...a note from Christine...

     Saturday morning,  a cup of English Breakfast tea and it's raining out my window.  Gearing up for our trip to The UK.  I have never been to Scotland or England, so I am very excited and grateful to Slaid for inviting us to join him on this tour.  Returning to Germany always feels like home and this time we get to share it with our good friend David Carroll, and rendezvous with one of our favorite people on this earth, Oscar Abelli. 
       The South Dakota trip was amazing.  Chris and I sang the national anthem and our song, "Standing at the Wall", for 9,000 people who had gathered for the concert in Pierre, SD - part of three days of festivities to dedicate the new Vietnam War Memorial.  Red Willow Band took the stage and tore it up, followed by The Beach Boys.  The shows in Sioux Falls were also full of spirit.  We play a gorgeous theater up there and the crowds are warm and welcoming - old fans of Red Willow Band who have also embraced Albert and Gage.  They are more than "gigs".  Thank you to all of you who make those trips so special. 
     Send your friends in Europe to one of our shows!
     Onward through the jet lag...

     Christine

Non-Profit of the Month

Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve was founded in 1974 to protect 227 acres of pristine Texas Hill Country and to provide nature education programs.

 New Year's Eve with Albert & Gage
 and special guest Michael Austin
The Wild Basin Preserve   8:30 PM
 Part of the proceeds benefit The Wild Basin.  Click here for more info and to purchase tickets.  Reservations are a must!

Quote of the Month
"He who would travel happily must travel light."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
French writer (1900-1944)

...and a note from Chris...

      Thursday afternoon for me, a beautiful fall afternoon in Austin, Texas.  Christine, why do we always have to leave town right when the weather turns nice?
     We had our first dose of cooler weather last week in South Dakota, and I'm sure that it's going to get a little chilly in Scotland next week.
     My first trip to Europe was in 1987.  Roy Clark flew the whole band to Bulgaria to play a concert with the Bulgarian National Symphony outdoors just a few miles from the Black Sea.  A year later Roy took us all to the former Soviet Union for a week in Leningrad and a week in Moscow.  Hey, hold on a minute I'll scan a couple photos for anyone that might want to see.  Here's a couple from Bulgaria, and two more from Moscow.
     I moved to Austin in 1991, afraid that my European travels might be done, but since my arrival I've been to England and Ireland with Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Italy and Switzerland with Butch Hancock, and at least a dozen wonderful foreign countries with our own Christine Albert.
     We're blessed, we know, and we don't take it for granted.  We often stop and say "Wow, look where we are on the planet!" 
     Well, gotta go pack for Scotland.  Someone's gotta do it. 

     Chris