you like it, downloads are just $1. May Spokane’s chilly winds soon subside… Kathy

Starting the year off sharing a YouTube video with Bill’s “The Morning After Christmas” along with some of our Spokane parks winter photography. We found this recording on an old cd about a year ago along with other songs we thought were long lost to a computer crash. It’s short, punchy, and fun. Enjoy! With wishes for Peace in 2024!

Coming up! November 11th and 12th are the dates for Spokane’s Fall Folk Festival. We play Saturday at 1pm on the Bistro Stage, and check out all the other great acts too! Here’s the full schedule, enjoy!!! https://www.spokanefolkfestival.org/

We’re kicking up our heals to finally announce a Sing While You Can album release show coming Tuesday, October 17th at the delightful Hamilton Studio! We will be joined by Bob Rice and Eugene Jablonsky who recorded with us, plus we will have a new photo show up too so be ready for a fun feast for the ears – and eyes. For a taste, enjoy this video about our August photo show opening night: https://www.hamiltonstudio.com/firstfriday

And…more shows on the schedule! You can also catch us at… http://www.tumbleweedfest.com/ , https://www.createarts.org , https://www.spokanefolkfestival.org/ (dates and details in the show tab). Hope to see you soon! Bill & Kathy

• Our first festival of the year is coming up – July 4th – Freedom at the Arboretum! This year’s theme is democracy and we’re kicking things off with music from noon till 1pm followed by poetry, thoughtful oratory, and a chance to meet some candidates. This event at the Finch Arboretum in Spokane has been happening since 1962!
• After a long break we’re excited to be scheduled for the Tumbleweed Festival in Richland, WA on Labor Day weekend – Sunday, 2pm on the West stage.
• And back to some new album promotion – we’ll be posting some background stories about how some of the songs were born on our Facebook site.

Hear the full Sing While You Can album on Bandcamp. You can listen to each song five times before deciding if you’d like to purchase a download for $1 per track (or more if you’d like). Thanks for listening and more information to come…

https://blueribbonteacompany.bandcamp.com/album/sing-while-you-can