A Year in the Life of Chris Murphy

A Year in the Life of Chris Murphy(Editors Note - This is the longer version of an article excerpted in our Janaury 8, 2026, print edition)

To the reader,

I sat down several times in November and December to talk with Chris about his year of travelling around Canada, North America, Ireland and Australia, with four time Juno winner David Francey. Here are the highlights of the year.

The stories and highlights are written in the first person, so what you read is actually Chris narrating the story. You’ll also read a couple of Heather’s stories along the way.

It has been my pleasure to assemble this story and share it. I hope you enjoy it.

Introduction

Chris Murphy has been David Francey’s main guitar accompanist for nearly wo years. This is Chris’s story covering the year of 2025, touring with David.

David says, “We're a great team on the road, he's smart, drives everywhere, and always stays calm. He's sharp, cool, kind, and an accomplished musician. On stage, I have complete confidence in him; his intuition and reliability are rare qualities that make working with him exceptional.”

 Highlights from Tour Number one - US Mid-West (February 4th – 16th)

The year opened with an exciting tour of the U.S. Midwest, featuring performances in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois. Our group, which included myself, David Francey, and the exceptionally talented Terra Spencer, someone we've had the pleasure of collaborating with many times.

After completing five or six shows, we found ourselves with some downtime. This break gave us the opportunity to explore the region more thoroughly. Despite it being February, the typically snowy U.S. Midwest was surprisingly clear, with hardly any snow in sight.

During our journey through Iowa, we realised we were only about ten minutes away from the iconic Field of Dreams movie site. Naturally, we stopped in for a visit. Although the site is less striking in the middle of winter, lacking the signature cornfields. The house, the film’s famous baseball diamond, and the visitor’s centre are all still present. Across from the main site, there’s a Major League Baseball-sized stadium that was constructed a few years ago to host actual MLB games on occasion. Since we were the only visitors, we took full advantage of the moment and ran the bases, which was a memorable experience for all of us.

Another highlight of the tour was performing at The Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan, one of the most renowned folk venues in the region. The venue’s walls are adorned with photographs of legendary folk artists such as Pete Seeger, John Prine, and Odetta, among many others. Playing at The Ark was a truly enjoyable experience and a significant milestone in our tour.

So that was tour number one.

Australian Tour Reflections

After being home for about a week and a half, David and I were heading to Australia for an eight-week tour. It was an amazing experience for me as a musician. We played major festivals like Port Fairy in Victoria, Blue Mountains in Katoomba, and the National Festival in Canberra.

The picturesque, historic seaside township of Port Fairy hosts The Port Fairy Folk Festival which has become one of Australia’s largest and most loved festivals.

The Blue Mountains Music Festival is a celebration of Folk, Roots and Blues held every year over three days in March, in Katoomba, featuring talented musicians from the local community, and all around the world.

The National Folk Festival in Canberra is a multicultural festival that celebrates folk music and dance with numerous performances, workshops, and cultural showcases.

Between shows, there was plenty of downtime, during which my family joined me.

Family Adventures in Australia, narrated by Heather McLurg Murphy

After Chris’ first month in Australia, our girls, Claire aged 14, and Lauren, aged 11, and I were to join him for his second month of the tour. Both were thrilled that their week-long March break had turned into a month-long adventure. Their teachers were very supportive, encouraging them to enjoy the trip and complete homework if possible, acknowledging this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

During his first month in Australia, Chris had been building anticipation for our own trip. However, just three days before we were scheduled to leave, a flood struck our home. With Chris on the other side of the world, I managed the situation with the help of the girls. We focused on cleaning up the essentials, leaving the rest until our return. Despite the chaos, spirits remained high.

The trip to Australia took about 24 hours, and upon arrival, Chris met us at the airport. The excitement was palpable. The adrenaline kept us energized, delaying the effects of jet lag until later in the evening. We spent the first day touring with our new Australian friend, Annabel Hawkins, but found ourselves so exhausted by supper time that we went straight to bed. This rest helped us adjust to the new time zone quickly.

