Glenna Bell: News

Hey there, Everybody in Houston -- I just had the nicest afternoon, visiting and drinking coffee with Greg Henkel of the 2008 Houston Press Best Traditional Folk band, The Flying Fish Sailors, over at the GREAT little record store on Main Street @ Alabama -- Sig's Lagoon. Greg is the co-producer of the new t.v. show, Midtown Live, and he told me that my two-song set tonight at nine o'clock has been moved from The Big Top to Sig's, right next door to the Big Top and the Continental Club. I'll be kicking it off for a new Houston band, The Wild Moccasins, whom I've been hearing a lot about lately. You can check them out at http://www.myspace.com/thewildmoccasins. It will be a fun evening, no doubt, and I must say that I'm flattered by Greg's comment that he booked me because I am "weirdly good." I really am looking forward to this chance to play again at Sig's. (There'll be FREE Lonestar Beer -- can't beat that on a Monday night in Houston. Y'all come!)

And I was just chatting with my friend, Texas History Lee Powell in Dallas, who reminded me to tune in online to http://www.knon.org from 5-5:20 p.m. today for his tale of Josiah Wildarger, an early Texas pioneer who was part of the Stephen F. Austin settlement and was eventually scalped on a surveying mission. Need I say more? Lee says it'll be "grisly" and "action-packed." Now, doesn't that beat t.v. these days?? (It's gotten so bad I cancelled my cable a few weeks ago. I feel so FREE again.) There's nothing like a good story told right, and Lee is the one to tell it, all right. And an extra bonus is that one of my songs is always the "outro" to Lee's ten enlightening and entertaining minutes of Lonestar lore. Rating: Highly Recommended. :-)

Happy Trails . . .

I'm back in Houston. Jimmy and I had a GREAT time in Austin and San Marcos, thanks to EVERYBODY who was so kind to us out there--especially Tara at Romeos!

Now, we're gearing up for the Honky Tonk Golf Classic at Blancos on Saturday, which will be a whole lot of fun with the acoustic acts on the outdoor stage and the bands (John Evans, Larry Parcell's Honky Tonk Heroes, and more) on the inside of this urban cowboy style juke joint at the edge of Houston's elite River Oaks district. This down-home event will benefit a fellow musician who's critically ill, so we're doing all that we can to get the word out. There'll be golfing all day at Gus Wortham over here on my side of town--the east side of town--and the music will get started in the early evening. All of the details are posted on my Web site . . .

On Monday evening, I'll be at the Big Top on Main Street at Alabama, filming for a t.v. show. This venue is different. I like it. It has the feel of a scene in a Quentin Tarantino movie and, located next to the Continental Club, attracts a hip roots-appreciative crowd and the best players Houston has to offer. I'm really looking forward to my first appearance at the Big Top.

Good times, good times . . .

And there's a new picture of me posted at http://www.americanamediapro.com/ --photographed by the lovely and talented Amy Morris at her new studio in the historic Houston Heights. Amy has been shooting all of my albums and headshots for almost four years now, and it's hard to imagine anyone else behind that camera. Thank you, Amy, for your BEAUTIFUL work!

Y'all come!

It's hot as blue blazes here in Houston, and I've just decided to hit the old road less traveled out to Austin tomorrow afternoon with my good friend, talented Texas troubadour Jimmy Pizzitola: http://www.myspace.com/jimmypizzitola

We're looking forward to a big time at the Capital, where we'll play the supper show at the popular Italian restaurant, Romeos, on Barton Springs Drive on Tuesday (June 12) from 6:30-9 p.m. Thanks to proprietor, Tara Stenseth-Riley, who said, "Y'all come!" when I called her up today and said, "We're looking for a gig!" We expect the generous tippers at Romeos will cover our gas, and we're packing an ice box--no stopping at the fast food restaurants that scatter the highways between here and there--just a good old fashioned time. We're going to bring along our favorite music. For me right now, that would be Odetta, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Janis Joplin. It will be fun to see what Jimmy has in store for the ride. And we're looking forward to a visit with Cactus Griff who "made" the Cactus Cafe in the Student Union Building at UT where the hootenannies used to break out back in the sixties. We'll say hello to Odom and Eddie at the original Threadgill's, Martin at Waterloo Records, and consummate songsmith, Kent Finlay at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, as well as all the friends we're bound to cross paths with along the way. What a lot of fun we're going to have--and this will be a reprieve from the Houston heat and the frenzied rush of the three and a half weeks since my last letter.

