Greetings Brian,
I hope your family is having a nice holiday in West Virginia. I looked up your town on the map and it seems like a small town in the mountain areas right off of I-81 which is my main interstate I take to my northeast tour run I’ve been doing.
It was great getting your message of interest in my work. I could tell you really cared and it was heart warming. It’s not always easy to truly connect with others through my work, and when it happens I feel like I’m on the right track.
Since 2014, I started touring solo/duo after answering many emails just like yours. When you saw me play in D.C. years ago, I had just figured out how to make a record and I was being thrust in the limelight and had to figure out this next phase. A phase that made me really uncomfortable. I longed to have my privacy back and to be creating more, not to be made into a star.
This new road was a bit more rugged in the beginning and felt like I was in a wagon wheel heading west into the unknown. To be honest, if I’m not feeling like that in each new year, I feel I must be doing it wrong. Things have been working on this path. I feel truly connected to the folks that host the shows and I am totally disconnected from any middle men. I long to play slightly bigger theatre’s and to collaborate more with folks I admire. It’s moving at a snails pace, but when I can latch onto gratitude first thing in the morning, my days are beautiful and full. Unfortunately, some mornings I hop onto the wrong train and I want to sell all of my guitars and do something else. Ha! I’m not joking though. Those feelings do come, but then emails like yours come through with a strong message of gratitude and I feel seen.
I’ve been into playing micro shows, maybe we can do one in a micro town like yours. I long to make a difference in these times.
Kind Regards,
Dustan Louque