The trip schedule was well-balanced: weekends were reserved for festivals, while weekdays were dedicated to sightseeing. Thanks to Annabel Hawkins, who lent us a car, the four of us explored Sydney and climbed Mount Kosciuszko, the tallest mountain in Australia, despite challenging weather. This climb was a personal bucket list item, and the family rallied together to make it happen.

Annabel’s sister lent us her beach house located at the Shoreham Foreshore Reserve, south of Melbourne, for one week, allowing us time to relax and explore the local area. Another week was spent in the mountains, while yet another was enjoyed at Annabel’s farm, two hours outside Melbourne. Here, we experienced Australia’s wildlife, seeing kangaroos and koalas in their natural habitat.

When we were attending festivals, the girls took on the role of “merch queens,” selling merchandise, practising their people skills, and handling cash transactions with Australian dollars. At the time, the Australian dollar was nearly equivalent to the Canadian dollar, which made purchases straightforward and sometimes pleasantly surprising when converting costs.

Annabel, played a crucial role throughout our journey, acting as our chauffeur, manager, cook, tour guide, and even as a family member. Her support made our experiences even more richer and more manageable. She also organized a festival for the group at her farm, contributing to our collection of cherished memories.

Throughout these travels, the girls proved to be fantastic travellers and packers. Remarkably, we managed to travel for a month with just a single carry-on and a backpack each, which was a source of pride. Then, after a month, which seemed to pass too quickly, we had to leave Chris and return home.

Back to Chris, Musical Heros

After Heather and the girls departed, David and I drove to Adelaide, South Australia, home of Eric Bogle,** who had reached out because he and David were long-time fans of each other and had met years ago. During the visit, we had lunch with Eric, a great opportunity to meet one of my musical heroes.

**Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish folk singer-songwriter and musician. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25 to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of topics and have been performed by many artists. Two of his best known songs are "No Man's Land" (or "The Green Fields of France") and "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", with the latter named one of the APRA Top 30 Australian songs in 2001 as part of the celebrations for the Australasian Performing Right Association's 75th anniversary.

The main reason we were able to do this tour successfully was with the kindness and generosity of one of David's close friend Annabel Hawkins, who managed much of the logistics and hosted us in Melbourne. Annabel joined us for nearly the whole adventure, except for our first show in Nannup near Perth.

During the trip, I revisited some songs Glenn Foster introduced me to years ago, including "The Lime Juice Tub." Glenn and I played together in Shores of Newfoundland, and we've known each other since childhood as neighbours. Growing up, our families often spent time together. While driving through New South Wales, I remembered the song's chorus: "Here we are in New South Wales shearing sheep as big as whales."

There was one other song I first heard called "The Diamontina Drover" when Annabel played us some John Williamson songs. I really enjoyed this song and decided to learn it.

And so, I returned to Canada with a few new favorites.

Alberta. (April 24th - 27th)

We spent three days at home before traveling to Alberta, where we performed in Camrose and Diamond Valley. Both locations hosted well-received performances.

Ireland Tour no. 1

We returned home, and less than a day later, headed to the Ottawa airport for our spring tour in Ireland, because it is just such an amazing opportunity.

David has been taking part in a musical tour by Inishfree Irish Tours since 2011, every spring and every fall. It's a small bus tour, with 22 fans of David, travelling to three counties in nine days.

We spent three nights in a town in County Cork, such as West Cork. Each day, we would tour local sites like standing stones, churches, or castles. At night, there’s a private concert—either performed by us or top county musicians.

Often, there are people who know the best pubs for great music sessions, so after concerts, we’d visit these spots for some memorable evenings. Our trips would cover Cork, Kerry, and Clare. David served as our musical host, connecting with everyone, while Brendan Wall (nicknamed Stoney) acted as the tour guide.

Stoney's a real character and highly knowledgeable about Irish history, so he often shares tour information. He's also an excellent blues musician, a great harmonica player, singer, and saxophonist (though the sax stays home because the bus is small). Alongside our formal concerts, we would often enjoy a few informal jam sessions with him.

