Helen, Georgia and surrounding area.

It was raining today, but it was a good day to ride around the mountains. We drove up to Helen, a little bit of Bavaria right here in the northeast Georgia mountains.



Stovall Mill Covered bridge is about ten miles from the house. One of the few remaining covered bridges in this part of the state, it was built in 1895 by a Mr Will Pardue after the original one washed away. As you may have noticed, the graffiti artists have been here too.



The bridge was featured in the movie "I'd climb the Highest Mountain" in 1951 featuring Susan Heyward.

Savannah, Georgia

There are many ways to see and enjoy Savannah. This is one of them.
It's great to wander around the many squares and enjoy the hundreds of old houses and streets. This town has that comfortable lived in feel to it.


I always have to take the walk along River street where you can observe the river traffic. You will see large ocean going container ships, tug boats, paddle boats and ferries.


Listen to the musicians who busk along the banks. Don't forget to tip. Some of them are really good.

Hilton head Island

After a long, busy summer it feels good to take it easy. Hilton Head is a good place to do just that. The view is from our room on the fifth floor of the Hilton looking out over the Atlantic.



I've been able to spend some time on news songs and hope to be ready to go back to Nashville when I get back to Georgia.





The sea oats (tall skinny plants) help to prevent erosion of the dunes.

The Ranch Steak House, Cedar Hill, Texas.

I'm back at the Ranch Steak House tonight and also tomorrow night. That's September, 23rd and 24th. Start time is at 6:00PM. Come and join us.
On September, 25th and 26th you'll find me back in Willie Nelson's Blue skies Cafe at Carl's Corner, Texas. A very exciting week..

Aspencade 2009.

Aspencade 2009 was a big success. The weather was perfect with three days of sunshine and no rain until around 5:00PM on Sunday. I stayed in Red River until Tuesday morning when I set out for Dallas, Texas. It snowed some on Monday night. Just a little portend of what's to come.


The Houndogs also appeared at Aspencade and here's a photo of Michael Smith and I sharing a joke.

Wednesday, Sept 16th at the Ranch Steakhouse.

Come see me this Wednesday, the 16th, at the Ranch Steakhouse in Cedar Hill, Texas. Great food, service, atmosphere and a lot of fabulous art on the walls.
The Ranch Steakhouse is located near the junction of Highway 67 and Wintergreen. Start time is 6:00PM.

The recording sessions at Omnisound

The album is completed except for a few tweeks and then the mastering process. The release date should be fairly soon.

I was pleased to be able to once more use my favourite Nashville musicians, Dow Tomlin on bass, Wayne Killius on drums and Dennis Wage on piano and keyboards. Thanks also to Stoker White for doing a fine engineering job.

Thanks also to Gabrielle Louise for taking the time to go to Coupe Studios in Boulder, Colorado to record her parts for "Picture in a Book" and "Savannah".

A brief video of the recording sessions at Omnisound.

Recording at Omnisound, Nashville, Tennessee.

Everything is going really well. My thanks to Stoker White of Omnisound for doing such a fabulous job. Today we are over dubbing guitars and some vocals. So far I have used a Gibson j-200 for rhythm tracks, a detuned Gibson J-185, a Fender Stratocaster and my Pimentel Grand Concert Nylon strung. The "Strat" was paired with a Vox Valvetronix amplifier.

Back to Willie's Place.

Come join me once more at the Blue Skies Cafe at Carl's Corner.
Start time is around 5:30PM this Friday and Saturday.

A great place with the friendliest staff around, you can dine, listen to music, dance and then check out all the Willie memorabilia on the walls. There is a huge gift shop, a saloon, a theatre and if you use bio-diesel, it's also available here.

The Ranch Steakhouse, Hwy. 67, Cedar Hill, Texas

Tonight I'm back at the popular Ranch Steakhouse in Cedar Hill, Texas. It's located on highway 67 just south of I-20 in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Start time is 6:30PM. Come and join me for good food, company and music.

