Hello y'all or within Austin City Limits...

Friends,

I'm currently sleeping and eating in the most unlikely of settings - the Hilton Hotel, in downtown Austin, Texas. I was first invited here to showcase at the 18th international Folk Alliance Conference. There are thousands of folks here: showcases in hotel rooms, violins in the hotel lobby, Canadians clustering in BBQ restaurants. The whole thing is a total marvel to me.

I'm also involved in an international event called "for the sake of the song" with 3 Scottish songwriters (Karine Polwart, Emily Smith and Paul McLaughlin) and 2 Americans (Liz Carlisle and Jenifer Jackson). We meet every day in the Penthouse suite of the Hilton (because, really, where else should folk music be borne of?), and pair up to write a new song. Yesterday, Emily and I pulled out our accordions, and had a grand time finishing a song called "House on the Hill". They're all fabulous musicians and writers, and I hope to squeeze in time with all of them.

I've struck up a lovely kinship with Lynn Miles as well; I sat in with her a few nights ago at the all-Canuck "Beaver Suite", and she returned the favour for my showcase last night. I had a tricky time renting a keyboard, so I ended up doing a 30-minute show using just my accordion and toy piano (and Lynn's backup vocals). The almost-empty room started to fill up as soon as I played, and included drop-in listeners Peter Yarrow (! - really - ! - from Peter, Paul and Mary - and I was playing melodica, of all things) and Gurf Morlix (Lucinda Williams' producer, who I think left just as I did my rendition of "Am I Too Blue" on my wee toy piano)

Walking through the South Congress neighbourhood and down 5th and 6th, I've been taken by the amount of live music happening in this city. There really is no Canadian equivalent. And the food! A slow-cooked, free-range chicken BBQ last night, and the freshest Mexican enchillada/salsa/quail dinner I've ever had.