It’s monthly, it’s free (OK, I skipped one month. Sue me.)  

​

To sign up for the e-mail distribution of this newsletter, click here and type "Sign me up!" in the subject line.

​

Click here for the latest tour info.

I hope you are enjoying the summer as we slowly ease back into normalcy. There are plenty of outdoor concerts to choose from and I hope you’ll be able to get to one.

 

OUTDOOR CONCERTS

The outdoor music scene is in full swing and 11 of my 12 gigs this month are with my folk-rock duo, Knock on Wood. There are three this week and hopefully, we’ll be coming to a town near you.

 

The schedule includes a lot of places we’ve never played before, including Billerica, Lakeville, Millbury, Whitinsville and Bow, N.H. And we’re finally getting to do a show in Lincoln after cancellations inn 2019 (rain) and 2020 (COVID).  

 

In August, there are eight Knock on Wood concerts, including a Thursday night, Aug. 26, at the library in Haverhill, where I’ll be joined by my son, Keith, and daughter, Jen. You may recall that Keith and Jen performed on three tracks of my most recent CD, and we’ll be recreating that magic in person.

 

Please note that the June 30 concert in Southboro has been rescheduled for Monday, Aug. 30. The July 8 show in Rochester, N.H., was cancelled and will be rescheduled.

 

Check out the Knock on Wood page for schedule updates.

​

HOMECOMING WEEK

In the span of eight days, both Joe Kessler (my primary partner in Knock on Wood) and I performed as a duo in front of the hometown fans. On June 19, we did a show at the Sawyer Free Library in Gloucester (Joe’s turf) and also played at the First Baptist Church in Melrose (my home) on June 27.

 

Both shows were well-attended and a lot of fun. The June 27 concert was a benefit for Bread of Life, a local food pantry, and we raised $225 for this worthy cause. It was such a big success, in fact, that we are planning to make this an annual event.

 

So mark it down for June 26, 2022. Of course, you can be sure that I’ll be reminding you several dozen times. At least.

 

THE 4,000 CLUB

It took a while but I reached a major milestone last month, selling my 4,000th recording. My first sale was a 45 rpm single back in 1976 and the hits just kept on coming. Sort of.

 

The total includes 2,623 vinyl records and, get this, 11 cassettes. I didn’t mass produce the cassettes, in case you’re wondering. Just a DIY project. Digital downloads are not included.

 

The top-selling CD is Baseball’s Greatest Hits, Volume 2 (314), although Baseball’s Greatest Hits, Volume 1, sold 444 vinyl copies and 252 CDs for a total of 696. I’m a little obsessed with numbers if you haven’t noticed by now.

 

Anyway, the total (as of July 12) stands at 4,009. Visit www.howienewman.com/buy-cd if you’d like to add to the total (and history). Or just come to a show. I’ll do my best to talk you into buying one.  

​

THE CLASS OF 2020

That’s the title of my latest song and I’ll be playing it in front of people for the first time this week. The concept is that we all made up this giant class and persevered through the pandemic and political corruption. Thus we are all graduates of The Class of 2020.

 

It has not been recorded yet and I may try to make a live recording so folks can hear it. The song is a departure from my usually whimsical style but, of course, these were not whimsical times.

 

Here’s hoping that we continue to trend in the right direction. Have a great summer.

 

Howie

 

 

UPCOMING 

Click here for the concert calendar and scheduling updates.