An interesting & funny story:

It was the closing night of my first tour in May of 2024, so we all sat down to a group dinner. And then after dinner, we were going to have a debriefing, or a kind of review all of the days we had, all the different performers we saw and some of the sites. People would sit in a circle and one by one, just say what their highlight was. It was a particularly close-knit group that year, with a number of really good musicians. So I was trying to encourage everyone to have a jam session to close out the tour. We were going to commandeer one of the rooms in this hotel. Just as we were going to do that, the manager of the pub that was attached to our hotel came up to our bus driver, Paddy, the tour company owner and asked if anyone would be able to play tonight? Apparently, the musician that was supposed to play that night hadn't shown up.

Instead of, “Is there a doctor in the house?” It was, “Is there a musician in the house?”

When they asked if I would play, I said, “sure.” We took our group, and just took over one part of the pub. We began playing for ourselves, but it didn't take long before other groups got in to it, and next thing, the whole pub joined in. It was a challenge because we didn't have any amplification, but as it was just singing in a pub it wasn't a problem.

I met some really interesting people, among which were a family from Tipperary that got together as a family reunion.

There was also a wedding. A man in his 80’s had just got remarried. His nephew had approached me and said he was very proud of his uncle, and that he was related to Paddy Maloney, of the chieftains. He plays the harmonica and could he could he come and play a couple of tunes? His new bride was not very enthused with the idea. She was sitting there rather sullen looking and just wanting to go back to bed. We called him up anyway. He was dressed in a suit, and pulls out his harmonica and gives it a quick blow and realizes he forgot something. Then he takes his false teeth out, puts them in the pocket the harmonica was in, and then gives it another blow. I guess that gave him a better seal. And then proceeded to play a couple of tunes.

The Song "Grace" and an Unforgettable Performance.I came home from that tour with an experience I’ll always remember, with a song that stands out from that night—not an old Irish tune, but one called “Grace” by Frank and Seán O’Meara. It's centred on the story of Joseph Mary Plunkett and Grace Gifford, and is closely tied to the events of the Easter Rising.

What drew me to "Grace" during our informal jam session in the pub was the atmosphere created by the group from Tipperary. They were gathered around a large table, spanning all ages, and their energy was infectious. In particular, they kept encouraging a young girl, perhaps no older than sixteen, to get up and sing a song. Initially, she was hesitant and not especially eager to perform, but eventually she agreed. She stood up and sang a contemporary country song acappella, one I didn’t really know well. Despite her initial reluctance, she absolutely brought the house down. Her performance was impressive and the whole room gave an enthusiastic response.

As the evening progressed, she became more confident and approached me to ask if she could sing "Grace." I was familiar enough with the song to accompany her, but I wanted to be careful not to influence her style or steer her away from her own interpretation. As an accompanist, my role was to support her—making sure she felt comfortable and in control. Even from her first song, it was clear she was musically solid. It took only a moment to find the right key, and once we started, we were perfectly in sync. Her rendition of "Grace" was extraordinary. People from our tour company were moved to tears; it was a truly memorable moment, highlighting the emotional power of the song and her remarkable talent.

That brought us to the end of our first Irish tour.

Local Shows

Back home from Ireland for some downtime.

We had a few local shows, one at the Doghouse in Napanee. Then we also played two shows at the Isabel Bader Theatre where we were playing with The Open Voices Choir for Andy Rush's retirement. That brought us to the end of June, most of July was pretty light. Then that brought us into summer.

Sudbury (July 4th – 6th) Information

Northern Lights Festival Boréal is Canada’s longest-running outdoor music festival, lighting up Sudbury every summer with live music, art, and community vibes.

What started in 1972 as a folk gathering has grown into a multi-stage celebration that blends indie, folk, global sounds, and fresh discoveries. More than just a festival, NLFB is a summer tradition, a place to connect, dance, and experience music under the northern lights.

It was a really well-run festival, with multiple stages and a variety of acts catering to younger and older crowds. There we got to re-connect with an amazing indigenous singer/fiddler from Cape Breton, Morgan Toney. I had met Morgan at the Mariposa Folk Festival in 2023.

