How now my hearts! I have a new CD out, coinciding with the opening of my performance as Feste the Fool in "12th Night" by the Nashville Shakespeare Festival!
The new CD is out! Order here or at Bandcamp. Also available at iTunes and streaming services.
A Brief Break While The Captain Heals
While sailing solo and doing my best to avoid the Sea of Corona, I somehow managed to cross the Tropic of Cancer. To be specific, stage 4 colon cancer, with a bit drifting into the liver. (Why couldn't it have been semi-colon cancer?!) I've been extremely lucky: Jim Warren and Denice Hicks gave me full support, allowing me to continue as Feste and as music director in "12th Night" while undergoing chemo, Michael Webb, Jeff Thorneycroft, and all the musicians and singers involved help me get the CD "What You Will" out and ready for opening night, the crew of the Blue Buccaneers did so much to make it easy for me at the Pilgrimage Festival and the Tennessee Medieval Faire, and my wife Whitney, along with my family and friends have made the day to day far less taxing. I've also been lucky to have health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act, and I've received great assistance from two wonderful organizations, Music Health Alliance and Musicares.
My chemotherapy continues through December 2021, and I'm convinced I'll be back on track in the new year. I'm already working on a United Kingdom tour in May, midwest tours in the summer, and back in Panama City Beach in fall of 2022. In the meantime we'll be working on a new Blue Buccaneers CD, doing livestreams in December, and if the stars align a Nashville CD release for "Under a Mistletoe Sky".
Thanks for all the love and support. I feel it every day, and can see the sails approaching on the horizon, ready to get us all sailing again.
Tom Mason Poster Collection
Jeff Thorneycroft (at the suggestion of Sheila Lawrence) created a beautiful poster for the CD "What You Will: Songs From and Inspired by William Shakespeare's 12th Night", printed on heavy stock matte paper. Now we're selling them and also including three glossy posters: Jeff's Blue Buccaneers crossing the Delaware, Mark Gerking's Tom Mason solo poster, and Pru Clearwater's original Blue Buccaneers poster. To have Tom autograph make note in special instructions.
We had a fantastic time at the Tennessee Pirate Faire in Harriman. (Photo Trent Eades)
We had a fantastic time at the Tennessee Pirate Festival and at the Gathering of the Sails in Des Moines Iowa in May. (Photos by Trent Eades)
If music be the food of love, play on!
I'm absolutely thrilled to be playing Feste the Fool and be the composer/ music director for Nashville Shakespeare Festival's production of "12th Night". It will be directed by Jim Warren, the Founding Artistic Director of the American Shakespeare Center. Performance dates are Thursday-Sunday August 26- September 12 (plus Labor Day), as well as Saturday and Sunday September 18 & 19 in Franklin, Tennessee.