Kevin Henry - singer/songwriter, acoustic guitar, harmonica I remember hanging out on Bonita Beach, Florida on a two month sabbatical from my last real job. It was a Monday in May, 1982. A local club owner was listening to me play the only ten songs I knew. He asked me to play that night and I agreed to $50 since he said "no" to the $200 I was asking for. After renting a sound system and buying my own drinks, I think the night cost me $19 to do the one thing I had dreamed of my whole life. With more than 6,000 play dates behind me since then, I'm still grateful to be playing my kind of music - I call it "warm weather music". I have played for huge crowds and intimate gatherings, in big bars and beer joints. It doesn't get much better than singing Jimmy Buffett songs for a living. Except maybe singing your own songs once in a while .... My life changed with my January 2000 CD release, "Bilbo's Great Adventure". Reading came to me later in life than most. So had music. It had taken me years to finally appreciate both and, as a result, I recorded this musical salute to the most important piece of literature to influence my life. This contemporary musical tribute to "The Hobbit" received very favorable reviews by the All Music Guide and J.R.R. Tolkien fans everywhere. The musical account wraps original lyrics in simple melodies in twenty four songs. As an acoustic presentation, it's a mix of folk-rock-blues and new-age musical styles and takes no creative license with regard to the story and I think it follows The Hobbit perfectly. Anyone who hears Bilbo's Great Adventure should not walk, but run to the nearest bookstore and buy and read The Hobbit. "Thank you, Mr. Tolkien, for your wonderful work. If you're listening, I hope you like this recording." I have been performing the project regularly as a soloist since its release (visit the project at www.thehobbitcd.com ). In 2002, the CD became the central tool for the NTR Foundation (NTR Foundation at www.needtoread.org ) whose mission is to inspire reading and art through literature. Funding became available and I am in the middle of a 3-CD project (also Tolkien inspired) to write, produce and record over the next five years for the Foundation. AND, I've been invited to perform my music for a Lord Of The Rings Oscar Party in Hollywood, CA in February, 2004. Yes, life's been good to me so far. Keep looking for my second CD release hopefully coming this fall entitled, Songs Nobody's Singing . You can hear many of them at the Parrothead Party Indoor Tailgate State Theater show in April. In case you hadn't heard, I saved the good songs for the next set that I play. See you there! Kevin@warmweathermusic.com