Nova Scotia (July 22nd to 28th)

Our first trip out to the Maritimes plus Stanfest

We had a couple of shows in Halifax at a wonderful venue called the Carlton. While there, I got to meet a brilliant songwriter by the name of Mary Gauthier, now living in Nashville. She came on the scene around the same time as David. They had met a couple of times and she a huge David Francey fan. Mary was there with her partner, Jaimee Harris, who is a wonderful accompanist. She is also a phenomenal singer, which I found out later. So they had a night off and came out to see us at the Carlton. David was super chuffed because he is a massive Mary Gauthier fan as well. We got to spend more time with them because they were in the East Coast, mainly to play at the Stanfest (Stan Rogers Folk Festival) in Canso, which was that weekend. So we got to spend a little more time with them there.

Stanfest was just a treasure trove of some of the musicians that I have followed for many years. Dave Gunning, JP. Cormier, Matt Andersen, Terra Spencer, just to name a few. And some others that I had I'd only maybe heard in passing, like Shane Pendergast from PEI and Adam Baldwin. I'd have to say that Stanfest was my favourite festivaI I've played at yet. It wasn't the biggest festival, but it had a huge sense of community - like everybody was just one big family.

On our first night, we performed at a John Prine tribute alongside his band, led by longtime guitarist and musical director Jason Wilber. The bassist and drummer, also long-standing members, were there as well.

They also had with them Fats Kaplan, who has worked with just about everyone. He has toured with both John Prine and David Francey. He worked with David on the album The Waking Hour. He's a real utility man.

We played with them, and it truly was a great honor. Despite their impressive pedigree, they were humble, gracious, and easy to work with, which made the experience even sweeter.

They began setting up sound around 2 p.m., followed by a five-hour rehearsal with all the bands performing at the festival. With only about 45 minutes offstage, they worked from mid-afternoon until around 10:30 or 11 p.m. . . .a long day, but a real treat.

We also attended an hour long workshop with Valdy, whom I had never I never met before. (Valdy, 80 years old, began his recording career in 1970 with the Rock and Roll Song). He was leading a song writing circle, which often will have different groups just going around the circle with each person playing. But it was such a great program. It was just us, so David, and Valdy just went back and forth, each playing a song. Then at the end, Valdy said, “oh let's do one together.” And so he pulls out Walking in Memphis a fabulous song by Mark Cohen, not what I was expecting Valdy to come out with, but he just played it so well. It was one I never tried singing, but had heard it growing up listening to 98.3 Fly FM, so I knew the song well. And so, apparently, did Terra Spencer, who was playing with us on that run. By the second chorus, Terra and I really locked in and we were improvising counter harmonies. It was just a super treat.

Stanfest.

And then came the great experience of playing Stanfest on the Sunday afternoon with a group of 12 different musicians playing Stan Rogers songs. David and I sang Tiny Fish for Japan from his Fresh Water album.

Dave Gunning, Rose Morrison, a wonderful fiddler and singer, and Shane Pendergass were also on the roster. I met Dane Pedersen, whom I think might even be a bigger Stan Rogers fan than I am. He plays a beautiful 1983 Grit Laskin guitar. (William (Grit) Laskin built all of Stan Rogers's guitars.) One of the many songs Pedersen sang was Witch of the West Moreland, which is actually an Archie Fisher song, but Stan Rogers covered it. He also collaborated with Dave Gunning, who together performed a brilliant version of White Squall.

There were also a couple of surprise guests, Ariel Rogers, Stan’s widow and Beth Rogers, their daughter, who also sang a couple of songs.

And so, a pretty amazing weekend.

BC/Alberta (July 30th – Aug 5th)

Seymore Arm - Rebuilt Community Hall

So we were home for two days after Stanfest. Then we flew to Vancouver in order to get a connecting flight to Kamloops because we had been asked to play at a very small off the grid town, seemingly half town and half commune, called Seymour Arm, one of the arms of the big Shuswap Lake. Salmon Arm being the biggest.

This trip came about due to the persistence of a lovely couple who have been fans of David for some time. They had approached his management many times about having David come and play a gig. So many times in fact, that David eventually said, “Can we make this happen?” And so this was the time when we could make it happen. And so we played at the Seymour Arm Community Hall, which was recently re-opened after repairs had been made due to a nearby forest fire.

