News

I have returned safely to my new home in Portland, OR after a fabulous Midwest tour. It was a beautiful time of the year to be touring in the Midwest, and I met some wonderful folks along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with my friends and family on my "days off" and each performance was meaningful, unique and memorable. Thanks to everyone who came out for the shows. I look forward to touring the Midwest again in ´07.

Another great show in Champaign last night at Verde Gallery. The crowd was so attentive through the entire concert it seemed that my sipping of water between songs had some important meaning. I learned that when I´m in my hometown and I ask the audience what they´d like to hear, I need to be prepared for anything. Last night I had to reach far into the archives to retrieve a couple of songs, and one was…well…missing some data. Eventually, I gave up the ghost and sang some awfully good "la, la, las" where the lyrics were scrambled in my head.

My good friend, Ryan Groff, joined me on harmony vocals, and as always, it was a delight to sing with him again. If you´ve not yet checked out Ryan´s band…do it now… www.elsinoremusic.com.

I am filled up with hugs and good wishes as I head off to my next show - then back to Portland in a few days. I look forward to seeing my CU hometown fans again in ´07.

Touring in the Midwest in late September and early October is just awesome! The slant of the sunshine in the middle of the afternoon and the warm breeze that smells of falling leaves makes me understand that I will always be a Midwesterner. I´ve had wonderful shows this time around from Iowa City to Des Moines, IA to Mishawaka, IN and Grand Rapids MI. Many of my shows are in places I´ve played before and/or have been hosted by fans I´ve met along the way, and it seems my fan base is growing with each performance.

I performed in my favorite coffee shop in the country at Aroma Café in Champaign, IL, and I was welcomed home with smiles and hugs. So many familiar faces came out to the show as well as a few new ones. I wrote a song recently for my friends and fans in CU called "Just Goodbye," and I was thrilled (and a little choked up) to sing it for all of them at Aroma Café. I look forward to singing it again at another Champaign show this Thursday, October 5th at Verde Gallery.

Thank you to all of my fans, everywhere, for your continued support of me and my music. You are definitely the reason I keep doing this…and it´s been quite a wonderful ride…literally and figuratively.

A quick update to let you know that the music biz is still moving forward. I continue to meet wonderful musicians in Portland and the surrounding area. Last weekend, I performed at the Tumbleweed Music Festival in Richland, WA – a wonderful community of musicians and music lovers.

I´m preparing to head back to the Midwest for my CD release tour of "With No Apology" beginning September 22nd in Iowa City. I´m excited to visit my friends and family and to perform in some of my favorite towns, as well as a few new ones! For Midwest dates, check out www.jonilaurence.com/tour.php.

I wrote a song just for my Champaign-Urbana fans to let them all know how important they are to me. It´s called, "Just Goodbye," and I´ll be giving free CDRs to the first 25 people at both of my CU shows. In the coming months, I´ll also make the song available as a free download on this website.

I´ll keep you posted on my upcoming tour adventures!

Portland weather in the summer is just about perfect. People are out and about enjoying every minute of the sun-filled, dry days. I performed a very fun outdoor concert recently at an event called Bushstock…and no, it wasn´t a bunch of conservative republicans waiving the stars and stripes... rather, it was a bunch of women-loving-women living it up and loving life. I closed my set that night with my rendition of "Those Were the Days," and there was so much singing and dancing, I was sure someone was going to end up in the fire pit. Wild and crazy fun.

I got to see Mark Erelli in concert the other night at an intimate house concert here in Portland. If you´re not familiar with Mark…check him out (www.markerelli.com). He´s an extremely talented songwriter who can perfectly weave together a political and a personal statement.

I´ll continue to play gigs in and around Portland and the greater Northwest. I´m working on booking a tour of the Midwest September 22 – October 7th, and a Southwest tour in late January and early February, which includes my first show in Austin, TX on January 20th. Check back for additional calendar dates.

If you´d like me to perform in your community, send me an email, and we´ll see what we can put together.