December 21, 2018
St. Paul, MN

I'm in the green room after just completing my set at the beautiful Landmark Center Weyerhaeuser Auditorium. Great audience! I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the "Landmark Live!" concert series. Thanks Ellen Stanley and Amy Mino for coordinating the event, and Jonathan for providing the outstanding sound mix in the theater.

And this concludes my 2018 concert calendar! What an incredible year, with the RoundGlass Music Awards in New York, to the Parliament of the World's Religions in Toronto and several trips to both the atlantic and pacific sides of the United States. Oh, France and Italy were fun, too!

Happy Holidays, everyone. And I'm wishing us all a peaceful and prosperous 2019.

Peace.

Dennis

November 8, 2018
Kalamazoo, Michigan

After spending 10 incredible days in Ontario, I pulled out of Toronto this morning heading back to Minnesota. It was truly an amazing experience performing for the Parliament of the World's Religions where over 7,500 people gathered from all around the world, representing more than 220 different faiths and spiritual paths. When I wrote Beads on One String, this is what I had in mind, people not only recognizing our connectedness, but celebrating it!

I've posted more about this on on my website.

October 11, 2018
Los Angeles, California

Last night I had a great time playing in South Pasadena at the Wine and Song concert series. Thanks to Brad Colerick for bringing me in. Tonight I'm appearing in the first of several showcase performances with the FarWest Music conference in Woodland Hills. It will be fun to reunite with many of my musical friends from around the country during the next few days.

So today, I drove down to Venice and spent the afternoon barefoot in the sand. It's hard to believe one of the largest cities in the world is just 20 minutes away.

I fly to Portland, Oregon early next week.

September 25, 2018
Clearwater, MN

The new CD is coming right along. As I like to joke on stage, we're right on track for our release date for the spring of 2017!

Today was super fun, with my old pal Pat Riley on cello and Cristina Seaborn on violin. I've never been one to use synthesized strings or instruments on my recordings. I got to know Pat as a student of his at Bemidji State University, where he offered me a cello scholarship. An amazing man and musician. Cristina is also highly talented and appeared on the Beep Beep cd. I love working with people who play from their soul, reaching that deep space to create something truly wonderful.

Next week I hit the road for the pacific northwest with several shows in Washington State, then I fly to LA and continue on. It's going to be a busy fall, so I probably won't get back to the studio until mid November.

Life is fun and good here. Hopefully, for you too.

August 9, 2018
Lake Mille Lacs, MN

It's August already and I've hardly been on the boat. I love to sail and never seem to tire of it. There seems to be freedom in letting the wind guide me.

In a few days, I'll be in my first regatta, hopefully as a crew on a boat. I'm not interested in being a captain, racing my boat just inches from other boats. Better to let someone elses boat take any potential dings!

On my new CD will be a song I wrote last year, when I spent the night anchored out behind one of the islands.

July 15, 2018
Brookings, SD

I love the Brookings Arts Festival! I've played here a lot over the years and appreciate their support of my music. The photo here is with Chris Carpenter, who's ATV has transported me and my equipment from the van to the stage faithfully every year. In the middle is Trayce Meyer, festival organizer for 25 years? Something like that. They have a great passion for the music and I appreciate their friendship.

This is a huge juried arts fest, with amazing artists from all over the midwest. I've heard over a 100,000 people attend every year. I didn't count, but I know it was crowded and they had an impressive amount of porta-potties lined up!

262 steps above this village in southern France sits Notre Dame de Beauvoir. I could not resist singing, enjoying the natural reverb of the medieval built chapel. The original church dates back to the 9th century, but my understanding is that the part remaining here was constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries.

To truly capture the incredible sound of this room, I suggest listening through headphones.

On Sunday we travel by train to Italy. It's been a wonderful trip and have enjoyed spending quality time with great friends, along with eating amazing food. Did someone say, "croissant"?

Tammy and I rented a sailboat yesterday and enjoyed the beautiful, pristine waters of Lac de Sainte-Croix. That was amazing!

Of course, what I truly loved was Market Day in Riez. Look at all those olives! Yeh, I'm a fan....

June 5, 2018
Clearwater, MN

I've been a champion for kids for many years. I guess Beads on One String gave me the voice to speak up where I can.

As many of you know, I spend a lot of time in elementary schools talking with kids about the importance of positive behavior. I ran across this photo on Facebook and thought I'd share it here for my readers. I'm sorry I don't know who took the picture or where it was taken, but it sure speaks to me. This is part of the message that I share with the kids when I visit their school.