It's been a musical whirlwind since the last time I wrote, but a wonderful, wonderful time . . . a show at Threadgill's Old #1 that was like a dream: playing to a packed house, opening for Hank Alrich who helped Eddie Wilson start the legendary Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin in 1970. Playing my brand new song, "The Cougar Anthem," for the musicians at Eddie's house at the end of the evening. I'll never forget the man who approached me after my performance at Threadgill's and said that he'd been there when Janis played the same room in the sixties before she went on to San Francisco, and then told me that in all of these years he'd never seen anyone perform in that room who reminded him as much as I did of "early Janis." The woman who took my hand and said, "It was like you were channeling HER." I felt like I was "home."

Then there was the Houston Press Music Awards weekend--I didn't win, but I love the band who did. They were the most seasoned act in the traditional folk category, The Flying Fish Sailors!

I'll always remember Producer John Evans and Sound Engineer Steve Christensen clapping and stomping themselves blue in the face to make the "The Cougar Anthem" just right at historic Sugar Hill Studios . . . And the radio interview with Allen and Lee on the extremely popular AM radio talk show, PM Plus, on KPIR, in North Texas. Boy, those two are characters! I like 'em!

A breakthrough performance at Mojo Risin' -- a little beatnik coffee house on old Shepherd Street here in Houston, with the kids snapping their fingers just like back in the day. More radio interviews, including a 7 a.m. call on the "Chance and Dawn" roots music morning show on WXLV 90.3 FM in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. A photo shoot at the Amy Morris Photography studio here in the quaint Houston Heights--another breakthrough for me. (You'll see when I get these gorgeous pictures posted!)

. . . recording radio spots for Americana stations with Jimmy Pizzitola at his family's Regal Ranch--the fifties era dance hall where the great Country-Western heroes stopped to entertain in Houston on their way through . . .

The chance to find my place amidst all of this GREAT Texas history.

And there is so much more. But I know this letter is getting long, and I appreciate your interest in reading this far. To close for now, I'd like to say that on Saturday (August 16) I'll be contributing an appearance for a very good cause -- the Honky Tonk Golf Classic at Blancos, an urban cowboy style juke joint at the edge of Houston's elite River Oaks district. There's a fellow musician who is critically ill, and I want to do all that I can to help. Please check out my Web site for details and help us get the word out by forwarding this email . . .

I'll also be on television again for the first time since I appeared on "East Texas" live in April in Tyler, Texas. The filming will be at the Big Top, right next door to the eclectic little record store, Sig's Lagoon, here in Houston--I tell you what, I could just while away the whole day browsing through that magical place that specializes in roots music and memorabilia. I could just nestle into the hundred year old corner near the big store front window on Main Street, picking away on my guitar all evening long as the good customers come and go between Sig's, the Big Top, and the fabulous Continental Club, which is the sister venue to the Austin club by the same name, where I made quite an unforgettable debut with Mr. Earl Poole Ball at Rowdy Tijmes's "Cash Bash" on Johnny Cash's birthday last February to benefit KOOP radio.

My goodness, this IS the longest letter I've ever written. I'd better stop. If you made it this far, you really must be a friend. THANK YOU. I hope that my journey through music will encourage everyone to chase a dream, for I have found no equal joy in life. It feels so good . . . Y'all come!

Just in:

The FABULOUS Laura Slavin of KPFT Radio's "Laurapalooza! Show" just informed me that my appearance Thursday of last week is now archived at http://www.KPFT.org

Click the "Programming" link up top, then the "KPFT Podcast" link in the drop down box. Then, use the Search function on that page to find the "Glenna Bell" interview.

Boy, I really had fun on Laura's show. Rarely have I met someone who makes you feel so at home in the studio. I hope that you will take a half hour or so to listen online. I haven't heard it yet . . . I think I'll take a break right now and check it out. (Thank you, Laura!) Y'all come.

Here’s a quick note before I hit the road for one of the best destinations in the GREAT state of Texas: the San Marcos River, where I’ll be visiting and recording with old friends at Bob’s Box. Rowdy T of Austin’s KOOP radio will be there, too, so it’s bound to be a big weekend on the water! (I met Rowdy when he single-handedly staged the sell-out smash “Cash Bash” at the Continental Club in Austin last February. And wherever Rowdy goes, there goes a guaranteed good time for all—no kidding.)

