Roots On The Rails – Train trips with Webb, Winchester, Russell, Alvin, Smither, Case, Lewis

ROOTS ON THE RAILS HOLIDAY DISCOUNTS ON

JANUARY AND APRIL 2011 WEST COAST MUSIC/TRAIN TRIPS

WITH SONGWRITERS JIMMY WEBB, JESSE WINCHESTER, TOM RUSSELL, DAVE ALVIN, CHRIS SMITHER, PETER CASE AND OTHERS

+ + + Discounts Offer on Bookings by December 31 + + + +

NOW THRU 12/31/10 Roots On The Rails – North America’s Moving Music Festival – is offering a discount on one or both of their early 2011 train trips. Save $300 for two people traveling together and sharing a hotel room (1-2 beds) on the January Songwriters Train. *OR Save $500 off ($250/trip) per person if you sign up for both the January and April trips. Only one deal can be applied per trip. Offer expires 12/31/10. Complete trip and booking information at: http://www.rootsontherails.com/. Just mention this offer when booking.

2011 SONGWRITER TRAIN: MASTERS OF AMERICAN SONG with JIMMY WEBB, JESSE WINCHESTER, TOM RUSSELL, THAD BECKMAN
Los Angeles-Oakland & return

January 14-18, 2011

An amazing musical journey with three masters of American songwriting: Jimmy Webb, Jesse Winchester and host Tom Russell on board vintage private railroad cars from Los Angeles to the Bay Area and return, January 14-18, 2011. Be one of just fifty participants on this journey along the coast of the Golden State. This is one of the most unforgettable rail journeys on earth.

And the music! Best-available seating at concerts in Los Angeles and Berkeley, and then, on board the train, we’ll have our Performance Car, Overland Trail, set up with full sound system. Workshops and conversation, concerts and open mics going on all day and into the evening. Intimate concerts with Jesse Winchester, Tom Russell and guitar-wizard Thad Beckman. Since Jimmy requires a full-size piano for live performances (and we can’t fit that on the train!) he’ll be participating in on-board in-depth conversations about songwriting, led each day by Tom Russell. These conversations will cover the challenges that songwriters (and others) face in unlocking the creative process.

2011 KINGS OF CALIFORNIA TRAIN with DAVE ALVIN, CHRIS SMITHER, PETER CASE, RICK SHEA, LAURIE LEWIS and NINA GERBER

Los Angeles-Oakland-Portland & return

April 3-8, 2011

An unforgettable adventure on board vintage streamline railroad cars from Los Angeles to Portland and return, April 3-8, 2011. Be one of just 45 participants on this journey the length of California and into Oregon… our tracks hugging the ocean for over 100 miles, over brawny hills, through wide, flat fields and high, lonely plains; past towering Mount Shasta and over the stunning Cascade Range on one of the most scenically spectacular rail routes on earth!

Your host is the Golden State’s master songwriter Dave Alvin, a towering figure in American music whose 1994 album gives this trip its name. Joining him is fellow Californian Peter Case, craggy-voiced songwriter and legendary acoustic blues guitarist Chris Smither, “Guilty Man” guitar-slinger Rick Shea and, for the return Bay Area-Los Angeles leg of the trip, “Guilty Women” and instrumentalists extraordinaire Laurie Lewis and Nina Gerber.

There will be a starting and end night at the excellent Kyoto Grand Hotel in Los Angeles, a kickoff show featuring Dave, Chris and Peter at the legendary McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, then once on board, plenty of music, laughter and camaraderie. Freshly-prepared meals in our own dome car with glass-enclosed 360 degree views and lovingly restored sleeping cars from the golden age of streamliners make for an unforgettable travel experience. Music and jamming will start early and go all trip long. Get ready for a non-stop musical adventure with Chris, Peter, Nina, Laurie, Rick and Dave… the Kings (and Queens) of California!

Sign up today by e-mailing Roots on the Rails at trains@sover.net, by calling 866-484-3669 or 802-258-1397. Full details at: http://www.rootsontherails.com