Johnsmith

Johnsmith Midsummer 2025 newsletter 

Hello folks, Johnsmith here at home along the lazy Mississippi on a nice typical Wisconsin summer day. I hope your summer has had some time for relaxing and taking in some natural beauty. Jo and I had a wonderful 4 week stay in Ireland hosting two fantastic Irish music tours. The first tour was along the southwest coast to Counties Cork, Kerry, and Clare. Then we had a few days off to recharge our batteries on Inishbofin ("Island of the White Cow" in Irish), walking, and loafing around taking in the peacefulness of the island.  Following that, we had another group tour up to Counties Donegal, Mayo, and Clare. Exceptional music nightly.  Jo and I will lead this year's final 2025 Ireland tour in August followed by a Scotland 14-day tour from Glasgow to the Orkney Islands - should be way fun.

We had said this was our last year offering multiple tours and possibly no more tours. But the fact is we still love bringing groups and will offer one Ireland trip May 9-18, 2026 to Counties Cork, Kerry, and Clare. If you’re interested in joining this tour, perhaps our last, reply to this email. Some basic info on our Irish tours is available at https://johnsmithmusic.com/ireland

Looking ahead, Jo and I will be leading our annual whitewater rafting trip down the magical Middle Fork of the Salmon river out of Stanley Idaho July 31-Aug 5. This year is full but you can start thinking about joining next year's raft trip. This is a wonderful week folks, experiencing one of the most remote wilderness areas in the lower 48 states. We raft six days and camp 5 nights. We see Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Osprey, the occasional bear, mountain goats, otters, deer, and several species of interesting birds. The whitewater is not scary at all. This time of year, the water levels are tame, we have mostly class 3 rapids. We bring 21 guests and go down the river in 5 large rafts, including one raft for paddling, and one boat for fly fishing. We also bring four inflatable kayaks for the guests to take turns experiencing the rapids close up. The staff are amazing and very interesting folks. They cook us great meals, a filling breakfast, a nice lunch along the river bank, and excellent dinners (salmon, steaks, curry, etc) as well as to die-for desserts cooked over open fire. Pineapple upside down cake, chocolate brownies, cobbler etc  And each night, yours truly will be sharing songs around the campfire and passing the guitar around for any guests and staff who want to share songs. This trip always fills so if you’ve been considering an outdoor adventure in a stellar setting away from the usual busy world, join me next August (2026) for this unplugged reset-your-soul trip. More info at Middle Fork Rafting trip

Meanwhile I have some nice gigs ahead in August for Wisconsin folks, and a few shows in Maryland and Virginia in Sept. Details below.

Also this fall, we still have cabin space for our Mediterranean Cruise Oct 20-30. Jo and I will be joined by Dan Sebranek and his wife, Mary Cortesi, and Larry and Barb Dalton. We sail from Athens to Italy, France, and Spain. We did a similar cruise with the same company up in AK a few years ago and had a blast. We’ll be playing some private evening concerts, some impromptu jam sessions with any guests who play and sing, and some meet and greet gatherings. For more info, visit my webpage and also go to Fan Club Cruises for questions and signing up. Visiting these countries along the Mediterranean has been a dream of mine. Hope you can join us. https://johnsmithmusic.com/mediterranean-cruise

I’m hoping to make a new recording this winter, so stand by for information on that. I’ve got some songs I really love and can’t wait to capture them in the studio.

I look forward to seeing several of you at these venues or on the river next summer, or Ireland next May, or on the Mediterranean Cruise in October.

Thanks folks for your enduring support.  It means the world to me.

UPCOMING SHOWS

Friday Aug 8 6:30pm LaCrosse, WI w Dan Sebranek, Elisi Smith-Waller, and Larry Dalton. Our Redeemer Lutheran Church’s 75th anniversary. 2135 Weston on the south side. Outdoors on the lawn weather permitting. Free to the public, bring a chair or blanket.

Saturday Aug 9 4-7pm Red Pines W7305 County Road Z Onalaska WI with Dan Sebranek. No reservation required, come early and enjoy the lovely setting, excellent food, and music from two guys who have been playing together for 38 years, yikes!

Sunday Aug 10 2-5pm Vernon Vineyards w Dan Sebranek S3426 Peterson Ln Viroqua WI. No reservation needed. There are lots of seats but it’s been known to overflow so maybe throw a chair in the trunk.

Aug 14-16 Larryfest near LaFarge, WI. I play a mainstage concert on Saturday the 16th at 2pm with Dan Sebranek, Larry Dalton, Elisi Smith-Waller and special guests. For more info on tickets and the line up for both stages, visit https://www.larryfest.org  There are single day tickets for Saturday. If you’ve never experienced Larryfest, this is a good way to come out and see the Driftless Area at its best.

Aug 21-30 Ireland music tour SOLD OUT consider next May 9-18 2026

Sept 1-14. Scotland Folk tour from Glasgow up to the Orkney Islands. SOLD OUT.

Sept 26 Friday 7:30pm Solo  Deer Creek Coffeehouse 1022 Main St. Darlinton, MD For more info visit https://www.deercreekfolk.com/

Sept 27 Sat 7:30pm. Solo Oakland Mills, MD Cooper House house concerts. For more info visit: https://coopershouse1790.org/

Sept 28 Sun Hampton, Virginia  Victorian Station House, Concert Big Pink concerts 2-4 pm for info/reservations: harriscreeker@gmail.com

Oct 4 Sat 7:30pm Newburg Corners, WI Leo and Leona’s Roadhouse. With Dan Sebranek, Larry Dalton, and Elisi Smith-Waller. For tickets and more info visit: https://www.leoandleonas.com/

Oct 20-30 Meditereranean Cruise - Greece, Italy, France, and Spain. With Dan Sebranek and Larry Dalton. For more info or to sign up visit https://johnsmithmusic.com/mediterranean-cruise

Nov 21 Friday McCook, NE tentative, details TBA

Nov 22 Saturday LaFayette, CO The Muse with Dan Sebranek 200 E South Boulder Rd(720) 352-4327

Nov 23 Sunday 5pm Fort Collins, CO The Comedy Fort with Dan Sebranek for more info and tix contact  Steveqa@aol.com

Nov 29 Saturday 8pm Café Carpe Fort Atkinson WI Solo for info https://cafecarpe.com/

Jan 9 & 10 2026 LaCrosse, WI the Pump House with Dan Sebranek, Larry Dalton, and Elisi Smith- Waller For tickets visit https://www.thepumphouse.org/  119 King Street 608.785.1434  contact@thepumphouse.org  

All dates and info posted at:  https//johnsmithmusic.com/gigs