A highlight of my trip will be to play Threadgill’s original location at 6416 North Lamar in Austin on Monday evening (July 21). It is really exciting to have been invited back to this spot where Janis Joplin and so many other heroes have left some of themselves behind over the course of these past seventy-five years. The venue is a real landmark in the history of music: http://www.threadgills.com/history.cfm And the best part is that I’ll be there with Hank Alrich, who “beyond being a huge part of the Armadillo World Headquarters, . . . is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist who played with folks like Diamond Rio and Balcones Fault.” It will be an honor to meet someone responsible in part for one of the most important music movements in U.S./World history. (Last time I was there, I met Mr. Eddie Wilson, and we had a good talk—but I didn’t know who he was, which was probably for the best or I might have been shy! Imagine that.) Here’s a link to one of the best quick reads I’ve come across online lately: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo_World_Headquarters

And there’s always more . . . and it just keeps getting better . . . The release date for The Road Less Traveled was July 15, through Burnside Distribution in Portland, Oregon. So now the album will be available in stores pretty much everywhere! The radio campaign is coming along really well, too, with more stations from coast to coast adding The Road Less Traveled to their play lists. And I’m still up for a Houston Press Music Award in the “Traditional Folk” category. I would surely appreciate your vote. It only takes about five minutes, and you don’t have to live in Houston: http://houstonpress.com/polls/musicawards08/

And speaking of Houston, I’ll be back in town by the end of next week to immortalize my brand new song at Sugar Hill Studios, thanks to my good friend in music, Jimmy Baldwin, who told me I’d better record it NOW! Wow. That really got my attention. I’ll post it on the Web for fun and let you know when it’s up. I’ll bet you’ve never heard anything like this in your life: “The Cougar Anthem.” And it’s not about the University of Houston, either—hah!

I’ll sign off for now. I’ve still got a lot to do before I can get out on the road. You know how it goes: “The bed needs making, the dishes need doing, the house needs dusting, the coffee needs brewing . . . And that’s how I found out I’m insane . . .” Life. Don’t be a stranger now. Y’all come!

More good news, hot off the press:

I have been nominated for "Best Traditional Folk" act in the 2008 Houston Press Music Awards! It only takes about five minutes to vote online. And you don't have to live in Houston, so please help me spread the word and pass along this link:

http://houstonpress.com/polls/musicawards08/

Thank you, Everybody! For all of your wonderful support and encouragement along the way, means the world to me . . .

Y'all come!

Happy 4th of July! I’m up early, ready for a big day of celebration here in Houston. It is a gorgeous Friday morning, and I have good news! The Road Less Traveled is making progress on the Americana radio stations from Coast to Coast. In Florida, I’m up to #33 of the 83 who made the list on Larry T’s chart for the current week of Monday, July 7. Larry has also archived my half-hour interview that aired on WIKX a couple of weeks ago, and it’s worth a listen if you have a half hour to spare this weekend. Larry is a true aficionado of Americana music, and has archived some very entertaining interviews with the top artists in the industry today. You’ll find me next to Hayes Carll, who’s from this neck of the woods, too, and is topping the charts right now with his new album: http://www.wikx.com/cc-common/mainheadlines2.html?feed=113836&article=1867696

Most stations haven’t reported in yet this week, but last week I was at #8 of 47 on Torchy Blaine’s chart at WDVR in Seargentsville, New Jersey. And on Christine Linde’s chart at KBCS, in Seattle, I was at #9 of 90 last week and am holding that position again this week. On Alice MacAllister’s chart at KVMR in Sacramento, I was up to #14 of 52—and more stations are adding songs from The Road Less Traveled every week.

Oh, happy day! The American Dream is alive and well in Houston this morning. I feel truly blessed to be here. Oh, happy day! There is so much good ahead . . . I will tell you more next time, as always. And in the meantime, I’m wishing you and yours a fun-filled 4th of July with friends and family and memories for a lifetime. Y’all come!


SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Thursday, July 10 from 11-11:30 p.m. approximately: Hear me online on the Laurapalooza! Show with the fabulous Laura Slavin on KPFT 90.1 FM in Houston: http://www.kpft.org

Friday, July 11 from 6-8 p.m.: FREE BEER! in-store acoustic song swap with Americana songstress, Debbie Forrest (http://www.myspace.com/debbieforrest), at Sig’s Lagoon in Houston—the intimate, eclectic new record store two doors down from the Continental Club on 3710 Main Street @ Alabama: http://www.myspace.com/sigslagoon

I'm getting ready for the big shows with Jimmy and Nancy this evening (June 13) at Waldo's in the Houston Heights and tomorrow afternoon at Cactus Records in Houston's Shepherd Plaza. The San Antonio trip was a really good time for all, and a highlight was our appearance on the Third Coast Radio show with Jim Beal yesterday afternoon before our Casbeer's gig (what a true-blue Texas venue!).

Next on the agenda is another radio show that I taped by phone last week with Larry Timko in Port Charlotte, Florida. It will be thirty minutes of Glenna Bell from 7-7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday (June 15), and I hope that you can listen online to this episode of "Down Home Cookin' with Larry T" at http://www.wikx.com/cc-common/mainheadlines2.html?feed=113836&article=1867696 Larry is an aficionado of Americana music, and it is an honor to be featured on his program.

