March 2011

MARCH 2011 E-ZINE
Happy St. Patrick's Day, and please do beware the Ides of March. We've added several house concerts around Virginia on the 2011 calendar, but there's room for more places here and beyond the Old Dominion. Wherever you are, please join us for a live video webcast on March 28th.

Concert details, latest news, much more at http://andrewmcknight.net
1. Upcoming Shows
2. Beyond Borders Begins New Journey
3. Next Video Webcast March 28
4. News Updates: "In the Music Room", Easier Facebook(!), Website Overhauls
 Song for the Month: "Winter"
Essay: "First Blooms, First Loves"

Help a little or a lot by sharing a song or CD from the website via email or Facebook, hosting a house concert or something in between: http://andrewmcknight.net/help
Thanks most of all for reading this!
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1. UPCOMING SHOWS More details and links at website.
SA 3/12 * KINGWOOD WV - Laurel Mountain Coffeehouse, 8pm
With Beyond Borders bandmate Lisa Taylor. Likely to sell out, advance reservations strongly recommended. At Monroe's Restaurant, 110 E. Main St. [ZIP 26537]

SU 3/13 * PITTSBURGH PA- "Embracing Our Whole Story" Music Services, 9 and 11:30am
All are welcome. At the Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills, 1240 Washington Rd. [ZIP 15228]

SA 3/19 * PURCELLVILLE VA - Franklin Park Arts Center (with Beyond Borders), 8pm
Advance tickets recommended for the band's annual hometown theater show; 36441 Blueridge View Ln. [ZIP 20132]

FR 3/25 * EWING NJ - Benefit Concert to Fight Huntington's Disease, 7pm
At Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, 2220 Pennington Rd. (Rt 31) [ZIP 08638]

SA 3/26 * DUNCANNON PA - House Concert, 7pm
Sold out! To get on the waiting list, please email us at info@andrewmcknight.net

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2. BEYOND BORDERS BEGINS NEW JOURNEY
For many reasons, Andrew, Les, Stephanie and Lisa are looking forward to this month's return to their "hometown" theater, the Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville VA. But this year brings something new and special; after three years largely devoted to developing their sound and collaborative skills with their arrangements of Andrew's songs, the band is set to debut their first collaborative effort as songwriters, featuring Lisa on lead vocals and Stephanie on the second lead. Each member is a talented songwriter in their own right, and at long last they have been able to put those writing talents together. They are looking forward to sharing the new song with you, and have more in the collaborative creative pipeline.

Meanwhile, we're almost ready to start sharing sounds and sights from the live Andrew McKnight & Beyond Borders live CD and limited edition DVD. Are you following us on Facebook?....

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3. NEXT VIDEO WEBCAST, TUESDAY MARCH 28TH
The rising costs of gas, airfare and everything else have got all of our attention. So we're planning our own economic stimulus - if Andrew hasn't been your way for awhile (or even if he has), we invite you to tune in for the next free live video webcast on Tuesday March 28th, 9:30pm EST. He's promising a few rarely-heard chestnuts from his five-CD catalog, a new song or three that he's been working on, possibly taking a request from the Chat Room, and maybe even a surprise cover tune or two - all solo from the comfort of his little old house on a dirt road.

We'll go live a few minutes early to make sure everything is working smoothly, and we invite you to swing by early to http://andrewmcknight.net/vidcast to go through the "pre-flight checklist" to optimize your viewing experience.

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4. NEWS: "IN THE MUSIC ROOM", EASIER FACEBOOK(!), WEBSITE OVERHAULS
More details at website - headlines are on the home page left.

• Enjoy an interview and 6 songs performed by Andrew live "In the Music Room" with Tredway and Friends at the end of January's Texas tour, including the unreleased "One More Year (A Farmer's Prayer)".
• In seemingly stark contrast to most things Facebook, they have made some improvements to the business fan Pages - including easy to use addresses. Come have a look, http://www.facebook.com/AndrewMcKnight.Musician.
• We're excited about the website overhaul, thanks to Design for the Little Guy and Mr. Jackdaw graphic design. We are hoping to unveil it later this month.
• And speaking of website overhauls, please drop by and see all the great things our good friends at Falling Mountain Music have been up to at http://fallingmountain.com

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SONG FOR THE MONTH
"Winter" from Turning Pages; "winter will soon be leaving" - enough said!
http://andrewmcknight.bandcamp.com/track/winter
You can listen to the whole song, read lyrics, and share with friends via Facebook, email, blog and more.

Bandcamp.com is our preferred site for selling Andrew's CDs and downloads - they take a minimal percentage, it's easy to use, offers the best audio quality downloads, and allows us to personally ship your CDs.

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ANDREW'S ESSAY: "First Blooms, First Loves"
Musings on the memories that accompany the first blossoms emerging from the warming spring soil.

"Northern Virginia is a peculiar place. Part southern, part northern in personality and weather, but truly of neither. We get winter, and then I get surprised by flowers blooming in the snow in late February, of all things. Sometimes I fail notice the changing angle of the sun and slowly lengthening daylight until some tiny audacious blossom at my feet reminds me that indeed winter is already lining up in the rearview mirror.

And nothing like the onset of spring to stir the notions of romance (and now that I've walked the road of life a few decades, nostalgia!). The first warm southern breezes and daffodil blossoms seem to touch places in the heart and memory. It is astonishing sometimes how a smell or a sound can evoke such a vivid memory or flashback, particularly when it comes to young loves.

It was the spring when I was about to turn 15 that I first met her. . ."

[Read the rest at http://andrewmcknight.net/first-blooms-first-loves-march-2011]

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