Music For Free On The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route

I've been working on, in, and around water for a while now. Water has helped me see the relatedness of all things. It has shaped what I understand to be the roles and responsibilities I carry as a musician, a poet, and artist.

I am no longer reliant on the old systems of record labels, publishers or booking agents. The printer Amos Kennedy once said, "Become the means of your own production." I like to think that is what I have done. I am humbled by all I have learned on this journey.

As I have pedaled the thousands of miles that have populated this work, my most irreplaceable touring gear has proven not to be my tires or tent, but the generosity, wisdom and spirit of the people I've met along the way. I can't summon up a single story from the road that isn’t connected to another human being, and it’s safe to say the people I've encountered along the way have become my heroes.

I am incredibly excited to share with you my upcoming project for 2018: Music for Free on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

This year the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route turns 20 years old and I'm going ride the entire 2,800 miles of it with my instruments. Why? Because I want to celebrate and give back to the people and communities who have supported it for the past 20 years. Too often with cycling the emphasis is on the rider and the gear. I want to tell the story of the people and the places. I want to give them both something back in return for all they have given to the community of riders who travel this route every year.

In planning Music for Free, it has been important for me to make sure I can share the stories that I will witness along the way with as large an audience as possible. I hope to help express what an incredible corridor of America this route passes through by highlighting the remarkable people that live along it. To help me do this I asked my friend and film maker Keenan DesPlanques to come along and produce a documentary film. We are exicted to be partnering on this film with Adventure Cycling Association, Salsa Cycles, and Osprey Packs.

There are many ways that you will be able to folllow along on with Music for Free. Visit the Adventue Cycling Music For Free page for a free song download from my new record, Sees Like a River.

For those riding the route this summer, or who live near it, here is the final list of the performances I'll be giving while on the route. I hope you are able to make it to a show.