The Ranch Steakhouse

Saturday night at the Community House, Red River.

Saturday at the Community House.

I had a wonderful crowd that just kept getting larger as the show went on. People walking down the sidewalk would stop and listen and sometimes start dancing. There were plenty of young kids in the audience, visitors from Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Albuquerque and many other places in New Mexico. Many couples just parked their cars and listened from the comfort of a car seat.


Also thanks to everyone who supported the Community House by donating money via the cowboy boots. This is not a tip for the musicians, but a donation that allows the Community House to continue to provide events for adults and children through the summer months. I believe there are somewhere in the region of 300 events planned this year. Thanks once more for your generosity.

The Adobe Bar at the Taos Inn, Taos, New Mexico.

This Tuesday, July, 7th I'm performing once more at the Adobe Bar in Taos. The start time is 7:00pm.

Come and join me for my last show of the year at the Adobe Bar, the best venue in Taos.

You'll enjoy the Incredible cozy atmosphere in this "the living room of Taos".

Wildwood Sounds, Del Norte, Colorado

Tomorrow, July, 3rd is a brand new venue for me and it's a great one. Come and see me at Wildwood Sounds in Del Norte, Colorado. Start time is around 7:30PM. Come early and get a good seat.

Colorado mini tour

John and I left for Colorado a day early so he could see Salida. I think he likes the town as much as I do. There's still an amazing amount of water coming down the Arkansas River.




Friday I performed at Bongo Billy's in Salida, Saturday afternnoon at lake George and Saturday night at the Thunderbird in Florrisant. A really nice "mini tour".
The 2nd photo is overlooking Johnson village. A spectacular view.





The 3rd photo was taken from the top of Wilkerson Pass looking west. If you look east Pikes Peak stares back at you.





And isn't this one of the straightest roads? Like an Arrow....

Salida, Colorado tonight.

Tonight I'm back once more at Bongo Billy's Salida Cafe. Start time is 8:30PM. If you're in town please stop by.
John flew safely back to Atlanta this afternoon. We had a great week with visits to Santa Fe, Taos, Cimarron and Salida, seeing many friends in the process.

Bongo Billy's, Salida ,Colorado. Thunderbird, Florissant, Colorado

This morning we are leaving for Salida, my favourite Colorado town. In the morning John returns to Denver for his flight back to Georgia. Tomorrow I'll be performing once more at Bongo Billy's Salida Cafe located on the banks of the Arkansas River. On Saturday you'll find me back at the Thunderbird in Florissant, Colorado, Sunday on the deck at Mountain Treasures with Fritz, Monday a concert at the Community House in Red River.

Santa Fe and Taos.

After a hectic weekend it's nice to have a few days off. John and I spent Monday in Santa Fe. We took hundreds of photographs. Only with a digital camera can you do that.

Santa Fe. The first two photo's show one of the plaza and the other I think, is San Fransisco St. There were many people on the plaza plus street musicians. Love that town!!!





Today we went to Taos. The third photograph was taken between Taos and Valarde by the Rio Grande. There were lots of rafters on the river.
We stopped at Embudo Station to look at the old water tower from the "Chili Line" days, plus the old railway station.





The Rio Grande Gorge from the bridge. It was very windy here, almost enough to blow us into the road. The wind didn't stop the many tourists from taking pictures. From there we went to Arroyo Seco for a drink at the coffee house, before heading back to Red River. A very nice couple of days.





John on the bridge over the gorge.

Fine art and Wine Festival 2009.

The Fine Art and Wine Festival in Red River was a big success inspite of the rainy Saturday. Sunday turned into a beautiful sunny New Mexico day. I shared the stage with Gabrielle Louise and Ben & Mandy. We also had DJ. Randy Moore filling in the spaces. This festival is growing. The first year I was the only performer.

New exciting news..... Gabrielle and I are planning a couple of duets for my new album. Keep tuned here for more details.

