Photo by Stacie Huckeba

Last night in Ireland, our host Sammy Horner suggested watching the short film “The Singers”, as he believed it to be inspiring — a vignette that takes place in what some call a dive bar.

Watching as the love of singing overwhelms the down-and-outers of the bar was inspiring to me, and it made me reflect on why I keep singing and recording, and even on why I have written yet another book.

It’s hard to distill these thoughts into a single shot of meaning, but since I am once again trying to put new music and writing out into the world, I’ll try.

Especially at this moment in history, humanity is overwhelmed, not by song nor joy, but by the constant stream of bad news, fear, and uncertainty. If we can see the good that is right before our eyes, our uncertainty in the things we can’t control can be tamed by the beauty of the small gifts we can give each other.

The older I get (74 this month), the more incumbent it is on me to make a lasting impression in the name of love. Can I make a listener laugh? Cry? Love? Celebrate? Reflect? Change? Dream?

I hope so.

I don’t remember living in a more conflicted time than this present day. Friendship is challenged by social media’s temptation to tell the world exactly how you feel about everything in every moment. We didn’t know how much we disagreed with a friend until we collectively started feeding the urge to bare our emotions online.

With that in mind, if I have to have a reason to put music out in 2026, let it be because I hope we can find reasons to build the bridges we’ve burned for the last 20 years. I want to remember the things I love about old friends who see the world in high contrast to my vision.

It’s been said that the best fiction comes from true life. The same can be said for the best songs, and I’m hoping the lyric stories in these new collections can bring a person face to face with things to be thankful for, even the hard lessons of life.

The Hard Lessons… “Summer Of Gone” is all about the hard lessons, but more so about the people who ferried me across those difficult waters. Where would I be had I not gone through the pain and loss that I’ve experienced in 74 years of what I think is a wonderful life?   

Tell me a great story that has no conflict. Can’t be done.

This artist’s response to dark days is hopefully a way of thanking his task-masters. Learning to see one’s cruel enemy as one’s astute teacher can be a gift. Some of my work is a thank-you note to those teachers.

I keep putting on my traveling shoes. Every year, I crowdfund new music. I have a handful of folks who are eager to support, and it’s beyond doubtful that my audience will grow much beyond the handful. I write for myself and I write for them. I write for you. We’re all walking in the same shoes. Whether they’re fine Italian loafers, Acme boots, or Goodwill castoff sneakers, we’re making our way to the same end, and no matter what each of us thinks The End entails, I’d like to think I’m bringing you something of comfort and light for however many miles we have to go.

Thanks for reading and listening.

Greetings from Ireland~

Hi, friends! I just arrived in Dublin, and have made my way down to the east coast beach town of Courttown, where my friends Sammy and Kylie Horner live. Sammy and I will conduct next week’s Mercyland In Ireland songwriter workshop in nearby Gorey.

As I’ve been in the formal editing stages of SUMMER OF GONE, my upcoming memoir of loss and grief, I realize that there are quite a few chapters that take place outside of America, in fact, one chapter takes place here at Sammy and Kylie’s place.

Another chapter takes place in Oslo with my friends from the band Humming People, and yet another takes place in Oslo and Stockholm with my daughters. Of course, Emmylou Harris and Her Red Dirt Boys figure into the story, too, as we traverse much of the US with the eternally pouting John Mellencamp.

Just as a painter will step back from the canvas to see what’s being rendered, an author can step back from the written word and see meaning that wasn’t consciously intended.

SUMMER OF GONE takes the reader on a trip, indeed, through the stages of grief, but it also serves to remind us that community and friendship are the most important things that can get us through the most difficult episodes of life. I’ll leave it to you to read the book for yourself, but it’s important to say that the characters in the book run the gamut of the word “character”, from naysayers to champions. I can’t imagine going through the conflict that the book focuses on without the dear friends who were present for me as things raged beyond my control.

Conflict is imperative for any good story. My story is jammed with friends  who carried me across the shifting tides of grief.

To view the Kickstarter Campaign, click: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/philmadeira/phil-madeira-the-millionth-mile-and-more-miles

Be grateful for your friends!

From True Tunes Podcaster and author John J. Thompson—

“The indefatigable Philip Madeira has 2 new albums, featuring collaborations with Phil Keaggy, Vince Gill, members of Sixpence None The Richer, and the band he has played with backing Emmylou Harris, Red Dirt Boys, and several others…

This package also includes a fantastic memoir that is truly unlike any book I have read before. Phil gives us a peek behind the scenes, a "backstage pass" not only into a season of his life when he was at the top of his musical game, traveling the world, playing incredible shows with amazing artists, but also privately suffering profound personal loss. He takes us backstage into his heart as he went through one of the most grueling seasons of pain and turmoil imaginable. In this era of social media, where we have reduced our knowledge of people to postage-stamp-sized morsels, Phil sits us down to a heartbreaking, tear-soaked, and ultimately deeply satisfying meal together. 

The book alone, here, is worth the cost of admission. Two NEW albums, that we KNOW will be top-drawer in terms of composition AND production, just put it over the top. 

Phil is a living example to artists everywhere of the value of: 1. Becoming undeniably excellent at what you do, 2. Doing it relentlessly, and 3. Building a model if the "industry" doesn't offer you one. Phil's is Kickstarter — and I encourage everyone to find his project, watch the video, and back it. If you have not heard any of the other projects he has released over the last decade or more, you can add them to your collection too. “ 

The FULL STORY is at Kickstarter right now!  A few details to pique your curiosity — featured musicians on the new music include Phil Keaggy, Vince Gill, Al Perkins, Cindy Morgan, and many others.

The memoir "Summer Of Gone" balances the joys of touring and making music with a personal dilemma which will not end well. Yet, in the telling and in the living of the story, joy may abound.