Few things make me happier than listening to someone sing and play guitar just a few feet away from me, and with the exception of maybe Johnny Cash, there is no one else I would rather sit and listen to than Laurelyn Dossett.

Here are a few shots from our recent session, as well as a little snippet of video so you can sit and listen, too. Enjoy.

I have been so fortunate to photograph Rhiannon, Michael and Aoife, and be part of their early days as a family. I am also a complete starry-eyed fan of her band, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, who were just interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air."

There are so many great tracks on the CD, but here's one of my favorites:




Click on the image below (by Julie Roberts), to check out their website and order their CD. They are awesome!

North Carolina is blessed with so many wonderful authors, and now Greensboro's own { John Hart } has just published his third book, "The Last Child."

I first met John when I came over to photograph his { family } last fall. It was a weekday morning, and he was dressed in a nice blazer while standing in the backyard looking utterly relaxed. "Are you taking today off?" I asked, mistakenly thinking he was an attorney or stockbrocker who came home for the photo shoot. "Well, I'm a writer, so I guess you could say I take every day off." Take a day off, my foot! I have since learned that this guy has written now THREE best-selling novels in the past three years, they have been translated into 26 languages, and until 2006 he was indeed an office-going stockbroker. Our local paper has a really good { column } about him today which tells his story a bit more in depth. {Note: this post is the beginning of a new category called "Authors & Musicians," as well as the first in our soon-to-be-announced series about people who have changed careers in midlife. If you have story ideas and submissions on this topic, please email me via the contact page!}

Anyway, here are a few of the shots I took for the new book's promotion, this first one made the cut for the book-jacket photo:

This is a snippet from the back page of yesterday's New York Times' Arts section -- his publisher took out a full-page ad:

What a great guy -- congratulations, John!

This is a love story, a baby story and a music story, all rolled into one. Scroll on....

Matthew photographed Rhiannon and Mike's wedding two years ago, and we were so honored to be part of it -- Rhiannon is in one of my favorite bands, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and is just an incredible musician and artist. I got to second-shoot the wedding for part of the day, and it was so much fun. Imagine how psyched we were when Real Simple magazine called and wanted to publish some of Rhi and Mike's images in their 2008 book, "Weddings."

Here is the story behind their romance, per Rhiannon:

“A musician friend of mine asked me to record on her album at a studio in Bordeaux, France back in 2006. Mike was the pianist on the album, so we first met while recording that album. We were in Bordeaux for a total of five days, and barely spoke to one another until the very last evening, when we stayed up all night just talking. The next day we flew to our respective homes, mine in North Carolina and his in Scotland. But we started emailing, and then talking by phone. I was planning a trip to Africa that July, but would be making a detour in London afterwards to see my brother for a day and a half . Mike canceled a month-long trip to Japan (forfeiting all the money for the ticket) in order to stay and see me then. He came for a day to London, where he planned a treasure hunt for me. I got my first clue at my brother's flat -- it led me to Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station -- and the trail eventually led me to Mike.

Mike says he knew I was going to be his wife about a month after that first conversation in France. We hadn't seen other again, or even held hands yet! His mother flew over to meet me when I went to Scotland (for our 3rd meeting), because she knew that something special was happening.

Mike decided on our fourth meeting that he was going to propose to me, and over the coming months conspired with my sister to make it happen. He shipped the engagement ring to her, whereupon she snuck it into a wrapped gift for him that I delivered when I went over to Ireland (little did I know what I was carrying!) He proposed after New Years (our fifth meeting) and we got married a few months later.

Now, I know how to make soda bread, and he drinks sweet tea; I've fallen in love with potatoes, and he loves Southern vegetables."

Rhiannon and Mike on their wedding day, September 1, 2007

Stay tuned for photos of their baby in the coming months!

I have been a devotee of { Polecat Creek } since they played in the Borders on High Point Road ten years ago, and the three core musicians in the group (Laurelyn Dossett, Kari Sickenberger and Riley Baugus) are dear to my heart in so many ways. (*Here is an earlier shoot I got to do with Laurelyn.)

Therefore it is my great honor to have one of my portraits of Kari grace the cover of her first solo album, "Settle Down," which comes out today. Her voice is like Patsy Cline, her wry songwriting like Carson McCullers, and her arrangements would make Hank Williams proud. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to hear a sample of the title track. These first two images were shot last month in downtown Greensboro at the very cool { Elsewhere }, to which I highly encourage a visit. When Kari came to town for our photo shoot she very graciously brought her guitar and sang around our backyard campfire -- the beginning of what I hope to be a tradition of house concerts in our garden. Enjoy!

This next shot of Kari's daughter Rosa was taken in 2004 in Bayou Teche, Louisiana, where Polecat Creek was recording their album "Leaving Eden." Scroll down to see Rosa Grace today -- she can be seen in the last shot singing with her mama around the campfire.

Singing "Settle Down" in our backyard:

Click below to hear a sample track:


To order a copy of the CD, email Kari directly { HERE }

Polecat Creek will be playing at Merlefest over the next four days, check { HERE } for stage schedules.