Tomorrow at Cactus Records will be the finale of the Jimmy Baldwin, Nancy Apple, and Glenna Bell tour, but there are many more adventures in store before summer's end, and I will be keeping you posted. In the meantime, as always . . . Y'all come!

I am on the go here in Houston, getting ready to head out to San Antonio for another Jimmy, Nancy, and Glenna show at Casbeer's tomorrow evening (Thursday, June 12). Our appearances in Dallas and Mineral Wells had such a great energy, and so many people bought CD's and showered us with compliments--hopefully, our heads haven't swollen up! In any case, we want to pack the house at Casbeer's, and I aim to have a big crowd out at Cactus Records in Houston (Saturday, June 14 from 1-2 pm) and at Waldo's in the Houston Heights on Friday 13 from 7:30-10 pm--BYOB!

Please help us spread the word--forward this email, mention the shows to a friend . . . And tomorrow afternoon, be sure to listen online to KSYM Third Coast Radio between 4 4:30 p.m.: http://www.tcmnradio.com/

We're going to have some serious fun. Y'all come!!

I'm packing up to leave town tomorrow (Thursday, June 5) for the kick-off of the Summer Texas Tour with Jimmy Baldwin and Nancy Apple. This is something that we've been planning since we were in Memphis at the Folk Alliance conference in February, and I've really been looking forward to it because Nancy and Jimmy are both talented and genuine souls, and we have contagious good fun when we're onstage together! I hope that you will help me spread the word and come if you can. Here's a note from Jimmy:

"It's going to be a fun weekend that starts on Thursday night. If you have not been out to The Paper Koozie Doozie Songwriter Festival is the perfect reason to get your 'bottom' out there.

And for those of you in Central Texas, check out one of the Summer Texas Tour shows. We're playing some of the most notorious venues around. Yee-haa.

Oh, the new CD is doing well. It hit #44 recently on the Americana music radio chart and #23 on the FAR radio chart. Listen for and request 'Brown Paper Koozie Blues' on your favorite Texas radio station.

THIS THUSDAY, DALLAS:
OPENING BELL
Thursday. June 5th, 8pm
Southside Bldg. on S. Lamar
W/ Nancy Apple and Glenna Bell
It's a threesome you won't want to miss.

THIS SATURDAY, MINERAL WELLS:
BROWN PAPER KOOZIE DOOZIE
@THE DOUBLE J ART RANCH
Saturday. June 7th, noon to 7pm
133 Seybold Rd., Mineral Wells, TX
Now's the time to come out to the "rancho de arto."
Hear Randy Weeks, Mark Jungers, Lost Immigrants, Jimmy Baldwin, Nancy Apple, Glenna Bell, Michael Oneill, and more.

(Wild About Harry's and the Crazy Water lady will be out there too. Big fun on the Brazos.)

Directions at djartranch.com!

TEXAS SUMMER TOUR
W/ Nancy Apple and Glenna Bell
6/5 - Opening Bell - Dallas
6/6 & 7 - The Double J Art Ranch - Mineral Wells
6/11 - Silver K Cafe - Johnson City
6/12 - Casbeers - San Antonio
6/13 - Waldo¹s - Houston
6/14 - Cactus Records - Houston

(All of the details are posted at http://www.glennabell.com.)

Y'all come!

It's been a busy day, a lot of fun taking four dogs to the vet for their annual check up and then enjoying the nice weather driving around Houston putting up posters at coffee houses and record stores to let everybody know about the June 13 tour date at Waldo's Coffee House on Heights Boulevard here in Houston with Jimmy Baldwin of Mineral Wells, Texas and Nancy Apple of Memphis.

I'm about to call it a night, but wanted to take a minute to write and let you know that I am signing on with Burnside Distribution Corp. in Portland, Oregon (http://www.bdcdistribution.com/), so my music will be available not only online but in stores from coast to coast, which is a good thing now that The Road Less Traveled has been released to radio.

