January 2nd, 2023

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19 Years!

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Hello Friends,

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We hope you had a wonderful 2022! Even though it was certainly challenging for many of us, there is always joy to be found in friends, family and music.

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The music industry is currently facing some pretty major challenges. Venues are closing or unable to afford having live music, and older musicians are retiring at the same time there seems to be a dearth of younger musicians out there to take their place. However, there does seem to be hope on the horizon. We've noticed that the generation just now beginning to come out to clubs is deeply invested in the music experience, including young musicians who chat us up at the end of the night, armed with the same questions we once had as we entered the music business so long ago. It's been a joy to see such high engagement!

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This year marks 19 trips around the sun since five naive and young musicians formed October Road. We had hardly any gear, and even less of an idea how to make playing music into a career that was viable both financially and spiritually. All five of us are still engaged in playing music in one way or the other, even though we no longer share a stage very often. However, in these past 19 years there have been a myriad of wonderful humans who have been members of the band, many for years at a time. I'm deeply humbled and proud to have shared a stage with all of them, and especially with the members of the band today, each of which has invested years of their lives in this adventure of playing music. The band really has never sounded better, courtesy to the talent of the guys I perform with, and the musical wisdom that comes with so many years on the stage.

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We look forward to another year sharing music with you. As I mentioned last year, we've purposefully reduced the number of shows we play to allow for other endeavors. Fortunately, we are blessed that our calendar is booked exactly the amount we want with such great gigs. Our summer is already nearly booked up for goodness sakes!

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Be well, stay warm, and listen to some music.

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~Shawn