It has been an incredible summer! I started by producing a one day music festival at Mill Bluff State Park in central Wisconsin. Then things got busy. Most of the summer has been spent on the road with my frequent musical partner Sandy Andina.> The high points were going to Clarkson, KY to kick off a new concert series at Royal Farms and ATV Trails, and going to Sparta, IL to start recording the next Andina and Rich CD. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Royal Farms and ATV Trails are 550 acres located just east of Clarkson, KY. Most of the land is used to raise horses. The rest (obviously) is used as ATV trails. People come from all over the country to run their rigs on these trails. The concert series is produced and booked by Sandy hardin who, on stage, is known as Th River Red. She runs an outfit called RedStarr Entertainment Co. She put on only two concerts this year. But, come next june there will be Twice monthly shows at Royal Farms. Sandy told that they’re rehabing one of the barns to turn it into an indoor concert venue so that the series can run year round. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Last month Sandy Andina and I spent the three most productive day we have ever spent recording at Inside-Out Studio in Sparta, IL. It’s run by a fellow named gary Gordon who is an absolute wizard of a studio tech. He also knows how to create a perfect working atmosphere. Sandy and I went down there in the middle of last month for three days. We expected that, at best we would be able to lay down the raw tracks for abot five songs. We laid down the raw tracks for NINE! We left there on August 14th. Since then, Gary has almost finished the nine songs that we recorded. He’s added bass, fiddle, and a few other elements and they sound wonderful. We’re going back down to record the remaining five song we need for the CD on Sept.15th. When it’s all done we’ll post a couple of the songs as a preview of the new CD. BTW, the working title for the new project is “Two Guitars, A Dulcimer and an Attitudeâ€. The picture which inspired the title is posted on the photo page. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ So far, 2009 has been the best year I’ve had in a long time. I hope that your year is doing just as well. Be well. Stephen Lee Rich