I would also like to pass along a review that was just forwarded to me. It is from this week's issue (#320) of "Top 21: A Weekly Guide to the Music Industry's Buzz and Latest Releases" by John Shelton Ivany, who founded Grooves magazine in New York and is the former editor of Hit Parader, Country Song Roundup, Revolution and Rock & Soul (all national magazines). Formerly the editor of the On Radio, Electric Village and Riffage.com websites, Mr. Ivany was also the President of Titanium Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Record Company. Here's what he has to say about The Road Less Traveled:

"Country is at its best when it's simple, melancholy; something that stares you right in the eye without beating you down with force. It's not just that Ms. Bell's voice has that quality grafted to it; she knows how to dress it down without turning it all into one big gimmick. Just the right amount of echo, on her guitar as well as her voice, with lyrics that never overreach in their scope. The thematic territory is familiar, with heartbreak at the center of it all, but it is with honesty. Aside from a few slightly more lavish moments, this is sparse music with a void as its backbone, a void which pulls us in close to Ms. Bell and imbues her words with an equal gravity. This is a quality that cannot be faked or honed, it is intimate and honest without being simplistic or dumb; this is a sort of music that I'd feared dead." (http://www.jsitop21.com/)

It was pretty neat to see such a flattering write up on the album alongside reviews of some established acts like Carly Simon and Whitesnake! Lots of good things are happening every day. You just never know. I was at one of my favorite places in Houston this afternoon--Sig's Lagoon--the music store next to the Continental Club on Main Street, and the first thing my eyes landed on was a record called "Yesterday and Today" by none other than Mr. Kenneth Threadgill himself--"the father of Austin country music." It seems to me that it was meant to be, for my Threadgill's debut is this Saturday night in Austin and now I'm sitting here writing to you and listening once more to those old-familiar songs of "yesterday and today . . ." Y'all come!

It's been a whirlwind week or so since I last wrote to announce my participation in the BW Stevenson Singer-Songwriter Competition Finals in Dallas at Poor David's Pub. The winner was Mark Wayne Glasmire (http://www.markwayneglasmire.com/music.html), a well seasoned singer-songwriter and a genuinely nice guy! The event was a lot of fun, and I was happy to see a good turn out to support it. A special thanks goes to all who were there on my behalf. I'll look forward to doing more of these in the future.

After the competition, I enjoyed hanging out with Jimmy Baldwin (http://www.jimmybmusic.com) at a really great little out-of-the-way place in old town Dallas called Lee Harvey's (http://leeharveys.com/pages/about.html), where Jimmy and his band are known to pack in 200+ fans when they play. Jimmy and I were talking about a tour we're doing in June with Nancy Apple of Memphis (http://www.nancyapple.com). . . We'll be in Dallas, Mineral Wells, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and dates are still being added to the calendars on all of our Web sites.

While in Dallas, I also enjoyed a first show with Texas History Lee Powell, a real working cowboy-storyteller whose enlightening and entertaining ten minutes of Texas history is featured every Monday on KNON 89.3 FM, followed by one of my songs on Texas Renegade Radio with Trevor Fought. (Lee is also known for his live recording of the "Bill Longely" song with Houston Marchman--http://www.houstonmarchman.com/.) Listen live on Mondays at 5 -- http://www.knon.org/!

And Friday, I found myself home in Houston, sitting in for the first time with the Front Porch Society on the back deck of the Mucky Duck (http://www.mcgonigels.com/), where this group of Texas singer-songwriters plays once a month "in the round" to an enthusiastic listening crowd during a happy hour that offers pricey drinks but free homemade fajitas on the grill! This little impromptu "cameo" appearance was truly one of the best times I've had in a while.

Next, I'll be heading to Austin for my debut at Threadgill's Old #1 on Lamar (http://www.threadgills.com/indexcal.cfm?location=1), opening for Butch Morgan this Saturday, May 17. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, this venue is the legendary location where Janis Joplin cut her teeth in music before moving on to San Francisco. Being from the Golden Triangle (like Janis) and being the history buff that I am, I'm excited, to say the least, to perform in the same small room where another home-town hero got her start not so very long ago. I am asking that everybody in the Austin area mark this evening on your calendars and help me spread the word. I go on at 9:30 p.m. and am looking forward to sharing this experience with you all!

There is always so much more, but this letter is getting long, so for now I will leave you with a heartfelt "Happy Mother's Day." It is certainly the perfect weather for it in Houston, and I am feeling so happy to be here -- thanks to my dear "Ma Bell." I will give her a call now . . . Y'all come!

I'm squaring things away here in Houston for another trip to Dallas this week to participate in the Twentieth Annual BW Stevenson Memorial Singer-Songwriter Competition tomorrow evening (May 1) at Poor David's Pub (http://www.poordavidspub.com). I am very happy to have been named a finalist last week, and I appreciate all of the email and good wishes that so many have sent my way over the last few days. As I see it, it is a win-win situation, for I am getting to do what I love while I travel and meet all kinds of fascinating characters at all kinds of amazing places along the way as I take my music to more and more people who can enjoy it. And I might even win a chance to perform at Tommy Alverson's "Family Gathering" in October, plus cash for gas! So, let the adventure continue--I am ready.