The Canmore Folk Festival and a highlight of the Tour 

The following weekend, we played the Canmore Folk Festival. Compared to some of the biggest folk festivals in the country is small to medium. It was, however, one of the biggest festivals I think I've played at in a long time.

We happened to meet Mary Gauthier and Jamee Harris again, but during this visit were able to spend more quality time with them than at Stanfest. The Banff Centre, about a 16 minute drive from Canmore, became the home of the artists. We were there from Thursday to Sunday and played some really nice shows, and met some lovely people.

The Canmore Folk Festival is in a park comprising of the main stage and two other stages on the park property. There was another pub stage that was just a block away. I stood in the middle of the grassy area in awe, and I just took pictures as I turned in a circle because the mountains, in their breathtaking majesty were surrounding us.

To add to our performing experience, we were in the centre of the beautiful scenic vistas surrounding Banff and Canmore.

And so there was some really nice shows there;

Mary Ellen Carter Highlight

There’s a 40-year tradition of ending the festival with a rousing finale sing-along with two iconic Canadian songs, Ian and Sylvia's Four Strong Winds and Stan Rogers’ The Mary Ellen Carter. Usually one of the artists will lead the singing, with all of the artists that are still there, along with the volunteers, some of the workers, and people behind the scenes, up on the stage assembled to sing. Well, this year they discovered they didn't have anybody that knew the Mary Ellen Carter well enough to lead it. So after a lot of asking around, they got to David. He said he didn't know it well enough, “but, I know just the guy who does.” So they threw my name forward and I was approached by the artistic director. It was to close out the festival. And so I said, “sure, I'd be happy to.” So the next thing I know, I'm on the stage with a wonderful Americanana roots singer named Willie Carlisle, big dude, and  his fiddler. (His fiddler is actually from Toronto, and he has toured with David Woodhead, who used to be Stan Rodgers bass player for a number of years.) The fiddler knew the song reasonably well, at least the fiddle part. So they were right beside me, with 30 or 40 people all behind singing on the choruses. And so I got to stand on the Stan Rogers stage, singing the Mary Helen Carter for however many thousand people were there. And then we did four Strong Winds.

So it was a pretty amazing experience. I’d say for me, the highlight of the tour and the festival.

Maritime Tour (August 7th – 15th)

We flew out of Calgary back home, and were home for a day before driving back out to the East Coast.

We played our first show in New Brunswick, near Perth Andover, at the festival called the Larlee Creek Hullabaloo. It was such a great counterpoint for me to the massive festival in Canmore, where they had probably over a thousand volunteers, and shuttles travelling the 20 minute trip between Canmore and the Banff Centre. Like it was a massive mission machine compared to the Larlee Creek Hullabaloo, which was essentially a tent. Although the Larlee Creek Hullabaloo was a much smaller festival, we found it was a real tight knit group.

There were many artists performing that were at Stanfest, including a fellow by the name of Joe H. Henry, a wonderful guy with a very Jack Kerouac kind of troubadour style. We were lucky to do a workshop with him at Stanfest, as it turned out he had food poisoning or something and was quite ill for the Larlee Creek Hullabaloo. But thankfully, Matt Anderson, who wasn't supposed to perform, just happened to be there because he was visiting his family home. So he stepped in and substituted for Joe H Henry. We were also lucky to meet up with Matt Anderson, a phenomenal folk, blues, guitarist, and a wonderful singer. He is probably one of the more prominent Canadian musicians in the folk realm working today.

We also got to meet Judd Gunning, who is Dave Gunning's son and has come on the scene and is also a really talented singer and guitar player, and a real great guy.

After that festival, and as we had some time off we had the whole Maritimes to play with. Luckily, David's former guitarist Mark Westberg was available. He lives with his partner, Katherine in Summerside, PEI. So we drove up there and spent a couple of nights with them just hanging out in PEI. In one way, I owe him quite a bit of, gratitude. I think Mark played with David for the longest stretch of time. He's an absolutely brilliant, brilliant musician.

