Previously reported but still-interesting news and information about the activities of Hot Soup and its members in 2002 - 2003:                                                                                                                                                                                                        

• Report from the sixth annual Avalon Folk Festival.
• We still need some help with our Future Tour Plans
• How we spent our Summer "Vacation"
• A report from the Kerrville Folk Festival
• A Tour through Princeton, New Jersey
• Another successful Southeast Tour!
• Reports from the Soup Kitchen

It was a fabulous Sixth Folk Festival in Paw Paw: perfect weather, happy crowd. We saw some new faces (yes, just faces) on the stage and many favorites, too (Bill Danoff, Side by Side, and Amelia Spicer). Tom Prasada-Rao was there, and our buddy Rachel Bissex came down from Vermont. Sue's songwriting class was a hit. Is 2003 your year to really feel the breeze? Mark your calendar for the second weekend in August . . . .

Here's our very very general projection for tours through spring 2003. ("Tour" means we expect to be on the road for two, three, or four weeks -- aside from that, we dart in and out of places within a day's drive of Maryland all year.) We'll be happy for your suggestions of venues in your area!

• October '02: Upper Midwest tour
• December '02: Southeast tour
• February '03: Lower Midwest tour
• April '03: Northeast tour

Where did June go?? We started in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a concert on the dock beside the brig Niagara (sounds like . . . yes, and all bad jokes were expected and enjoyed). Great crowd, lots of fun!

We did not make a second trip to Kerrville -- Jennifer was not judged to be one of the top six. When we were there Memorial Day Weekend, we were told repeatedly that the overall quality of writing in this year's competition was way better than in years past -- had it been any other year . . . oh well. We gave the Kerrville crowd a good taste of Soup, and that's what mattered.

Then we were off to Vermont (Jennifer and Sue's first visit -- wow!), New Hampshire (where did all the accents go?) and to the Boston area, where we did a concert with David Bailey. David is an inspirational and prolific singer-songwriter; you may have seen him on 60 Minutes. He's the guy who was diagnosed with and treated for a terminal brain tumor, given six months to live, and that was six years ago. He's still kickin' the grim reaper in the butt. He's in the process of finishing a new recording, which he invited us to sing a couple of harmonies on. Should be out later this summer.

SOUPer Jennifer Camp entered the Kerrville New Song Contest this year, and -- yes! -- she was one of the 32 finalists! Jennifer sent them "200 Miles to Chicago" and that swingin' Texas tune "Red Dirt Road."

On Saturday, May 25, we drove from home (Maryland) to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where we enjoyed playing at the Mayfair Festival. Then we rushed to Philadelphia and hopped on a plane to San Antonio, picked up a car, and drove the rest of the way to Kerrville, Texas. We were greeted by a Texas-size thunderstorm and didn't get to bed until 3am Texas time. Nonetheless, we did our Souper best on Sunday afternoon.

As soon as we arrived at the festival, we started hearing about how totally fantastic the lineup of songwriters had been on Saturday (16 of the 32 finalists perform on Saturday, and 16 perform on Sunday). Jennifer was first up on the New Folk stage on Sunday. The crowd loved it, but we continued to hear from the organizers and judges that this was an especially high quality year -- two sets of six winners could easily have been picked. Unfortunately, Jennifer placed in the second set of 6 (in other words, she was not selected for the main stage performance this year).

Nanci Griffith didn't win when she was a finalist either. Eric Schwartz told us he didn't win last year (can you imagine?), but he's a main stage performer this year. So there ya go. Thanks for all your good wishes!

We closed our visit to Kerrville on Monday night happily visiting with and collecting songs from Nashville songwriter Lisa Aschman ("When I've Got the Moon"), joined by Alan Rowoth, Harry Remmers, and another Texas-size thunderstorm, this time with hail.

Oh, yeah -- who did win? Check out the Kerrville website to find out.

We had a terrific show on May 17 with the Princeton Folk Music Society, and we stayed with a family that lives on the old Wilson Farm in Grovers Mill. (Sound familiar? Think Orson Welles.) They showed us the water tower that neighbors shot at because they thought it was the Martians.

Our hosts, Justin and Carol, also gave us a quick tour around town to see other notable sights -- Paul Robeson's house, Einstein's house, Cleveland's house, Wilson's house -- and we actually saw John Nash ("A Beautiful Mind") raking his yard.

