Jason Jones

It's starting to look and feel like fall here in Tennessee already! I absolutely love this time of year. Something about it always puts me in a writing mood. I can't wait to get back in some writing rooms and write some new songs! I hope everyone had a great summer and got to see lots of concerts. I know we sure played a TON of them ourselves! It was truly the busiest and most exciting summer I've had in my ten years of living in Nashville.

Aside from the change of weather, there are some other things I've had the opportunity to take part in recently that I'm pretty excited about. Starting with my first time ever playing at the Grand Ole Opry! When I got the e-mail from the WB folks saying the Opry wanted to have me in for my debut appearance it really just seemed surreal to me. Almost as if I'd dreamed it. But thankfully, it was real and it happened! I loved that my dad was able to drive up from Florida to be there for it too, especially since he's the person who bought me my very first guitar. It was a cool moment and he was a proud papa to say the least, ha. It seemed like all day long people were asking me if I was getting nervous yet. I told them all no, and I honestly wasn't nervous at all. But when Little Jimmy Dickens announced me and I walked out there and stood in that circle, that's when my nerves finally decided to kick in. It was just such a surreal experience and an amazing opportunity. Other than focusing on not messing up, I was thinking about all the things I've done over the last ten years and it felt like they had led me to this one moment in time. And to think of all the people who have stood on that stage over the years....I mean, wow! Hopefully, October 1 marks the beginning of many Opry performances to come for me. And a big thank you goes out to the fans who drove down to see the show in person and to those of you who listened on the radio and on-line at home. Your support means the world to me!

Another cool thing I did recently was go in to see the folks at CMT in Nashville and do a live chat from their Facebook page. This was my first time ever doing something like this and it was truly a blast! I wasn't too sure how it would work or what I'd have to do, and I was kind of worried there wouldn't even be anyone around to chat with me. Thankfully, I was wrong! There were lots of people on there for the chat and it went great. Such a neat way to keep in touch with everybody! And because of how well it went I will definitely be doing it again in the near future, so keep an eye out for an announcement about the next one. I'm hoping to get set up to be able to just do it myself from my laptop, that way we can do it when and where ever I happen to be at the time!

And last but not least, amongst other gigs that we're playing in the fall I'll also be doing more shows around the country with various radio stations. I played one in Colorado Springs, CO a couple of weeks ago that was a lot of fun and for a great cause too. This show was to benefit the Rocky Mountain Childhood Cancer Foundation, and I was told that they raised a LOT of money for the foundation! It's a good feeling when I can use my music to help out with such a great cause. I hope to be a part of many more of these in the future. If you'd like to learn more about this particular foundation, you can click on this link for their website.

Well, that just about wraps it up for now, but don't forget about the guitar giveaway on my website! If you haven't signed up for it already, go there now...it's really easy! And if you have, then pass the info along to your friends for me and tell them they can sign up too!! We'll be doing lots more fun stuff like this in the future too, so be on the lookout. I hope this update has found you healthy and happy, and I look forward to singing for you again somewhere out on the road real soon!

Much love,
Jason

Today is the second day of our drive to Portland, OR, and we're on day six already of a nineteen day run across the country and back. The six of us are all riding in the van together and although it sometimes feels like we're trapped in a box, so far it's been nothing but a blast! Yesterday we drove for thirteen hours from Minneapolis, MN to Billings, MT. And if everything goes well, we'll be staying in Spokane, WA tonight. This is the first time in my life I've ever driven across country; something I've always wanted to do. And what better way to do it too than with the guys in the band and getting to play shows here and there as we go?! At this point we've already played in Beatrice, NE, Twin Lakes and Eau Claire, WI. By the time we reach the end of these nineteen days we'll have played in Portland and Sweet Home, OR, Yerington, NV, Spokane, WA, Lewiston, ID, Great Falls and Sidney, MT, and Indianapolis, IN.

I've been taking some pictures along the way that I thought I'd share with you. Some are just goofy moments, some are of the amazing crowds we've played in front of, and some are of the most gorgeous country side I've ever seen! They really do speak for themselves...hope you enjoy!!!

Much Love,
Jason