We drove through Sandurst, Summerside and took the Confederation Bridge off the island and drove to Pictou in Nova Scotia, where we played at the deCoste Performing Arts Centre. We had a lovely concert there. Then returned to PEI to play a concert in the Souris Show hall in the town of Souris on the East Coast.

This was where David and I diverged because David drove home, and I headed to Fogo Island in Newfoundland.

Fogo Island Music Residency (August 15th – 26th)

 I had to make my way from Souris to Halifax to catch a plane to Gander, then make my way to Fogo Island to do another short, less than a two week residency this time.

Travelling from Souris to Halifax airport was tight because I wanted to reach Fogo Island quickly. After our gig in Souris on the 14th, I booked an 11am flight on the 15th. Since it's a four-hour drive from Souris to Halifax, I rented a car in Charlottetown, left at 4:30am, drove to Halifax, returned the rental, and flew to Gander. From there, I took a taxi to the Fogo Island ferry—about a ninety-minute ride—and walked onto the ferry where Heather and the girls were already on the island. Though I tried to arrange a ride from Gander airport to the ferry, the taxi service worked out fine.

This year, I was uncertain whether I would serve as the artist in residence or if the program would proceed, mainly due to significant structural changes announced last year. Ultimately, I made a last-minute decision to apply, as our accommodations were already arranged. Over the years, we have developed a strong relationship with the Fogo Island United Church, which currently lacks a minister because their previous minister relocated to Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, to secure a full-time position.

As a result, the church’s manse remains unoccupied. We had proactively discussed arrangements last year for Heather to oversee services during our stay, while I would manage the music, in exchange for accommodation in the manse. Securing suitable lodging is typically the most challenging aspect of the residency. Consequently, I reached out to the organizers to inform them that I would be present regardless, with accommodations secured, and that it would simply be a matter of scheduling programs. Their response was prompt and enthusiastic; they welcomed the opportunity to collaborate.

Everything went smoothly. My main role was leading a Friday night jam session, which I did since I was only there for one Friday. During my stay, I also played twice at the Fogo Island Inn and participated in a fundraiser for the local medical centre.

Southern Ontario (September 25th – 27th)

Wolf Performance Hall, London ON.

The Bank Art House, Welland, ON

Sandhill Nurseries, Huntsville, ON

Cape Breton (October 8th – 16th)

Celtic Colours International Festival, performances in Port Hawkesbury, St. Annes, Boulardie, Sydney River, Cape Breton, NS

Now we attended the Celtic Colours festival in Cape Breton, the festival I've been most wanting to play. It's the festival that's been pretty near and dear to, our hearts. It’s an eight day festival, with concerts all over Cape Breton in different communities with much of their homegrown talent. As well as talent from across Canada, the US, and as far as Ireland and many places in Europe. So it’s a huge festival.

Heather’s second story.

Before I met Chris, I spent four months in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia as a student minister. I had a two-point charge there. And when I was living there for four months, I took a week to experience Celtic Colours by myself and just had a wonderful time.

It's a 10 day festival, with each little community having concerts, or dinners, or workshops. Then when I met Chris and discovered his love of music and that he was a fantastic musician himself, I said, “You've got to come to Celtic Colours.” So when we were dating, we went to Celtic Colours one year. Then two years later, in 2003, we went to Celtic Colours and got engaged at the Festival. So it's got a lot of meaning for us. It's always been on Chris's bucket list to play at Celtic Colours. And so this was the year that he got to play there with David.

So I was out of holidays, but I begged and pleaded with my church to have one more week so I could experience Celtic Colours one more time. They were very supportive. Although this was my forth time, I got to see a different perspective. I was a still a spectator but my husband, Chris, was on stage with David.

The girls didn't come with us, they stayed with Chris’s mum and dad.

ack to Chris:

Heather, when she was studying to be a United Church minister, she was taking an internship in Glace Bay and Reserve Mines Cape Breton. And while she was there, that took she was there during festival time.

So and it has a special place in her heart especially because so that's when Heather first discovered it. Then when we met and started

Ireland (October 17th – 27th)

This is the second tour to Ireland this year and is basically a reprise of the first tour back in April and May. This is David's favourite three counties to visit, Cork, Kerry, and Clare.

