So....we gave Dollywood a miss this time to make the long drive from Nashville to Asheville where we arrived and spent a lovely evening walking streets lined with trendy shops and restaurants. Having the whole evening to decide where we wanted to eat was a luxury since most often on tour it has to be the quickest option available to fit in between sound check and gig.
From Asheville we took another scenic drive to Raleigh in North Carolina for our Wednesday evening gig at The Long View Center. Turned out that Irish fiddle player Kevin Burke was playing just across the street that night so after our show we were able to go and catch his second half and enjoyed a drink with some new friends we made that evening.
For the remaining dates of the tour we were in Alexandria and Virginia Beach, both in Virginia. Alexandria is a town which thrived on the tobacco industry and has strong links with Scotland through that so we felt very much at home strolling it’s cobbled streets.
Our good friends Laura Cortese and Aoife O’ Donovan opened for us in Alexandria which was a treat to listen to.
Our tour ended with a gig in the theatre of Virginia Beach library on Saturday night where we played to yet another smiley crowd. I don’t think I have ever played to such smiley and enthusiastic people as we did on this US tour. It makes me proud to be Scottish travelling to somewhere that people show real heartfelt enthusiam towards their Scottish roots and the love and knowledge of the music is amazing.
Thanks to all the promoters and punters who came out to support Jamie and I, hopefully we’ll get to see you all again before too long.
Emily xx