But as important as this message is, it's not just for kids. Try reading it and substitute the word "adult" for "kid".

Love you all!

May 19, 2018
Montreat, NC

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday. He passed away in 1991, which sounds like such a long time ago but it sure doesn't feel that way. I miss him. Last night I dedicated Skippin' Stones to him from my Beep Beep CD as it always reminds me of the good times we had together.

This morning I had a long breakfast with Jim Rooney. Back in the 1990's I met with him in his Nashville office. Jim is a big time producer who's worked with Garth Brooks, Nanci Griffith and Tom Rush to name a few. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite afford to hire him back then.

Jim is a very nice guy with lots of great stories to tell! He didn't swear me to secrecy, so maybe I'll bring some of those on the road with me.

He came to my show last night and had nothing but compliments afterward. That meant a lot. I probably still can't afford him but I like the guy and admire his talent in the studio.

April 7, 2018
St. Cloud, MN

We had all kinds of fun last night in St. Cloud, MN. The show had been sold out for a couple of weeks and the crowd was hot. Lots of requests, some dating back to very early in my career. True fans! There were probably enough requests to fill the night if I had let it.

I also included some of the new material from my forthcoming CD. It's very exciting to start playing out some of the new songs.

Thanks John Forsythe and the Granite City Folk Society for bringing me in.

March 9, 2018
Seattle, WA

I flew into town Wednesday to talk with school counselors from all over the state of Washington about Beads on One String and how to use it effectively in their schools. It's a great program for recognizing our connected-ness around the world, like beautiful beads on a necklace.

Of course, my favorite part is when I get to visit their schools, meet all of the kids (I really try to!) and sing for everyone in a special concert. These are really fun events for me.

I've added "Respond with Love" bumper stickers to the merch table at my concerts. They will soon be for sale on my website, but in the meantime if you would like one or more, send me an email and we'll see what we can work out. These seem to be very popular as I'm having a hard time keeping them in stock. I think it's a good message.

Now about those sunglasses! The booth next to me thought they matched my shirt. They also took the photo. Love 'em!

February 24, 2018
Grand Junction, CO

It's been a great week in Colorado, and I'm happy I was able to spend some quality time with my friends Katharine and Jeffrey Zink. Mountain View Elementary (where Katharine is the counselor) was ready to sing with me when I showed up with the Beads on One String concert! Very fun.

After a relaxing day soaking in natural hot springs in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, I'm now in Grand Junction. Tomorrow I'll do music for the service at the Center for Spiritual Living, followed by a concert.

The weather is perfect with mostly sunny skies and 50 degrees. Gotta luv it!

February 16, 2018
Kansas City, MO

It was a pleasure to be in Kansas City with Folk Alliance International and to have Tom Chapin stop and chat for awhile in the hallway. I used to watch his Emmy winning TV show "Make a Wish" when I was a kid. Once in a while I still perform a song from that show, "All My Life's a Circle".

In college, I saw Tom and brother Harry in a St. Cloud concert shortly before Harry was killed in a car accident. Harry's death stunned me as I considered him a mentor, watching him engage the audience with his music and stories. I learned a lot about performing from that show.

I last saw Tom several years ago in Illinois, when we both performed at the same music festival.

From KC, I head to Colorado. Looking forward to some mountain time and hopefully a soak in my favorite hot springs!

January 27, 2018
New York City, NY
I'm in town for the RoundGlass Music Awards. Some amazing people have put this together, honoring select musicians from all over the world who, in their words, "Create Music to make the world a better place." Wow! I'm so grateful to be included in this event with the other 150 or so other musicians.

The ceremony was held last night at the Edison Ballroom on Times Square. Ringo Starr has a new album that took the top award. I always did like him.

So I'm waiting at La Guardia airport for my flight back to Minnesota. Tired, but full of love from sharing space with these wonderful spirits from all over the globe. I'll sleep well on the plane.

See more photos from RoundGlass.

January 10, 2018
Asheville, NC
Happy New Year, everyone! I've been on the road about a week now, with really fun shows in Wisconsin and Iowa prior to arriving here in North Carolina this afternoon. When this tour was booked, I expected a little warm reprieve from the midwest winter. Ha! While today was mild in the 60's, tonight it will be in the 30's and even colder in the days ahead that I'm here.

In a few days, I'll be in Atlantic Beach, NC where it snowed last week and the thermometer dropped to 15 degrees F. Normal for Minnesota, not so much here. Glad I have my winter gear in the van.

So after my show tonight here in Asheville, I'll head eastward across North Carolina over to New Bern, Morehead City and Atlantic Beach. Love it!