As far as I'm concerned, I could continue to go to the same places over again because it is not just the music that draws me. It’s the friendship, getting to hang out with David, with Stony, with Brendan Wall (nick- named Stony) who's the tour guide and Paddy, the driver. There's also a wonderful fellow named Andre, who lives in Welland. I think this is going to be his sixth trip on of the tour. He always goes when it's David and Stony. And so and he's a really, really fun guy to hang out with.

North Eastern USA (November 6th – 16th)

This is a yearly tour I've actually been on a couple of times with David. We know most of the lovely people, and the great venues. The highlight for me is going to be able to spend some time with Craig Worth, who was one of David's guitarists. It was just David and myself, just for budgetary constraints. We left on November 6th and came back on the 16th, and we played six shows in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. I think they were all but one were sold out and really great audiences and great, great shows. A very positive experience.

An Aside Story – Craig Worth

One of David’s former guitar players, Craig Worth, lives in New Hampshire, and was involved in the album, Right of Passage, David’s 2008 Juno winner. Craig had joined with us which meant there were a few songs that we haven't played together that weren't on our list. So we were working around the arrangements, and because Craig was playing the guitar part, I was free to play a bouzouki part or even a different guitar part. He played on two of the shows.

When we did we did the show in Maine was a there were three groups and Craig was in one of them, so Craig did a set, then we did a set and a group called House of Hamel, did a set.

So we got to hang out with Craig who's a great musician, singer, and a great songwriter. He’s also a really funny and warm person. I was grateful we got to spend quite a bit of time with him down there.

Chris - Personal development in Guitar picking

Working along with Craig reminded me of some of the things I’ve learned since playing with David, one of the reasons is because he's worked with such brilliant guitar players, like Dave Clark being David’s first accompanist. Craig Worth is also a phenomenal guitar player, but very, very different than Dave Clark. Dave is a great finger style guitar player who also plays bluegrass, so a lot of flat pick stuff. Craig is really into finger style and almost claw hammer style. They're very iconic players, but very different. So having to play all of David’s songs and the different styles, I'm not trying to imitate them exactly, but just do what they do in my own style.

For example, there was a song that we got asked to play in Australia called New Jerusalem that's off the Right of Passage album, and I was having trouble playing it with a thumb and finger picks. And that's when I found out that he plays almost claw hammer style on it with his fingernails. So now once I knew that, I could adapt now I knew what he was doing.

After that, we played the Hugh’s Room in Toronto

The Last Concert for David and me was at The Pews in Merrickville, ON.

CROOKED WOOD

Crooked Wood was the trio of myself and John McLurg and Steve Kennedy. When Crooked Wood, turned into Turpin's Trail, Steve was with us for a while, but he had to let it go for family and teaching commitments. He left the band around 2017, but we kept in touch. Steve's the one who reminded us that 2025 was going to be the 20th anniversary of Crooked Wood, and suggested the possibility of doing some reunion shows. Both John and I very eagerly agreed. However, with my touring schedule, it couldn't really happen until the end of the year. So now there we are at the end of the year.

We're resurrected some of the old material because there were some songs that did carry over to Turpin's Trail, and some didn’t, so we dusted off some of those songs.

We got together just to plan some shows and also play together because we hadn't really played together for some time. After the first song we, just settled right in. Probably muscle memory. I think Steve was surprised at how well everything came together.

All three of us write, so we shared the lead singing pretty evenly. We would often have either two guitars or maybe a guitar mandolin and an acoustic bass guitar, so we'd often switch instruments around. Usually whoever's leading the song would often play guitar, then whoever's left would either play another guitar or a bass or maybe a ukulele or a mandolin. Steve said he hadn't played bass in probably 10 years, mainly because Noah St. Amand was our bass player in Turpin’s Trail. We began playing and Steve launched right into it playing Bass.

Crooked Wood played three concerts: The Waring House in Picton. Our big show was our concert at The Inverary United Church. The Cove in Westport.

A very busy and most satisfying year.