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, we're trying hard to fill up Poor David's tomorrow night and would certainly appreciate help spreading the word. The competition kicks off at 8 p.m. and will be over by 11 o'clock, and all of the details are on the Poor David's Web site, as well as on my calendar at http://www.glennabell.com. I do hope that everybody in the Dallas area will be able to make it out to support this important event. There will be six talented singer-songwriters performing four original songs each, so the entertainment value will be high quality. The judges are real heavy-weights in the music industry, too: Tommy Alverson, himself, will be one of them, plus Mario Tarradell (country music critic for the Dallas Morning News) and Brett Dillon (heralded DJ for KHYI, FM 95.3--The Range--in Dallas-Fort Worth).

While I'm in the Dallas area, I'll also be playing for the first time at Hard Eight BBQ in Coppell, Texas. This will be a lot of fun, Texas style--a good old-fashioned supper show from 7-9:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 3 (http://www.hardeightbbq.com/). And speaking of supper shows, I am very excited to be making my debut at the legendary Threadgill's Old #1 in Austin on May 17, where another "Golden Triangle Girl" named Janis Joplin cut her teeth in music not so very long ago. Oh, and speaking of J. Joplin and Austin, Texas--Good News!--I just got word from the inimitable Mr. Griff Luneberg that he will be bringing me back to the historic Cactus Cafe stage on the UT Campus, where Janis is known to have graced the hootenannies of yesteryear on her way to the top. I will keep you posted on that date and more, as the album reviews keep rolling in, too . . . And I will look forward to the times that we will meet somewhere down the road less traveled . . . somewhere down the road less traveled . . . I will see you soon . . . somewhere down the road less traveled . . . Y'all come!

I am proud to announce that I'm a finalist in the BW Stevenson Songwriting Competition at Poor David's Pub in Dallas. Last Thursday night, eleven other talented singer-songwriters and I played two original songs each at Poor David's, and the judges selected six of us to return again next Thursday evening (May 1) to perform four songs a piece for a chance to win $500 and an appearance at Tommy Alverson's Picnic!

Poor David's is one of the state's premier music venues, and I am quite honored to be a finalist. The proprietor (Poor David himself!) emailed today to congratulate and remind us of how important it is for each of us to get our audience over to Poor David's on Thursday. I'm copying his note and sending it to everybody on my email list in great hopes that those in and near Dallas will come out to support us and that those who aren't in the area will forward this announcement to people who are. The goal is to fill the place up on May 1! Y'all come!!

From Poor David:

"Congratulations to all for having advanced to the finals. In 20 years of conducting this event, we have a finals that rivals all preceding contests.

Please promote your performance diligently. Lean upon your family and friends and friends of family of friends and their friends as well. This is a great show for only $5. Every year those in attendance proclaim its quality. We will have the audience we promote so hop on it! There were several who didn't make the semi's that thought they should have (happens every year) so it is up to us to demonstrate that the judges' choices were wise and just.

Everyone does 4 original songs, including the two that were originally entered. We are looking for the next big thing, so play your music with passion and the conviction with which you wrote the songs.

There can be only one winner, but to make it to the finals means you have made it thru two levels of scrutiny by those in the business.

Be here at 7pm. We start at 8 promptly.

Jase, alternate, if no one drops out, you will be asked to do one song to start it all off.

Everybody, please promote the gig!" -- pd (http://www.poordavidspub.com)

Good news, good news! I had SUCH A GREAT TIME recording the new Art Guys' song at Sugar Hill Studios with John Evans here in Houston the other day (can hardly wait for you to hear it!) and came home to find an email from a thoughtful fan of mine in Canada who was writing to let me know that he had seen a "favourable, albeit brief" review of The Road Less Traveled by famed music critic Robert Christgau on the MSN.com music page! The link is at
http://music.msn.com/music/consumerguide/honorablemention. And I am just beaming to know that such an illustrious figure in music cared to listen to my new songs and to even write something for publication on such a HUGE site!

(Mr. Christgau has been named "The Dean of American Rock Critics," and has written reviews since 1967 for such prestigious music sources as Esquire, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone. His biography is posted on the Internet at http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/web/bio.php)

So many wonderful things are happening in music. Sometimes I think I might be dreaming . . . Thank you for taking the time to read and to share this moment with me. Y'all come!

