Having been back for a week now, and having had time to reflect on my tour to the deep south, I can tell you that it was absolutely a success and a great pleasure to perform for the people of the southern states. It was a great experience! And a very different one.
Being from the Midwest, a trip to the deep south was full of surprises. Culturally very different, and historically set apart from the northern states, the deep south was a place I'd go back to perform for anytime. The Midwest is know for it's friendly people, but I have to say that the south has some of them most hospitable folks I've met in all of my travels. They'll talk with you like they've known you all their life, and tell you all about themselves without any prodding. I find this quality to be very endearing. In addition, they were willing to help out with the tour in any way possible, and really went that extra mile to make me (and my travel companion Richard Carr) feel at home.
Our trip took us to San Antonio TX, Houston Tx, Baton Rouge LA, New Orleans LA (two concerts), Mobile AL, and Memphis TN. Kevin Higgins at The Alamo Music Center does a lot of work to help out the Wounded Warriors Project, and was kind enough to let us stay with him for the evening. In Houston we met Dave Smith at the Houston Piano Company (which is a gorgeous hall, by the way). Dave has a passion for what he does as the sound and light tech, and offered us some great wine and conversation after our show there. It was truly a pleasure to spend an hour with him before moving along to Baton Rouge.
There, we met Raph ONeill at ONeills Pianos. This man really went out of his way to make sure that we had a nice crowd for the afternoon concert. After a great show, we made our way to New Orleans where we would meet up with Cindy Scott, her husband Bill Fernandez, and the wonderful folks at Community Church UU. This was the most warm and inviting group of people we could hope to find in a far away place. After performing the church service, Cindy and Bill took us out for lunch. Then, after a concert that evening at the church, we met up with them at their house and had a wonderful evening of wine, dinner and conversation.
At Lafargue's Pianos in Metaire, we were able to catch some of the best video yet for our youtube promos. Lance Lafargue was a true gentleman, and has invited us to come back to play anytime. From here, we made our way to Broussards Pianos in Mobile Al. Christy and her husband Chris were excited to have us there, and provided a very nice punch and dessert reception after our show there. It was a pleasure to work with them. Finally, we ended our tour at Amro Music in Memphis, in their beautiful hall, on a beautiful Steinway. The perfect ending to a successful tour.
Would I go back? Absolutely. And when I do, I'll let you know I'm in the area. In the meantime, I'm currently gearing up for my next leg of the 2012 tour with Kai Miano of Bad Homburg Germany. We'll be performing in Nashville TN, Chattanooga TN, Birmingham AL, Knoxville TN, Asheville NC, Louisville KY, St. Louis MO and Omaha NE. If you're in any of these area in late September, please consider coming out and being a part of our experience. If you love fresh, original piano music, I can guarantee you that you won't regret it.
Donovan Johnson is an internationally recognized New Age pianist and
recording artist. His music combines folk, classical and contemporary
styles to create a unique sound all it's own, and is available through
many websites and radio stations. To learn more, visit his website at
www.donovanjohnson.net. Or visit his online New Age piano radio station
at www.enlightenedpiano.com!
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