It has been too long.

Chrissy and I were hitting the local breweries/wineries with what must be one of the most eclectic setlists in town. From the Gin Blossoms to Etta James to Gnarls Barkley to Hank Williams to the Cure to… well, we cover a lot of territory. But last summer she was confronted with some health issues that she needed to address.

And now she’s back! We played our first show together last night at Rochester Mills and we hit the ground running. Look out for more Bruce and Chrissy shows soon!

I now have the final six tracks for my first solo EP, North & 32. The EP will have four originals and two covers and was recorded and mixed with the intention to keep things simple. These are all songs I play when I do solo shows and I only wanted to add relatively subtle things that genuinely enhanced the songs. The songs were produced by the uber-talented Bryan Akcasu from Two Cheers. He was invaluable in making these songs what they are.

Sweet Maria, written by Bruce Farrell and Doug Thomson

Don’t Run Away, written by Bruce Farrell

Now I’m working on CD art and deciding how to distribute the package. Stay tuned!

My gig calendar has slowed down for the holidays. So what am I doing with my free time? I’m recording my first solo project. Six acoustic tunes, four originals and two covers. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

The end of summer (and first few days of fall) ended in a flurry for me with some great shows. I played six shows in two weeks including my first time playing Dally in the Alley (Six and the Sevens), the County Oakland Irish Festival (Madigan’s Attic), and today’s big DIY Street Fair (Six and the Sevens). Things slow down over the next month as I recharge, write new music, and take care of various work obligations. But these were two weeks to remember.

Here is an original tune I performed for the first time a bit ago. I wrote it with some help from Doug Thomson (Madigan’s Attic). This was at Farmer’s Market for AJ’s world record concert.

For the fourth straight year, my band Six and the Sevens was selected to perform at the Detroit x Detroit show. The premise? Current Detroit originals bands cover three songs from other Detroit-based artists. In the past we have covered The Knack, Edwin Starr, and Was (Not Was) for this show. All proceeds go to scholarships for The School of Rock.

This year? We covered The Romantics. My bandmate from Madigan’s Attic, Doug Thomson, joined us a) beause he plays the harmonica and b) because he added some glorious background vox. And it was great fun! My friend Erick Buchholz, a phenomenal photographer, took these shots.

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Photo by Erick Buchholz

Yesterday was the 14th Annual Tom Farrell Memorial Bandfest at the Madison Heights Eagles. This is a charity benefit founded by my father (the aforementioned Tom Farrell) to raise money for cancer research. And every year there is music from noonish to closing with local bands donating their time. My cover band, Brothers Inc, has played the event every year and for the last 10 or so we’ve provided the PA and run sound all day. It’s always a lot of fun and it’s great to see so many people come together for a worthy cause.

This year we had ten bands and I played in three of them (Madigan’s Attic, The Robin Moore Band, and Brothers Inc). Our sets all went well and every other band (ten of them played) nailed it. Top to bottom, this was the best music we’ve had at this event. Hands down.

Leaving aside the music and the cause, this event is particularly special to me because my father is still so present in that place and at that event. The room is filled with people who knew and loved my father and they aren’t at all shy about telling me so. Which just warms my heart. He meant so much to so many.

St. Patrick’s Day is finally upon us! As you may guess, it’s a busy time of the year for my trio, Madigan’s Attic. We played at the I Care for Michigan St. Pat’s Fundraiser last Saturday and followed it up with a chilly set on their float in Detroit’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Both shows were a blast and we just learned that our float took first place in the parade!

The I Care of Michigan float in Detroit’s 2017 St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Photo by Emma Doppel

On the High Holiday, we will be at O’Mara’s in Berkley from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm and at Patrick J’s in Berkley from 6:00 pm to 1:00 pm. Hope to see lots of friends in the crowd.

The first weekend of March means it’s time for the Hamtramck Music Festival. This was the fourth year for the festival and its biggest yet. 20 venues, 175 (or so) bands, and packed venues all weekend. My band, Six and the Sevens, played at Baker’s Streetcar Bar, which is always fun. No video from the show, but our friend Patrick Minjeur (from the band Electric Honey) was onsite taking pics for the Metro Times. Fortunately, he got some decent shots of our set.

Note that all the profits from the festival go to Ben’s Encore, a non-profit dedicated to supporting music education in the Detroit area.

HMF 2017 – photo by Patrick Minjeur

HMF 2017 – photo by Patrick Minjeur

HMF 2017 – photo by Patrick Minjeur

HMF 2017 – photo by Patrick Minjeur

HMF 2017 – photo by Patrick Minjeur

HMF 2017 – photo by Patrick Minjeur

Here are a couple more songs from our living room sessions. First is our take on Men at Work’s “Down Under.” I’m a huge Colin Hay fan and I always cover a few of his songs when I do solo shows. Madigan’s Attic has been doing this for a couple of years now.

And here is a song I wrote a few years ago, “Summer Morn.” It’s one of the fastest songs I’ve ever written, pretty much about how I feel when I step out the door on summer morning before things heat up. It always reminds me of my childhood and visiting my mom’s family in West Virginia.