I'm back from SXSW and getting ready for another run of shows in
Houston and a very special one next weekend (March 29) at the Double J Hacienda and Art Ranch in Mineral Wells, Texas, with the inimitable Jimmy Baldwin (http://www.jimmybmusic.com) and Nancy Apple
(http://www.nancyapple.com)! What an amazing place--a veritable "ranch to the stars" where the likes of John Wayne, Bette Davis, and President and Nancy Reagan vacationed back in the days of wine and roses . . . It is well worth checking out the Web site at
http://www.djartranch.com/About_Us.html for a fascinating pictorial history of the ranch from its inception in the early 1940s to its current transformation by Jimmy and his accomplished wife, Jane Baldwin.

In the meantime, I received a request to appear on an NBC-affiliate station, KETK, in Tyler, Texas tomorrow morning. I'll be in the studio at 8:30 to record some songs, which will be edited-in during a live interview at 11 a.m. on "East Texas Live." The producer informed me that tomorrow afternoon there will be a link to the show at http://www.ketknbc.com/ so that those outside of the broadcasting
range can tune in online. And I hope that you will! I think it will
be a lot of fun.

And now it's time to hit the road (less traveled) . . . I'll write
again soon. Don't be a stranger, now. Y'all come!

Today, March 7 from 7:30-9:30 p.m.: Waldo's Coffee House at 1030
Heights Boulevard near 10th Street (acoustic evening with Jody Pate)
-- http://www.myspace.com/waldoscoffee

Saturday, March 8 from 8-midnight: Waterloo Ice House at 600 North
Lamar in Austin right next to Waterloo Record Store (with Bob King) --
http://www.waterlooicehouse.com/

Sunday, March 9-Saturday, March 15: SXSW

Saturday, March 15 from 9:30-10:15 p.m.: Art House Party at 5217
Scott Street in Houston's Old Third Ward (with Kristi Rae, Austin;
Annabella, Austin; Clock Hands Strangle, Florida; and Jimmy Pizzitola,
Houston)

I'm back from the International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis and the fabulous Johnny Cash Bash at the Continental Club in Austin, and gearing up for a few Houston shows before SXSW.

Tomorrow night (Saturday, March 1) from 9-11:30, I'll be at Bohemeos on Telephone Road (http://www.bohemeos.com), and there will be a feature story by Music Editor, Joey Guerra, in the Houston Chronicle first thing tomorrow morning. In the meantime, this exciting and
beautifully-written piece is already posted online at
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/music/local/5579727.html along with a podcast of a whimsical interview with Joey Guerra at http://blogs.chron.com/handstamp/.

I really hope that you will take a few minutes to read the article
and listen to the podcast (just click under the picture of my album cover)--and leave comments, too. The Chronicle is aiming to make it interactive (like my set at the Continental Club the other night!), and of course we want to hear what you have to say . . .


And there's even more good news today--a splendid review of my new release, The Road Less Traveled, by Mike Jurkovic for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange--Fame (http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p04689.htm). Here's what Mr. Jurkovic has to say:


"The road less traveled, indeed.

I say that simply because any number of singer/songwriters sound like some guitar wielding predecessor. Glenna Bell goes beyond a list of influences. She doesn't sound like the usual suspects--Lucinda, Gillian, Iris, Mary Gauthier, etc. She sounds older than that. Way older. Like Texas is old.

The Road Less Traveled plays like an old field recording. You're
listening to songs like the gritty prison ballad Outside The Bars and the mournful, yet redemptive Johnny Bush duet The East Side expecting to hear the pops and skips of old vinyl.

With her arrangements raw, production back-porch sparse, and a haunting, halting vocal style, Bell fixes your attention on her songs and not the tired who-does-she-sound-like guessing game that gets in the way of a good listen far too often. It takes a strong will to sing about trying to win a father's love and respect without sounding
maudlin and weepy, but The Texas Aggies Win Again accomplishes just that. Another bold move is covering the Carter-Cash standard Jackson a song recorded too many times by all the wrong people for all the wrong reasons. And lest you conclude that Glenna Bell is all backwoods hard time and misery, check out her kick-up-the-dust ode to married life How I Found Out I'm Insane.

Though mistrust for politicians is at an all time high in our broken
land, the 2007 Texas House of Representatives honored Bell's music with a House Resolution, read in a ceremony at the Capitol in Austin. The House Speaker personally congratulated her for her musical contributions to the Lone Star State. She has opened for likes of Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez, Hayes Carll, Two Tons of Steel and other prominent Texas performers. People are listening. You should too."


Well, I certainly feel lucky to have had two such talented writers work so hard to represent my music with so much insight and grace. I appreciate their time and yours, and I thank you for joining me again today for a few minutes here on "the road less traveled." Until next time, y'all come!



http://cdbaby.com/all/glennabell (Listen & BUY the music of Glenna
Bell.)


