Hi friends,

It's been a crazy busy summer between The Big Payback's two RESPECT shows (one was at the Majestic Theater in Madison, and a similar event is happening in Michigan this weekend), Driveway Thriftdwellers finishing up our new album, and tons of shows between all my bands. 

I'm happy to announce a solo acoustic show! I'll be providing brunch music at Porter, a unique coffee shop and restaurant in the historic train depot on West Washington Ave. Their menu looks amazing, by the way. I hope you can make it!

Kyle Rightley @ Porter
Saturday, August 25
10 am - 1 pm

What a week! My album "Making Home" won the Madison Area Music Association award for country/bluegrass album of the year! And The Civil Engineers also took home pop/R&B album of the year! Thanks for the votes! It's an honor to be part of the Madison music scene. 

Apparently, I was holding the award backwards for this picture and they had to flip the image. But don't pay too much attention to that. :)

Snow day!

Lessons are cancelled, and I'm home writing music and drinking tea. Kind of an unexpected activity for late April, but I'm rolling with it. I've gone into full-on winter mode. Snowed in, staying snug and warm.

I'm working on new music that will be playable solo as well as with my band. I'm using the dobro mostly. I'm going to work a little dobro set into my next solo gig, which by the way has just been confirmed as May 22 at the Up North Bar. More details coming soon!

I also recently wrote a song for The Civil Engineers. We're working on lyrics for it, and you'll be hearing it probably at the next show. It's sounding pretty awesome so far.

Take care and be good,
Kyle

I've got exciting news!

I'm going to be playing my solo music... with a band! Like, a real band. It's a 3-piece group I'm putting together with two friends that I've really enjoyed playing with over the last few years. Eric Shackelford (drums) plays with me every Tuesday night at the Mason Lounge with the Five Points Jazz Collective, and he also plays with local legends Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo. Lucas Koehler (bass) has played with me in both Five Points and The Big Payback, and he's been a fixture of the Madison jazz/funk scene for a while. 

We had our first rehearsal this last weekend, and I'm excited about the possibilities. Both these guys are very capable on their instruments and great listeners to boot- a combination I always look for in musicians! We'll be rooted in the kind of folk/Americana sound from my solo records, but we'll be exploring other musical territories as well. 

Right now, we're called the Kyle Rightley Band. I guess that name is pretty self-explanatory, if not a little dull. I was going to try to think of something better, but time got away from me, and now it's on the poster:
...which brings me to the gig! The (for now) Kyle Rightley Band will debut on Saturday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day) at the Frequency. Zach Pietrini put together this bill, and he was nice enough to bring me on board. Thanks, Zach! I've also played with The Lone Canary before, and I look forward to hearing them again.

I hope to see you there!
Kyle

So, it's a new year. I hope you're having a good one so far. 

Personally, my 2017 ended up with clutter and chaos. Don't get me wrong- I was thrilled that December was filled with so many meaningful musical experiences. My CD release show, the Beefus Christmas special, the live video recording of the Civil Engineers at the Harmony Bar (footage still in post-production by the way, but it looks and sounds very promising), student recitals, the usual Tuesday night gigs, and one or two Thriftdwellers shows sprinkled in for good measure. But playing in so many different projects can sometimes feel like working ten different part-time jobs: a never-ending list of scattered tasks to perform with little sense of focus or purpose.

I still really love what I do. I'm working on ways to continue enjoying it while leaving space for creativity and sanity. I have all kinds of music brewing inside, but I need to spend some time preparing myself and my space before I dive into new music. One approach that seems to be helping so far in 2018 is focusing on small tasks. Getting my car washed, organizing my work space, fixing little things that have been bugging me but that I've been too busy to get to, etc... It's kind of crazy how I get almost the same level of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment from going through a drawer and throwing away old documents as I get from writing a new song. 

Of course having complained about not enough focus, I can tell you that I'm going to be working on lots of different music in 2018. I intend to keep writing acoustic songs in the vein of my solo albums. Driveway Thriftdwellers will record our second album this spring. I'd like to write for groups I already play in like Five Points and The Civil Engineers. The Big Payback is starting up again after a little break, and I'd like to write for them again. I also want to work on something entirely new. Something direct, dark, and primal. I don't know exactly what yet, but I can feel it in there.

God, I also need to get outside. Rain be damned, I might go for a walk today. Then, back to the ol' to-do list.