We had great adventures on our long Southeast tour. Highlights included:

• Our second visit to the Columbia (South Carolina) Coffeehouse, hosted by Jimmy Riddle, where the teens get up and dance to "When the Cows Come Home." What a treat! We expect to be back at the Columbia Coffeehouse in December. Stay tuned . . . .
• Very successful presentations at this year's Folk Alliance conference in Jacksonville, Florida.
• Our second trip to Tallahassee to teach at the School of Arts and Sciences. We were there for a five-day residency, teaching both in school and at community harmony workshops. It was wonderful fun, and we got to catch up with our friends Kate Taluga and Gus Johnson (come see them at Common Ground music camp in Maryland this July!). There was a record cold snap while we were there -- waaaaaay below freezing! Brrrr . . . throw another log on that fire!
• A stop at the UU Dome concerts in Tampa, where our hostess and Souper slogan contest winner Gloria Holloway modeled her "Bowls Ya Over" autographed Soup T-shirt.
• A lovely concert to benefit the Autism Center at the University of Central Florida, thanks to the efforts of Soup fan (and Center Director) Terri Burns. We stayed with fans Dick and Audrey Reed in their gorgeous, rambling hacienda (Sue's new favorite tropical-style house) in the middle of an orange grove!
• A stop at WFIT in Melbourne, Florida to visit on-the-air with syndicated DJ Fred Migliore and off-the-air with soup fan and DJ Carlos McCauly -- both of whom were souper generous in their enthusiasm and airtime!.
• A family concert hosted by fan Pat McGee, who organized a 4pm Sunday concert at his church, followed by (what else?) a potluck Soup supper. Those of you in the DC/Baltimore area will recognize Pat as a perennial folk fan (who has relocated to Melbourne to pursue his PhD) and the owner of a pair of cow costumes in which he and a conscripted bovine volunteer dance down the aisle when we sing "When the Cows Come Home." This was Pat's first try at presenting a concert, and it was a rousing success! Cowabunga!

• A visit to Weslyan College in Macon, Georgia, where we had our first experience as college credit. Pat Pritchard was the host, and I wish I had had a college prof so welcoming! Weslyan is where Jennifer went to school, and much of her family lives in the area, so we had a great time with both the students and with Jennifer's kin and community. We stayed in a little house on her family property and truly loved the R&R days there, walking in the woods and getting totally spoiled by her stepmom's cooking.
• Two nights in the Tidewater area of eastern Virginia (one night in a lovely historic plantation house) where we enjoyed the hospitality (and collected the recipes) of Brenda Barkley. Looking back -- we really ate well on this trip.
• And, last but not least, a terrific concert at the Shady Grove Coffeehouse in Glen Allen, Virginia, hosted by Scott Hammer. We had fun walking through "old" Richmond with Janet Hammer (who is a fantastic painter), and enjoyed an excellent turnout at our concert. This particular audience is astonishingly effusive in it's enthusiasm. We had promised ourselves that we'd debut "Can't Buy Me Love" before the end of the tour -- and this was the last date. Couldn't have tried it in a more nurturing place! (Scott has had some difficulty with attendance and was feeling like he might discontinue the series. If you're in the Richmond area, check it out and GO, GO, GO. This may be the best audience environment on the planet; it would be a sin for the series to fold.)

We were on tour for nearly four weeks, but we were often in one place for more than a day, so it wasn't as hectic as some road trips -- and, as always -- we enjoyed the company of and shared music with so many interesting and engaging people. These trips are adventures in connecting and reconnecting -- we feel privileged to be able to do it. Thanks for making it possible!

We debuted our new arrangement of "Can't Buy Me Love" in Richmond (at the Shady Grove Coffeehouse) and tried it again in Baltimore (at the Cellar Stage concert series). It's a hit! Hot Soup covers the Beatles. Who'd a thunk it?!

Sue is pleased to report that she has reconnected with the family of Nile Alexander, the young man for whom she wrote "From Silence Into Song" on Soup Happens . Nile was multi-handicapped; he died three years ago at the age of 12. Sue has just learned that Nile's mom Carolyn has been working on a book -- called "Suffering in Silence, Laughing Out Loud." It's an amazing universe, huh?