Notes from Nashville: March 26, 2024
tour this week: savannah & asheville & greensboro • memory lane: kk's first #1 hit • rabbit hole: ivor novello
Hey there!
It has been a minute since we dropped you a line, which is partly due to my having had some travels (backing Joachim Cooder for some of his shows, which I’ll be doing more of in the coming weeks) and partly due to the KKRG household having our very first bout with Covid-!! We feel mighty lucky to have held it off as long as we did. At this point I guess how-Covid-treated-us stories have become pretty tired small talk, so I’ll spare you—except to say that we’ve recovered in time for our…
SHOWS THIS WEEK!
March 28 - Savannah, GA
Come join us at the glorious Savannah Music Festival on Thursday, where we’ll have two performances that are both co-bills with the fabulous Lena Jonsson Trio!
March 29 - Asheville, NC
The good folks at Chatt Hills Music are putting on this show for us in the Tina McGuire Theatre at Wortham Arts Center. Get your tickets here.
March 30 - Greensboro, NC
Arts organization Fiddle & Bow will be hosting us in The Crown at the Carolina Theatre on Saturday night. Click here for info and tickets.
Memory Lane
KK’s First #1 Song
Here’s a fun tidbit from the archives: a photo from 1982 of (L to R) Bruce Channel, Deborah Allen, Kieran Kane, and Don Gant celebrating having a number one song on the Country charts—Janie Fricke’s recording of “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me, Baby”. This was a co-write by KK, Bruce, and Deborah (Don ran the publishing company, Tree International). It was the first number one for Janie Fricke, as well as for Kieran and Deborah.
Recent Rabbit Hole
If you’re new here, I’ll update you by saying: we watch a lot (and I mean A LOT) of old movies. Given how many films we consume, it’s always a treat to stumble upon something that’s entirely new to us, as we did recently with I Lived With You from 1933. (You can watch it for free on YouTube!) We were so completely charmed by Welsh actor Ivor Novello (who was not only both the writer and star of the film, but also a massively successful songwriter) that I ordered his biography so we could get to know him better. Obviously we’re late to the Ivor Novello party, but, hey: we’re Americans.
Looking Ahead
After this week’s tour, the next KKRG shows will be in the northeast while we’re up at the cabin for the summer. More on those dates soon—follow us on Bandsintown if you want to get alerted as soon as the ticket links are up!
Thank you so much for keeping up with us. Please forward this note on to anyone you think may be interested (especially your pals in Georgia and North Carolina who might want to catch a show!), and add your questions, observations, and Ivor Novello trivia to the comments section below.
Till soon —
xo rg & kk
Always good to hear from you folks. I recall playing kk music in my days as a country DJ back in the late 70s-early 80s. By the way, I enjoyed your performance of "Take Your Burden to the Lord" so much I brought it to my band and we played it at Midwinter this past month in Denver for the gospel set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HWzyRdGeEM
Interesting mention of Ivor Novello. My only knowledge of him is the portrayal of him in one of my favorite movies, Gosford Park. I’ll bet the biography is interesting!