Goodbye Seattle, Hello Nashville

Dear Beloved Seattle,
On January 1st I am packing up the car and driving across the country
to move to Nashville, Tennessee. It’s something I’ve been dreaming
and scheming about for years now, and I’ve finally set a date. I was
born and raised here in Seattle (a true Seattleite), and although I
will surely visit family and friends frequently, I am looking forward
to a new home across the country. I am grateful to all the talented
musicians I’ve had the opportunity to work with, during my years with
Dolour, The Traveling Mercies, and my “solo” band. When writing my
latest album (Shouting At A Silent Sky, June 2009) I sort of
envisioned it as a ‘Goodbye to Seattle’ album. Songs like “Never
Turnin’ Back”, “There’s No Star to Lead Me Home”, and “Death & Texas”
captured my growing restlessness.

The South had always been a great mystery to me. The fabled land that
brought country music and blues together and breathed life into rock
and roll. My first experience with Nashville was in June of ’08 when I
flew down there to play some shows supporting “Hey Lazarus!” (my
second album with The Traveling Mercies). I fell in love with this
legendary music city. Although it is one of the greatest music meccas
in the country, it still carries itself like a small town. I met so
many great people, went to so many great clubs, and I saw endless
possibilities as a songwriter. It was on that trip that I started
writing my most recent album, Shouting At A Silent Sky. Now I feel a
strong desire to dig deeper in the heartland, and get to know the
South and its music from a first-hand perspective.

If you would like to congregate one last time while I’m still living
here you can see me and my band play Wednesday, December 16th at the
Electric Tea Garden (the “Artificial Limb” building) in Capitol Hill.
It should be a fun filled night, full of song and celebration.

I hope that Seattle will stick by me during this new period of
exploration, musically if not geographically, and I will be back to
play shows as often as I can.

With Love,
Shane Tutmarc

And here is a new video to accompany this departure…