My son John and I are going to Santa Fe for the day. Now we have to decide on our favourite restaurant for lunch.

The Dog and Duck, Austin, Texas

Just arrived back in Dallas. It is very hot here. Today I got to listen to an interview I had with Candice Felice of Georgia Public Radio. It was broadcast this afternoon. It is available as a podcast on WPPR. Demorest, Georgia. Community life Podcast June 16th 2009



I had a great time in Austin and last night visited with my friends at the Dog and Duck Pub, located at 17th, Street and Guadalupe. How about that? An almost real English pub in the Texas capitol. No skittles or dominoes, but dart boards, Guinness and other fine ales. I made a Shandy using 7-up. It wasn't bad at all.



There was even a classic car show in the parking lot. Just take a look at the long, black Caddy. Looks a bit like the Batmobile, don't you think?

Back at Willie's Place

I'm back at Willie's place tonight and tomorrow night. Located at Carl's Corner 50 mile south of Dallas on I-35 east, start time is 5:30PM both nights. Look for me in the Blue Skies Cafe. Please come and join me. Thanks, Philip

Country Music Hall of Fame

Charlie McCoy has been one of my favourite musicians for at least 38 years. I was thrilled to have him perform on my last album. Outstanding is the only way to describe his performance. Last week Charlie was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Congratulations Charlie, so well deserved.

Omnisound Studios, Nashville

I'm pleased to announce that I will be back in the studios at Omnisound on August 1st to record my 4th solo album. Omnisound is located in the heart of the Nashville music scene and surrounded by great restaurants, bars and an Irish pub. Sound like heaven?


Believe it or not, all those microphones are just to record the drums. I think I counted around sixteen.

Stolen musical equipment . Then and now.

In 1968 I was performing in Sunderland, a town on the northeast coast of England. After the show we went back to our "Pro Digs". I grabbed my Gretsch guitar and we went inside for a cup of tea. Thirty minutes later I went back to the van and it was gone, stolen. Everything was gone, including our coats and musical equipment. We survived, but I was struck by the fact that someone would be willing to steal the tools of our trade, our only way to make a living. That was a long time ago and I was over it until I learned this morning that the same thing had happened to a good friend of mine in Colorado Springs. What kind of person would do a thing like that? How would they react if the same thing happened to them? Age old questions I'm sure, but they seem just as relevant today as they were back then.

Saturday night at the Basket Peddler.

Friday was at Sugar Mill Creek with a really great crowd. Saturday the Basket Peddler put on a Tapas party. Live music in Cornelia is rare and the folks seemed to enjoy the food, wines and music. We will have to do this more often.

Back home in Georgia

This past Sunday I drove from Dallas to Cornelia in one day. That was 900 miles and in pouring rain. This Friday I'm at Sugar Mill Creek, and Saturday, at a "tapas" event at the Basket Peddler. The Basket Peddler is Cornelia's best kept secret for breakfast. Where else can you read the Atlanta Journal, the Wall St.Times, Time Magazine and Newsweek while enjoying a very healthy breakfast? The Basket Peddler now serves local Georgia wines by the glass and locally brewed beers.

New Venues.
Today I booked the Ranch Steakhouse in Cedar Hill, Texas. There is a new place in Colorado this coming summer. It's "Wild Wood Sounds" in Del Norte. That happens on July, 3rd. I also have two more weekends at Willie's Place during June and July. All the dates are on my website under "upcoming". Come see me....

Willie's Place, The Blue Skies Cafe.

My first night at Carl's Corner was a big success. I have also been booked for next week. This is a really nice place. We had quite a crowd and I'm hoping for a repeat tonight. Thanks to all my friends who traveled down from Dallas.



Tonight Gary P. Nunn will be appearing in the theater. We were both performers at "Micheal Hearne's Big Barn Dance Weekend" in Taos, last September. I'm looking forward to catching Gary's show.