Cottonwood has grown to be one of my favorite towns to play in Arizona. It’s one of my favorite towns period! It’s the people, the venues and the Arizona wine that makes such a great atmosphere to play.

Last night, I played at Burning Tree Cellars and some great people stopped by to hang out on the patio. My favorite part of the show happened when a 6 year old little girl who was sitting on the railing for most of my set and gave me the best compliment when I stopped to take a break and grab more water. She looked at me and said, “Your songs are so good, they hurt my lungs.” At first I replied by saying, “well that’s not good. I can’t have my songs make people unhealthy!” Then her mother said that it was her way of saying the songs take her breath away, which I thought was great. An interesting way of saying that.

I also had conversations with some other great people about music, the stories in some of my songs and the great Arizona wine scene. Last night isn’t the first time I have had this experience in Cottonwood. Every time I go up there and play tasting rooms, whether it’s AZ Stronghold, Pillsbury or Page Springs Cellars (actually in Cornville but still really close) I have similar experiences. Great people and music lovers are drawn to that region.

Even when I go up there to just enjoy the wine for myself people are still extremely nice and have some great things to talk about whether its their own story around AZ wines or something else.

Visitors to these tasting rooms when I play are always interested in my albums and merch. I think I’ve sold more in Cottonwood than I have in other towns around Arizona. That’s why I’ve been so spoiled by Cottonwood. I’m humbled every time I play there. The fact that people want to spend their time with me listening to songs I’ve worked on means a lot. Especially since there are so many things to see and experience in that area. For them to spend an hour or two at one of my performances is amazing to me.

If you haven’t gone there yet I would definitely recommend a trip to taste the wines around the area. There are tons of tasting rooms in the region and not only in Cottonwood but also in Cornville, Clarkesdale and Jerome.

I look forward to every show I have there. The next one is on June 27th at AZ Stronghold. Stop by and see what I’m talking about for yourself!

Cottonwood, AZ is an amazing place.