Check out latest news, show dates, and brand new songs:

http://www.glennabell.com
http://www.myspace.com/glennabell
http://www.sonicbids.com/glennabell

Life seems to be moving faster these days, and there is never enough time . . . I'm off to Memphis early Friday morning to play the biggest acoustic music event in the nation--the North American Folk Alliance Conference at the downtown Marriot--along with about 2,000 kindred spirits who'll be making music in every nook and cranny of the big hotel. Imagine "A Mighty Wind" magnified by tenfold, at least. It will be a great character study. I will do some writing.

I'll be back in Houston on Sunday and will drive out to Austin Tuesday afternoon to appear that evening (February 26 from 12:30-1
a.m.) at the world-famous Continental Club with my childhood friend, Bob King, of San Marcos, Texas. The event is sponsored by KOOP radio's "Rowdy Show" in Austin (Fridays from 11-noon), and it's called "The Johnny Cash Birthday Bash," or "Cash Bash" for short. Radio show host, Martin Tijmes, has been playing my music on Fridays and says the
phone lines lit up when he debuted "Shiner Bock & ZZ Top" off my new album. Martin and his staff at KOOP have been working hard to put together a first-class line up of Texas talent, including Dale Watson and Rosie Flores, and we will all be performing our favorite Johnny Cash songs to celebrate the birthday of "the man in black." In keeping with this theme, the cover is fifteen dollars. Ten if you wear black.

I'll be in the studio on Friday (February 29) to record the new song I've written to commemorate the Art Guys' twenty-fifth anniversary and am looking forward to working again with producer, John Evans, and for
the first time with engineer, John Griffin, at Sugar Hill Studios.

I'm also looking forward to several Houston shows that are coming up
in March. On Saturday, March 1 from 9-11:30 p.m., I'll be sharing the Bohemeo's stage with Mr. Red Eye Carl, a Gulf Coast gentleman-rambler of the immediate descent of the line of the infamous privateer-pirate, Jean Lafitte himself! Bohemeo's, on Houston's legendary Telephone Road, is a new venue, and the first coffee house on the "East End," where I live. I am pro-coffee, but b.y.o.b. is okay at Bohemeo's.

On Saturday, March 7, from 7:30-10:30 p.m., I'll be at another new
coffee house--Waldo's on Heights Boulevard near 10th Street (1030
Heights)--with best-kept secret roots sensation, Jody Pate, who's on his way to Oregon and will be famous one day.

And there's a house party in Houston on Saturday, March 15 in the old Third Ward--a bunch of artists and some musicians from Austin. I'll be in my element there. Thanks to Austin singer-songwriter, Kristi Rae, for inviting me to play.

Of course, there's always more, but these are the highlights on this rainy day, February 20, 2008. I will keep you posted. Until next
time . . . Y'all come!



http://cdbaby.com/all/glennabell (Listen & BUY the music of Glenna
Bell.)

Due to extenuating circumstances, the Last Concert Cafe show in Houston on Fridays is cancelled. I will be playing a string of out-of-town gigs, including one of Texas' premier venues for Americana music, Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas! (http://www.sonsofhermann.com/) I'm very excited about this big opportunity, and will keep you
posted, as always.

In the meantime, here's another informal "review" from deejay Bente Kyed in Denmark that came in the form of an email and really made my day:

"I am a dj from Denmark, playing for 17 years on Radio Vejlefjord & Radio HLR (two different stations in different areas). Today, I was listening to a bunch of country music, deciding what I want to play next week, and one of the songs must be "How I Found Out I'm Insane" - WHAT A SONG - may I give you my best compliments for your voice, music and sound. You are really a great artist, and I hope it will be possible for me to hear more from you in the future . . . It will be a pleasure for me to let my listeners enjoy your music too. I always try to give my listeners THE BEST, you know, and you are absolutely one of the best artists in my country music world . . . you are a PEARL or a DIAMOND - whatever you want to be . . . "How I Found Out I'm Insane" will be known here in my area!"

And here are some links to a variety of music blogs that have featured me recently:

http://www.songsillinois.net/?p=3124

http://dogsorwhoever.blogspot.com/2007/12/little-blue-for-you.html

http://youcrazydreamers.com/category/acoustic/

http://rnrnonsense.toomanyvoices.com/2008/01/review-glenna-bell-road-less-traveled.html

http://thecelebritycafe.com/cd/full_review/12119.html


2008 will be a crucial year in music, and I'm looking forward to
telling you so much more as things unfold. But for now, I will simply
say thank you for sharing this life experience with me. Please write
when you can. Please forward this email. And y'all come!




http://www.cdbaby.com/all/glennabell (CD sales)

http://www.glennabell.com
http://www.myspace.com/glennabell
http://www.sonicbids.com/glennabell