Hey Everybody!
As October's end nears, here I am with another of my too infrequent posts. Perhaps, I suppose, because there is not much news to report. I just returned from a wonderful journey with my son Jonathan. 1668 miles, 27.5 hours in the car, 3 universities- Northwestern, University of Wisconsin, and Indiana University, all in 3.5 days! It was such a pleasure to spend so much time with Jonathan, both in general and as he considers where he might attend school next Fall.
Music-wise, I am pretty much just sitting on my "Ghost" record. There are a few tweaks still to be made, and I still need to have it mastered, but, I'm in no real hurry to release it as I would, ideally, play a release show and, due to COVID, I am unsure if / where I might be able to schedule such a show. I have some ideas, though, and know that the show will happen when the time is right. Definitely in 2022!
I did decide to include my most recent song, titled "Paladin", on the record and am, overall, super excited about the record as a whole.
I did, in late September, play a cool set at Thomas Lowry Park- aka Seven Pools Park- in Minneapolis to celebrate the preservation and reopening of this cool little park. The show was extra cool for me as it is the park where, in August 1999, Laura and I were married.
I hope Fall is treating you well and look forward to posting news about my next show!
Take care, Friends!
​Bob

Hey Everybody!

So, here we are, another Summer. Musically speaking, I am in the midst of finishing my next record ("Ghost"). It's really pretty much ready to go, but I am no rush to finish as I consider where- and how- best to release it. It feels good, though, to know the "heavy lifting" is done and I can put some time into being very intentional about my next moves. Meanwhile, I am treasuring the time my job as a teacher affords me in these Summer months, treasuring the time I get to spend with Laura, Jonathan, and my friends far and near.  

I remain so saddened that Honey- my musical "home base"- was an early COVID casualty. As I seek and consider new venues, I continue to write and to play and am excited to begin the post-COVID musical life that awaits.

Have a great Summer, Friends.

I'll be in touch!

​Bob

Hey Everybody,
I am very happy to share that my weekend in the woods was very, very productive.  With the help of good buddies Corey Hess and Marc Conklin, I was able to lay down all of the vocal and guitar tracks for my next record, tentatively / likely titled "Ghost".  For years- decades, even- I have wanted to record at my family's place in the woods of Northern Wisconsin.  Despite COVID, the time was right, and I had the "right" songs and the right people and everything went great.

I am really excited to finish and release this record.  The songs are sparse and dark but filled with Love and I think the joy of recording them with good friends in my favorite place is evident in the recordings.  Again, this is a record I have wanted to make for a very long time.  Tracks will include a lot of songs that were part of my sets before COVID hit, and a few I have written over the span of this year of quarantine.  The full track listing, in alphabetical order, is as follows-

*A Restless Heart and a Troubled Mind
*Almost Out of Cleveland
*Ghost
*Gig
*Guillotine
*Hard Luck Girl
*I Wish I Was a Dog
*Little Mystery
*Movin' On
*One More Time
*Runner
*That Perfect Season
*Who's a-Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone?

I am excited to hear how these songs develop as my friend Rachel Calvert adds her awesome violin playing and I may play a bit of harmonica. But, we are very close... close enough that I can start thinking about liner notes and covers and track order, all that kind of thing.  I am going to make CD's, even as the format seems to be fast fading, the vinyl resurgence fully underway.  And, of course, the album will be available via multiple streaming / online platforms.  I am excited, probably more than I have been about any record I have made...

Take care everybody!  I am really looking forward to sharing these songs with you. 
Bob

P.S. Oh, yeah! If you are interested, there is a rough cut of "A Restless Heart and a Troubled Mind" posted in the Video section of this website (www.bobfreymusic.com).  Go check it out!

Hey Everybody!
Man, only my third "News" post in a year... Bad Bob!! I suppose I can blame my lack of presence on COVID as it has now been about a year since my last live show.  I miss playing a lot... a lot.
But, things are happening!  I wrote some cool songs over the last year, including a NSFW song called "A New Year's Adieu", one that's been in the back of my head for years called "I Wish I Was a Dog", a short little deal called "Almost Out of Cleveland" and one I really enjoy playing called "A Restless Heart and a Troubled Mind".  The latter three will likely appear on my next record, which I am very excited to record at the end of this month in the woods of Northern Wisconsin.  I cannot wait.  I am going to record over the course of a few days at my family's longtime retreat, with the help of my frequent collaborators Corey Hess and Marc Conklin.  I will be playing my trusty Guild JF30, my 1946 Gibson LG-2 and my 1966 Gibson ES-330.  I have been looking forward to this project for a long time, hard to believe the date is now so near!
As much as I am excited about recording, I am also so eager to begin playing live shows again.  COVID has pretty much brought all live performances to a halt, but I am hopeful that the end of the pandemic is in sight.  Along those lines, my status as a MN teacher allowed me to get vaccinated yesterday, and I will receive my second dose of the Moderna vaccine on 3/1/21, the day after I return from recording.  I hope that everybody who wants to be vaccinated has that opportunity soon, and that businesses of all sorts can open again and life will return to something close to what it was pre-pandemic.
Til then, stay safe everybody!
Much Love,
Bob

Hey Everybody!
Happy Thanksgiving!  It has been far, far too long since I posted and, more importantly, since I've played a show.  Obviously, COVID-19 has disrupted everybody's world(s), and one thing I miss the most is playing live music for you.  My March 20th show was one of my early COVID casualties, followed by the permanent closure of my "home turf" club Honey and the COVID-related death of one of my musical heroes, John Prine.  And that all happened by the end of April!  2020 has been a tough year, to say the least.  Still, my family and I are hanging in there, persevering, making it thru... 

Musically, besides looking forward to the opportunity to play live again, I am excited to record my next project and am planning to do so at the end of February, 2021.  I look forward to a very sparse record- just guitar, vocals, maybe some violin- and plan to record it at my family's longtime retreat in the woods of Northern Wisconsin.  A lot of the songs are ones you have likely heard at my shows, including "City Hall", "Ghost", "Guillotine",  "Gig", and "Runner", a few new(er) ones like "I Wish I Was a Dog", "That Perfect Season",  and "A Restless Heart and a Troubled Mind", and some I've had hanging around, in various forms, for a while- "Little Mystery", "Elijah", "Who's a-Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone?" and the traditional "Lakes of Ponchartrain".  I really can't wait to record, pretty sure it's gonna be a lot of fun!!

I'm also strongly considering performing a livestream show- I know, everybody's doing it, haha- to try to raise some money for the clinical trials program administered by my wife's beloved oncologist.  Actually, I know I am going to make that happen, just a matter of when.  I shall keep you posted and hope you can tune in and maybe drop a coin or two in the donation basket.

I guess that's about all for now.  I hope you're all staying safe and healthy.  Have a great Thanksgiving and I hope the remainder of 2020 treats you well!

Take care,
Bob

Hey Everybody!  I hope 2020 going well for you so far!  I'll play my next Honey show- and first of this year- next week on Friday, February 7th.  I'm looking forward to playing, especially as I will play a song I just finished the other day- "That Perfect Season".   It's a song about watching the hapless / winless 2017 Cleveland Browns with my then 13 year old son Jonathan.  I'm hoping to record a video of it this weekend and, if I do, will sends it out with a gig reminder and post it here on my site.
Also, continue to get cool comments and feedback from folks who here my music playing on TPT (Twin Cities Public Television) between some of the shows.  They've been using my stuff for a few years now, and it's always cool when someone mentions they heard it.
I'm hoping it'll be a great year, musically and otherwise.  I hope it'll be a great one for you, too!!
Take care, Everybody!!
Bob

Hey Everybody,
Well... another bunch of months have gone by, moved pretty quickly from Spring into deep Fall.  Summer was cool, especially when Laura and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary at our house with family and friends and our son Jonathan.
As Thanksgiving approaches, November is in full presence- gray & windy & chilly...  I don't have a lot to write today, just feeling like I have a lot of things I want / need to get done and feeling a bit overwhelmed, not sure where to begin.
My next record- tentatively called "Ghost"- is pretty much ready to go in the sense that the songs are written and I've performed most of them a number of times, I just need to find the time & the money to turn 'em into a record.  Ideally, I'll record them in the Winter, at our family place in the woods of Northern Wisconsin.
Until then, and more immediately, I continue to play and sing my stuff at Honey in NE Mpls. Jon & the Honey crew always treat me so well and I am, in turn, always so grateful for the stage.  I'll return there on Friday, December 6th, with an opening set by my former student Evan Walton and some version of his act Once More, Autumn.
I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving!
Take care,
​Bo b

Hey Everybody!  Today, April 9th, is a great day for a couple of reasons. 
First, it is the 24th anniversary- 4/9/95- of my first date with the fetching Laura!  We ate lunch at the Uptown Lotus- her favorite Vietnamese place- then had a quick beer at the Rainbow Bar. 
Second, we got good news yesterday from her doctor and I am embracing the feeling that comes with such news, a feeling that can really only be understood if you or a loved one is, as is said, "deep in the shit"...
Third, Spring is fighting to take hold.  The brutal Winter has passed, the snow has melted, the ice is coming off the Lakes...  But, we may get one last blast as perhaps as much as 8 inches of snow expected on Thursday.  Oh, well, it'll melt away quickly...
Not much is new. since my last post, though a couple of things worthy of mention.  I am still feeling good about my relatively new song "Runner", which I debuted at my 2/28/19 Honey gig. Also, working on another new one called "Justice", about a dog of the same name.
Finally, heading out w/ my buddy Marc to see Todd Snider on Friday nite- 4/12/19.  Todd Snider is, as I may have written before, a master storyteller, a solid guitar player and a cool, quirky songwriter, somewhat similar to John Prine.  Todd Snider shows are always a great time, and I can't wait to be there!
Speaking of shows, my next one is at Honey on Friday, May 10th.  I'm not sure if it'll be solo or if I'll have some friends onstage.  Either way, it'll be a cool nite, hope to see you there! Bob

Hey Everybody,
Well, as always, been so long since I posted.  This time, however, a very good excuse as, since early November,  Laura and I have been dealing with some things on the homefront that required full attention.  A little breathing room now, though, so I'll wish a very tardy Happy New Year!  The 2018-2019 Mpls Winter has been brutal, with bitter cold followed by lots of snow followed by bitter cold... over and over.  February 2019 will rank, I believe, as one of the 10 snowiest months this city has seen!
Still, things are going alright.  Over the last year or so I have written some songs I'm pretty happy with, including "Hard Luck Girl", "Guillotine", "Gig", "Sara Jane" and, most recently, "Runner".  I am going to add a video of "Runner" I made this morning in my office over in the "Videos" section of this site.
Hopefully, I'll get back here sooner than later to share some more news.  Til then, looking forward to playing at Honey on Thursday, February 28th.  Maybe I'll see you there!
Take care, Everybody, and, if you're in the Cities...
Stay Warm!
​Bob

Hey Everybody,
Today, I also posted a cool little video my buddy Tory Peterson put together for "Red Right 88", my ode to the 1980 Cleveland Browns.  It's so cool it gets its own tab under the "Video" tab on this site.  Check it out!
​Bob