As foreshadowed earlier, the English Blues-Rock group the Adam Sweet Band has released a new album entitled Mortuary Blues. The album has three songs that I wrote with Adam including one also with Tom, another member. Here are the songs I'm a part of:
“Backstop” (Hugh Moffatt, Adam Sweet)
“Ashes and Ice” (Hugh Moffatt, Adam Sweet)
“Fortune Aint Free” (Hugh Moffatt, Tom Hughes, Adam Sweet)
So proud of these songs!
The whole album is exciting. This is a really good band.
As promised, “Heading for America” is here! Here's the link to the video and the official press release (that's sort of an avatar of me in the middle as Jacob, the character in the song):
New single and video from NorVille, “Heading for America”, releases worldwide on September 1, 2026, via CMR Nashville.
In 2011, Ottar “Big Hand” Johanssen, Tore Andersen, and Joe Sun, performing as NorVille, released the single “Take Me Back” honoring the deep cultural and historical connection between Norway and America through the lens of a shared love of Nashville country music. NorVille debuted the song at the opening of the Nashville lodge of Sons of Norway, the Music City Vikings.
Sadly, Tore and Joe have passed on.
Now, Ottar has partnered with two of Nashville’s honorary Vikings, Brent Moyer (also sometime member of the first NorVille), and Hugh Moffatt, to write and record a new NorVille release titled “Heading for America”.
“Heading for America” describes the beginning of the Norwegian migration to America with the 1825 voyage of the sloop Restauration from Stavanger, Norway, to New York City, USA, as recalled by the ship’s cabin boy, Jacob Slauvig, only 15 years old at the time and now a settled farmer near the end of his life.
“Heading for America” is a wonderful new tribute to the pioneers who unified our two nations.
This is actually a teaser. I am involved in two international releases coming up soon.
First, on September 1, the song and video movie “Heading for America” will be released from Norway. This is a rebirth of the Norwegian-American group, NorVille. The original group in 2011 was made up of Ottar “Big Hand” Johanssen, Tore Andersen, and Joe Sun. This new version is Ottar plus Brent Moyer and ME! The group and the music were formed and reformed to celebrate the Norwegian-American music connection which runs very deep. I will let you research that.
Second, on October 1, the English Blues-Rock group the Adam Sweet Band (look them up!) will release a new album entitled Mortuary Blues. The album has three songs that I wrote with Adam including one also with Tom, another member. So proud of these songs!
I'll let you know when both of these release.
In the meantime, keep your head down and your powder dry, you never know what's comin'.
My friend and colleague Peter Swanson has been working for about a decade on a one hour documentary about the design and construction of the West Rose Window at the US National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Spoiler: it took a long time--many decades--and finally came down to one of the greatest stained glass artists who ever lived, Rowan LeCompte, and his artisan partner, Dieter Goldkuhle.
The finished film, The Creation Rose, is airing in the next few weeks on many PBS stations across the US, but you can stream it here until May 31:
Here also is a link to a song video that you may not have seen. John Peppard and I wrote and recorded the song a few years ago and then put together a video of images. It relates the subject, in other words, all of us. (If you're reading this on my main page and don't see the video link, go to Blogs in the menu above. You will see it there)
I just found out that the young bluegrass duo, Colin and Kathleen Ray, have released “Somewhere Among the Briars” as a single on Mountain Fever Records. I wrote the song with John Scott Sherrill and recorded it for my Life of a Minor Poet album, and there it lingered in the dusty bins of used record stores until today!!!
Here's a link to the recording on various digital outlets:
