He’s a songwriter, humanitarian, legendary musician and recently scored a big Broadway hit.

Travelgirl: I’m so happy to be with you and to get to know you. Everyone knows Huey Lewis the musician. You are also a humanitarian and very philanthropic. You have been quite involved with San Rafael’s Lifehouse, whose mission is to improve the lives of those living with disabilities and help them live independent lives. You’ve been an honorary chair and emcee for their fundraisers. Please let us know how you became involved in this most worthwhile endeavor.

Huey Lewis: I sang an anthem for a Special Olympics about 45 years ago and I was so touched by the group. It was such a nice thing, and my neighbor was also involved. The association was formerly called the Marin Association of Retarded Citizens. It is now called Lifehouse and its purpose is to help disabled folks live independent lives.

I’ve been chairman of the association’s big fundraiser for 35 years now and it really is a wonderfully gratifying thing. If you are a developmentally disabled person in Marin or Sonoma counties in California, you are a lot better off than almost any other place in the world. We have independent living situations. I’ve gotten to know some of the clients well over the years and it’s just a fun thing. It’s not a lot of heavy lifting.

We have a wonderful chef’s banquet called The Great Chefs & Wineries where we invite all the great restaurants and all the great wineries in Marin and Sonoma counties to come and make a one dish, one wine table. It’s a black-tie event featuring an enormous, incredible buffet. We raise tons of money, and it all goes to a great cause. I am chairman so I say a few words; it’s very gratifying. There’s a lot to be learned from these very special people. They joyfully notice the little things that we don’t pay any attention to, and they radiate happiness. It’s a wonderful, important cause.

TG: Let’s start with your hearing loss. In 1987 you suddenly lost hearing in one of your ears. How did you cope and how difficult was it to keep performing?

HL: Let’s go with that; how exciting. Hit me with the hits — hearing loss; let’s do it. I exist on these hearing aids, which Bluetooth connects to my phone and my television. I am really very, very deaf and it’s probably getting worse. I’m possibly headed for a cochlear implant, which is not a fun thing. But if you really can’t hear, it becomes a fun, necessary thing.

TG: You were able to overcome losing the hearing in your right ear but you were still able to perform and hear with just one ear.

HL: I was diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease 35 years ago. At first, I had a bout of intense vertigo; it was so bad they had to take me to the hospital but no one could figure out what it was. The doctors gave me some medicine of some sort and three hours later I was fine. About 30 years ago I lost the hearing in my right ear. I was able to exist on one ear for a long time. Then six years ago my left ear went and now I can’t hear music at all and I can’t perform. I can’t hear pitch. With the aid of hearing aids I can hear you and I can hear a conversation with three or four people at a time, maybe, if I am in a quiet room. In a noisy room I can only hear one person and I need to be looking at that person to understand the conversation.

TG: If music is playing, you can’t hear it? Is that correct?

HL: Zero. I cannot hear music. You can play one of my songs and I can’t identify the song; that’s how bad I am. Speech exists in a much narrower frequency than music. Music, even one note, occurs in all frequencies with harmonics and overtones and undertones. Just listening to you is a struggle for me; it’s changed me. My show on Broadway, The Heart of Rock and Roll, has been my salvation in a lot of ways. It’s given me a creative outlet and kept me busy.

Zen Buddhists say you need three things in life: something to love, something to hope for and something to do. The something to hope for and the something to do are my show on Broadway. I have other things going on as well. I’m lucky; I remind myself that plenty of people are way worse off than I am. I’m not dead; I’m just deaf. I’m actually a glass half full kind of guy. I’m a major key, not a minor key guy.

TG: I can’t wait to see your musical, The Heart of Rock and Roll. Everyone I know is excited about it. What’s the genesis of the show? I know our Travelgirl readers will want to head to New York to see it. I absolutely love Broadway and I’m thrilled you are bringing your music to the Great White Way!

HL: I love Broadway too. It’s the most challenging and therefore the most rewarding of artistic expression. It’s totally collaborative and it’s complicated. [We made a documentary about our song We Are the World (in 1985, 46 legendary musicians came together for one night to raise money for African aid)]. The iconic Quincy Jones, who co-produced the song, addressed us before we performed the background vocals. This isn’t in the documentary, but Quincy said, “Look people, here’s what we are doing, we are building a house. We are going to start with the foundation, order the tracks, put in the walls, the studs and put a roof on it. That’s what we are doing now, putting up studs and we will finish the work later on.” His description was really clever. The metaphor for making a record is building a house. Well, if that’s true, then putting on a Broadway show is building a city with parks and pathways and all kinds of paraphernalia. I love it and it’s been a really fun trip.

TG: Does your hearing loss make creating a Broadway musical more difficult?

HL: It makes it impossible to hear the music, but I lost hearing in my left ear six years ago on January 17. Before that I could hear music. As it so happens, you only need one ear to hear. When I lost hearing in my first ear, I went to my EENT doctor. My father was a doctor and he sent me to the best EENT doctor in all of Northern California. I went to see this specialist and he told me to adapt to the hearing loss. I reiterated to him that I was a musician and a singer. The doctor told me I only needed one ear to hear. He told me Brian Wilson [The Beach Boys] only had hearing in one ear and Jimi Hendrix only had hearing in one ear.

The doctor also told me that he only had hearing in one ear and that he performed in a barbershop quartet. I existed on one ear for a long time, and I had that ear and hearing seven years ago when we imagined this show. I had reimagined most of the songs by that time. Our musical director, Brian Usifer, is brilliant. He has done his homework so thoroughly. He knows our music so well that he has reimagined the songs and given them their own setting. There is very little to quibble with, even when I could hear. As a footnote, they had to make me a producer because of the songs and now they have to listen to everything I have to say.

TG: It’s your music they are performing.

HL: It’s my music and my show now!

TG: You were born in New York City but grew up in California. Did you have an interest in music when you were young? Your father was a doctor but he was also a musician; I believe he played the drums. Did he encourage your interest in music?

HL: My old man absolutely had an influence on me. There was a set of drums in my living room my whole life. Since my early years, I spent my life surrounded by musical equipment. My father didn’t like singers; he liked big band jazz. He would play these big band jazz records, instrumental stuff and every once and a while there would be a singer. Naturally I wanted to rebel a little bit so I kind of dug the singers. My first influences were Mr. Five by Five, Count Basie and all the old blues singers and musicians.

TG: You have two plays featuring your music on Broadway. Your own, The Heart of Rock and Roll, and Back to the Future. It’s astounding; two plays running concurrently.

HL: It’s amazing and I’m not sure it’s ever happened before. I don’t know if it’s true or not. Someone told me that but even if it is true, it doesn’t mean that I’m Richard Rodgers.

TG: Let’s talk about the genesis of Back to the Future. It’s a beloved film and your name is synonymous with that movie. You contributed to the soundtrack and had a small role in the movie. Please talk about your experiences with that film and your iconic songs that are central to the show. Did you have any idea it would become a landmark film?

HL: I had no idea it would be such a paramount hit. I was asked to take a meeting with [Steven] Spielberg, who was the executive producer, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, whose story it is. Neil Canton was also a writer on the show. The meeting was organized through Amblin Entertainment, which had just started. We sat there and Zemeckis told me they had written this movie about a kid named Marty McFly, and his favorite band would be Huey Lewis and the News. So, they asked me to write some songs. I was flattered. I told Zemeckis I didn’t necessarily know how to write for film and honestly I didn’t fancy writing a song called Back to the Future

Zemeckis said, “Oh, no, no, no, we don’t care what the song is called. We just want one of your songs in the film.” He told me that whatever I decided, that’s the one it will be. Well, I thought the next thing we do is write and we wrote The Power of Love. It’s a little more complicated than that. I didn’t think it was going to work because Power of Love is a love song, right? There is no love object in the film. But they used it wonderfully and it was a great lesson.

We’ve tried to employ the same thing in our Broadway show, which is the idea that songs help a musical or a show when they are tangentially tied to the project; not when the songs are a literal translation of what’s going on. If the song was just called Back to the Future, it wouldn’t have been so universal, if you will. I tried to do that with The Heart of Rock and Roll. It’s important that the songs move the story forward. The songs in my show are laid out beautifully by Tyler Mitchell and Jonathan A. Abrams. Their initial layout is brilliant because they know the music so well. I didn’t initially realize how well the songs fit the story. But they do and it’s pretty cool.

TG: I saw Back to the Future on Broadway. When they sing The Power of Love everyone goes crazy and they are referencing you.

HL: First of all, Uncle Huey is a character in the show. That’s their little nod to my cameo in the film. When they play Power of Love it has nothing to do with the story at all. It’ s Marty McFly and the Pinheads and it’s my logo. It’s the triangle with Huey Lewis and the News. It’s exactly my nine-piece band with the three-piece horn section. When I first saw it in London, I was sitting next to Bob Gale. I looked at Bob and told him I thought they owed me a set design credit. He told me they only pinch from the best.

TG: Your song, The Power of Love, is synonymous with the movie, Back to the Future.

HL: Thank goodness. The film just keeps growing. We did a 35-year reunion and every five years we go on television and reassemble the cast. Huey Lewis and the News was on top of the world back then and our song, The Power of Love, was huge. It was the perfect time for us. We had just toured with our Sports album and now we had to come up with another album. You wanted to keep the momentum in those days. The Power of Love was the perfect way to continue the momentum. We recorded it and we gave it to the movie and it went straight to number one.

The Power of Love went to number one in nine weeks, which is remarkably fast. From the close of principal photography for Back to the Future to the release of the movie, it was the fastest ever completed in Hollywood history. The producers knew the song was on its way to number one and they wanted to get the movie out to gain the momentum from the song. The day the movie was released, our song, The Power of Love, was the number one song in the country.

Interestingly, we weren’t allowed to put that song on one of our albums because MCA had purchased it and owned the rights. They wouldn’t let us put it on one of our albums in America but they did in the rest of the world. Not in America but in the rest of the world we added The Power of Love to our album Fore. In the rest of the world our album Fore is way bigger than our album, Sports.

It’s interesting. In America we have numerous big hits, This is It, Heart and Soul, I Want a New Drug, Heart of Rock and Roll, Bad is Bad. In Europe they hardly know any of these songs. They know Jacob’s Ladder, Stuck With You, Power of Love, Doing It All For My Baby because those were on the other record. It’s amazing. A lot of this is business, right? One of the reasons Power of Love is such a wonderful, amazing song is because it’s in the movie and the movie was the biggest movie of all time. We have a lot of great songs, but this one was in the movie.

TG: All of these incredible songs are yours; they are part of your history. Is there one song among all these memorable hits that is your favorite?

HL: No, I can’t name a favorite. I honestly think these songs on our latest record, Her Love is Killing Me and While We’re Young, and Remind Me Why I Love You Again, are three of the best things we’ve ever done. In my opinion, I think our last record is really our best work.

TG: Please talk about making the album Weather.

HL: We released Weather. It only has seven songs because of the loss of my hearing. It’s a record that we did piece by piece. It’s what we do; we write songs and we record them. So what we were doing over the course of almost 15 years was to play shows everywhere. We would write a song and record it in our home studio. We had a very nice studio; we used to have a complex with a recording studio, offices, etc. We would record the song and learn to love it. We would take it on the road and work on it and then bring it back, record it and put it in the can. We would play it for months, then cut it and we kept doing it until we had about seven songs. It’s hard to be prolific when you’ve written over 80 songs. Because we wrote for such a long time, these are our best works, the most realized.

“I fell in love with Broadway because of all the people — all the talent. Not only are the Broadway actors talented; they are smart, funny and self-effacing.”

TG: Now I have a question from my daughter’s son, Harry. He wants to know why you changed your name from Huey Lewis and the American Express to Huey Lewis and the News?

HL: That’s a great question! The record label made us change our name. Tell Harry that’s a super good question! The reason we were Huey Lewis and the American Express, which I think is a great name, is because it’s what I thought we sounded like. I thought it was the best name ever. No one had ever done a corporate tie in, zero; it had never been done. The first person to do it was Michael Jackson with Pepsi. Prior to that, it was the kiss of death; it just wasn’t done. They were afraid that American Express would sue us. They only figured that out 24 hours before the cover had to be finished so we really only had 24 hours to come up with a name.

TG: Where did the News come from?

HL: It was me. I just thought of it. There were a bunch of other contenders, but we went with Huey Lewis and the News.

TG: You have so many top hits that are so memorable. Your songs include I Want a New Drug and Hip to be Square. How did you go from a song about drugs to one about being square?

HL: Hip to be Square was supposed to be funny. It may be my only regret writing wise. I originally wrote in the third person. In the lyrics, he used to be a renegade; he used to fool around. It was meant to define a phenomenon that David Brooks articulates in his book Bobos in Paradise on how people were dropping in after being too far out; how they were cutting their hair. It was almost like a fashion thing. I thought it was kind of funny; it’s hip to be square. I thought it would be funnier if I told it on myself but not everyone got the joke. Some might think it was an anthem for square people but it wasn’t meant to be. I think I’ve lived it down by now.

TG: Please talk about your career in acting.

HL: Lovely. I worked with Bob Altman, which was amazing. We went on location and he invited me to ride with him. The location was three hours away and I got a three-hour tutorial on film acting from him that was fascinating. Robert Altman was a great experience. I did a bunch of Just Shoot Me’s with Wendie Malick, Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli and Jane Leeves. The shows were written by Fraser writers and it was fantastic. I performed in one episode a year. For two weeks I shared a dressing room with Bob Newhart, who is fantastic and a TV legend. I have no desire to be more famous nor to appear as myself. If there’s not some acting required, I’m not interested.

TG: You played Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago on Broadway.

HL: I love the Broadway community and I loved doing Billy Flynn. What a great play, great musical and great character. I did 222 performances and I learned something every single day. The material is that rich and dense; it was just fabulous. I fell in love with Broadway because of all the people — all the talent. Not only are the Broadway actors talented; they are smart, funny and self-effacing. They are just fun. It’s great work. It’s the most demanding and therefore the most rewarding of artistic expression.

TG: Talk about the early days.

HL: Back in 1980, in the early days we had to have a hit record. There was no internet, no jam band, the only avenue to success was a hit record in a format called CHR, Contemporary Hit Radio. Top 40 started with the advent of push button radio. In the 50’s when they had push button radio, when the programmers opined it, as long as you didn’t hear something you didn’t like, you would just stick right there. So, narrow your play list and just play the top hits over and over again. That was top 40!

By late 70’s, early 80’s we had AM format, mono Top 40. FM Radio comes along with stereo but it’s still not broadcasting with a lot of watts. But it is stereo and it’s a free format.

Radio was the only format we all competed on. So if you had a hit there it was a big, big hit. It was unique for its time and we had to have a hit record. We insisted on producing the records ourselves because I knew we were going to have to make commercial decisions that I was going to have to live with. We aimed every song right at radio. Sports sounds like a record of its time; it’s a collection of singles and different styles.

“I’m not dead; I’m just deaf. I’m actually a glass half full kind of guy. I’m a major key, not a minor key guy.”

Conventional wisdom says you can’t do that, you have to stick with one genre, but we were all over the map. Bad is Bad is like a little bluesy thing. Honky Tonk Blues is a country song. Thin Line is a big hard rocker and One New Drug is kind of a dance tune. We consciously aimed each one of these songs as a single at radio. I knew we needed a hit and I didn’t know which one was going to hit. Our records hit so hard we were touring coliseums and achieving our dreams and doing really well financially. After that happened, I made a decision with myself and the rest of the band that this was the last thing I would ever do for commerciality. If it didn’t make artistic sense, we were not going to do it. I’ve done exactly that ever since.

TG: You are pretty amazing with a harmonica.

HL: My mom was a hippy. When she divorced my dad she moved to another house and rented out a room to a boarder. The boarder was a folk singer named Billy Roberts; he wrote Hey Joe. He had lots of harmonicas and when they would go out of tune, he would give them to me. I was in high school so I started playing harmonica. I graduated high school a year early at 16 years old; my dad told me there was one thing I had to do. He told me to take a year off and bum around Europe. I told him I had been accepted to Cornell and he said no, take a year off and head to Europe. He actually made me do that. I took the harmonica with me; it fit the image.

My mother told me that was the first good decision my old man had ever made. She gave me a Bob Dylan record and told me the poets love this guy and told me to check it out. I listened to the Dylan record, brought my harmonica and in my mind, I was a wandering minstrel throughout the world. I hitchhiked Europe, hitch-hiked North Africa; I went to Marrakech for a day and stayed three months.

TG: Travelgirl wants to know, do you have a favorite travel destination?

HL: I have several places I want to visit. I’m a fanatic flyfisherman and I want to go the Seychelles and fish. That’s a bucket list thing.

TG: Huey, you’ve paved quite a path. Do you have any sage advice for those young hopefuls who aspire to one day follow in your legendary footsteps?

HL: I’ve always told people that unless a career in music is the only thing — the only thing — you want to do, I suggest you go back to school and study. If it is the only thing you want to do, then listen to everyone and pick and choose the advice that you want to take. Think through it all, keep dancing and in the final analysis, trust your instincts. Just keep at it; keep trying and working.

The post TG Coverguy: Huey Lewis appeared first on Travelgirl.

From small-town Tennessee to Las Vegas and Netflix, Leanne Morgan talks about her life and gets 50 million YouTube views

Travelgirl: It’s a pleasure to welcome you to Travelgirl Magazine. I was recently in Las Vegas and saw the large billboard outside the Wynn announcing your show. How did a girl from Tennessee make her way to the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas? First, please tell me about growing up in Tennessee.

Leanne Morgan: I was raised in a town of 500 people, a farming community in middle Tennessee on the Kentucky- Tennessee border called Adams, TN. My people are farmers on both sides, going generations back. I was raised there until I went to college at the University of Tennessee. I always wanted to be in show business from the time I was a little girl. I didn’t know how or when, but I ended up being in standup.

TG: You graduated with a degree from the University of Tennessee and married your sweetheart Chuck. You two moved to Bean Station, Tennessee and started your family. Will you elaborate on these years?

LM: Chuck and I met at the University of Tennessee and he bought a refurbishing manufactured housing business in his 20s, and moved us to Bean Station, TN, and I got pregnant with our first baby Charlie. I worked for Chuck for a little while. I’m country and rural, but this was a different kind of rural. I got my degree in Child and Family Studies Crisis Intervention Counseling. I thought I would be a therapist if I wasn’t going to make it in Hollywood. I mostly wanted to be a momma more than anything.

TG: You seem to be quite the entrepreneur. You started selling jewelry at home parties. I read you were hilarious at these parties. Please talk about this.

LM: I didn’t want to go to work full time and leave Charlie, but I wanted a side hustle to make a little money in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains–you know to get my hair done and buy Charlie outfits. My friend was selling jewelry and asked me if I wanted to sell jewelry too. I would go into women’s houses and put jewelry on kitchen tables and eat dip and brownies. I developed an act and women thought I was funny. These women actually even started booking me about a year in advance.

TG: You said you had a moment, when you were selling jewelry, that you realized you could make it in comedy. It’s funny. Can you elaborate?

LM: I was at somebody’s house. There was a woman sitting on the couch, her name was Carmen, and she got so tickled about something that I said that she pee-peed on the couch. That was a God moment for me. I knew I was funny. I wanted to do standup, but I didn’t know how it would be possible when I was in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. When she laughed, I knew I could do it. I could make it in comedy. I am still good friends with Carmen after all these years. I tell her all the time that she was part of that decision that I made. I knew I could go for it. The jewelry company noticed that I was booking so far in advance, that they asked me to speak at their large events.

TG: Were there any early mentors in your life who encouraged you to pursue your dream of becoming a stand-up comedian?

LM: There was a man named Dennis Swanberg who was a Christian comedian performing at one of those large jewelry events that I spoke at and he told me off stage that I could do it. That was pivotal. It meant a lot to me and I thought ‘Okay, I can do this.’ Also Brian Dorfman. He let me open at Zanies Comedy Club 20-some years ago, and after my set he said “I think you’ve got something, but it’s going to be hard to do this with three babies, traveling and leaving them. But I think you got it. You’re just going to have to find another way.” I knew I had to figure it out and take a different path.

TG: You were becoming successful and raising a family. How did you balance both your rising career and your family? You’ve been successful at both.

LM: I had to just take what I could, being a momma, I would do a lot of private and local corporate events. Chuck would travel during the week. I would go on the weekends, and just work around his schedule and the kids’ schedules. I came third but that was okay. I never felt that I didn’t get to do my own thing because I always wanted my family to be my first priority. I would do comedy clubs every once in a while, but I had to do what I could to accommodate my family. I always wanted to put them first.

TG: Talk about a girl who lived in Bean Station, Tennessee making it to the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. Were you intimidated or does that Leanne moxie get you out there?

LM: It is intimidating because I did not come up in the New York or LA comedy scene. I always felt like an outsider. When I did get invited to something like that, I was intimidated. But now I feel pretty good about it. I’m 58 years old and now after all these tours and doing a movie, I finally feel like I have a place there.

TG: You are not only a stand-up success, but you have also over three million followers across social media and your online special, So-Yummy, has reached over 50 million views on YouTube. Please talk about So-Yummy.

LM: Honest to goodness nothing else was going on in my career and I was thinking about quitting. Then out of the blue, Dry Bar Comedy asked me to do a special. I honestly thought nobody would see it. I did a bunch of old material.

TG: I watched your Netflix special Leanne Morgan: I’m Every Woman. So many moments in that show are relatable to all of us. I laughed and laughed. Please talk about writing and performing the show.

LM: Well, I was doing this material before COVID, and then COVID stopped everything, and there was a lot of time off. There were a lot of things I probably lost and couldn’t remember, so I started building it back up and performing again after COVID. Every time I do any new hour, I’m always weaving in my family, and it takes me a while to get it, but it’s always something to do with what’s happening in my life. I’ve got grandbabies; I’ve gone through menopause. Throughout my 20 years of comedy, there is always something going on in my real life. The Netflix special was what was going on in my life at that time. And I am a storyteller, so I’m long winded. It is not small bits. It is always long stories of my life and my family.

TG: You are living proof that through hard work you can attain your dreams. Do you have any sage advice for those young hopefuls out there who hope to be the next Leanne Morgan?

LM: If this is something you know in your heart that you need to be doing, then keep going. Listen to your gut. If this is something you’re meant to be doing, then follow what you’re passionate about. Hard work pays off; it’s not a short-term thing. Keep going, keep working, keep doing what you love and never give up.

TG: You travel constantly. Do you have one special item you never leave home without?

LM: My iPad!!! I love my iPad so that I can watch my shows and look at pictures of my grandbabies.

TG: Travelgirl readers will want to know, do you have a special place you love to travel to and what’s on Leanne’s travel bucket list?

LM: I really enjoy everywhere, but I love going to the Carolina and Georgia coasts, like Charleston and Savannah. All around there has been a favorite. I would really like to go over to the UK, and do a tour in the UK.

TG: Talk about what’s next on your busy career. This summer you have a tour called Just Getting Started and you will be seen on the screen in the Amazon Prime feature, You’re Cordially Invited, starring alongside Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon.

LM: I’m hoping to do television, more touring, and more movies! I also have a book coming out in September 2024 called What in the World?.

TG: What’s the one most important thing you want Travelgirl readers to know about Leanne Morgan?

LM: I want them to know that I feel this is more than comedy. Since this has happened to me, my fans have been more like friends and a community, and they have lifted me up and want to see me win. It is bigger than comedy and more special and sweeter than anything I could have ever imagined. I want people to know how much I appreciate my career and the love my fans give me.

TG: Is there one charity you want to mention, so you could help

LM: My family is incredibly involved with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and childhood illnesses. My husband is a volunteer and a baby cuddler. My daughter Maggie works in development and raises money for the hospital, and my grandson was in the NICU and East Tennessee Children’s Hospital took wonderful care of him.

TG: I have truly loved researching and reading about you. You are an absolute treasure and I am more than delighted to get to know you and to welcome you to Travelgirl Magazine.

The post TG Covergirl: Leanne Morgan appeared first on Travelgirl.

Iconic country singer is a sensation on the music charts, on television and in Las Vegas.

It’s a great honor to welcome back country music superstar Luke Bryan to Travelgirl. This legendary giant of country music graced our cover a few years back. We are honored to tell more of his motivational and inspirational story. The uber talented Luke Bryan has garnered more than 22 billion worldwide streams and has released more than 30 number one hits. This ambassador of good will and singer/songwriter superstar amassed 56 total weeks at number one in his career. He was recently presented with the SoundExchange Hall of Fame Award in recognition of his standing as one of the most streamed artists in SoundExchange’s 20-year history.

The five-time Entertainer of the Year has played for more than 14 million fans. His headline concert tours have played sold-out performances for millions of fans in more than 40 stadium concerts, Farm Tours, Spring Break shows, and sold-out ‘Crash My Playa’ destination concert events.

He was born in Leesburg, Georgia, on July 17, 1976, and his keen interest in music began when he was young, listening to his parents’ records, which included music from country stars Merle Haggard and George Strait. When Luke turned 14, his parents purchased a guitar for him and Luke began singing with local bands. He honed his craft in high school, performing in musicals and writing his own songs. He was on his way to stardom.

Travelgirl: You were born in Leesburg, Georgia, and your dad was a farmer. What was it like growing up with your family in Georgia?

Luke Bryan: Growing up in Georgia, my dad was a farmer and we worked in agriculture, so we were always looking up at the sky, checking if rain was in the forecast. That always set the tone for the mood in my household, whether we had rain coming in or not — we knew the crops would be good and it was going to be a good week around the Bryan household.

At age 19, Luke was heading to Nashville when tragedy struck and his beloved older brother Chris was killed in an automobile crash. Luke stayed home, attended Georgia Southern University, and worked on his dad’s peanut farm — all the while playing music at night. In 2001, with his family’s insistence, Luke relocated to Nashville and landed a songwriting contract. He wrote for several renowned artists including Travis Tritt and performed his music at night. Capitol Records caught his show and signed him and, the rest, shall we say, is history.

The accolades poured in, and Luke Bryan’s career took off. He wrote a wealth of number one hits including Rain is a Good Thing, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, Fast, Crash My Party, That’s My Kind of Night, and numerous others. As his career skyrocketed so did the awards. Country Aircheck named Bryan the Most Heard Artist of the Last Decade. He’s won almost 50 major music awards and has amassed close to 30 number one hits. The awards continued. Luke Bryan became the first recipient of the ACM Album of the Decade for his Crash My Party Album of 2013. He’s been a CMT Artist of the Year six times and has sold over 12 million albums.

His latest sensational hit, But I Got A Beer In My Hand, which was written by Chase McGill, Matt Dragstrem, and Geoff Warburton, was produced by Jeff Stevens and co-produced by Jody Stevens, is in the Top Ten. This song comes on the heels of Luke’s 30th #1 single Country On, which ended the 2022 charts as the final #1 of the year. The release of Country On continues Luke’s record of 29 career #1 singles and 17.2 billion worldwide streams on country radio.

TG: Your song Country On is so uplifting.

LB: I love that the song uplifts the hardworking American people out there, and it brings a lot of unity. It just has feel-good vibes all the way around it and anytime you can reference country music fans in a song, and you can really make it feel natural, it’s great. And this song does just that.

Luke Bryan is a humanitarian in every sense of the word. He’s humble, gracious and incredibly charitable. He was honored as the 2021 Artist Humanitarian Award recipient for his numerous philanthropic undertakings. Luke’s Farm Tours are motivating. He began these tours in 2009 and thus far Luke Bryan has granted 83 college scholarships to students from farming families attending the local college or university near the places the tour performs.

He works tirelessly for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Nashville where all children are treated for free, regardless of their circumstances. His support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is inspirational. He lost his devoted sister Kelly in 2007 and her husband in 2014 after which Luke and his beloved wife Caroline became guardians for their nieces and nephew. Luke and Caroline are incredibly proud of their own two sons, Thomas “Bo” and Tatum “Tate” Bryan.

Bryan told the stories of his many successes and heartbreaks in November 2017 when he gave us a look at his life in Living Every Day: Luke Bryan. It’s a triumph told in the first person.

Luke will play his final dates of his record-breaking headline engagement at Resorts World Las Vegas, “Luke Bryan: VEGAS,” with six remaining shows — including New Year’s Eve!! — on December 29, 30 & 31, 2023 and January 3, 5 & 6, 2024. Tickets available at axs.com/lukeinvegas.

TG: Your tenure at Resorts World Las Vegas has been a huge success. Fans can still garner a seat; you have performances scheduled for late December and early January. It’s really a phenomenal and quite extraordinary show.

LB: We’ve worked long and hard to put together an incredible, high-energy show for the fans. I am so proud of how it turned out and I hope everyone who comes leaves there having as much fun as me.

My favorite place to be is on stage performing for country music fans. So thankful every night when I walk out on that stage and know you are there to have a blast along beside me. It never gets old.

Luke and NFL legend Peyton Manning recently hosted “The 57th Annual CMA Awards”; it’s a return engagement for these two talents and the show was a huge success. Next year Luke Bryan will return for a seventh season with Katy Perry and Lionel Richie as celebrity judges on ABC’s American Idol. January 17-20 Luke will headline two “Crash My Playa” concerts with special guest appearances by Dierks Bentley and Eddie Montgomery. Tickets are on sale now and there will be a host of additional performers. Log onto CrashMyPlaya.com to purchase packages and garner more information.

The post TG Coverguy: Luke Bryan appeared first on Travelgirl.

Carrie Underwood has won more than 100 awards including eight Grammys, 16 ACM Awards and was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry when she was a mere 26 years old. She is the most awarded female country artist for singles in RIAA (the Recording Industry Association of America®) history. She has recorded 28 number one singles, sold more than 85 million records and has the honor of being the most awarded female country singer.

In 2013 Underwood performed Sunday Night Football’s theme song, “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,” which became a huge fan favorite. She’s starred in the NBC televised production of The Sound of Music playing the lead role of Maria.

This legendary luminary is also an entrepreneur and author. In 2014 Underwood launched CALIA, a line of fitness apparel, and in 2020 she penned released the self-help fitness and lifestyle book Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, and Get Strong with the Fit52 Life, a New York Times best seller.

Travelgirl: We are honored to have you aboard Travelgirl Magazine. You were born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, raised on a farm and loved growing up there. Oklahoma’s so proud of their hometown girl! I was at the Oklahoma Centennial when you brought down the house!!! In 2017, you were inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Would you please talk about growing up in Oklahoma?

Carrie Underwood: Being raised in Checotah and in Oklahoma definitely shaped the person I am today. My parents taught me the importance of working hard and to always be grateful for what you have. I loved growing up on a farm as it taught me to appreciate the land, which probably helped plant the seeds for my love of land and gardening. Even now, when I visit my family in Oklahoma, I feel such a sense of peace. I can really just relax there.

TG: 2004 was a banner year for you. You were majoring in journalism and decided to try out for American Idol, which you won. You were on your way to stardom and you managed to return to school at Northeastern State University where you graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in mass communications. How did you manage stardom so early and what prompted you to go back and finish college? Would you please share a few memories from that time in your life?

CU: The decision to audition for American Idol changed the entire trajectory of my life. I loved music and performing, but at that point I was planning to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. The idea that everything that came after that was more than I could have even dreamed for, let alone think it could actually happen. It was all such a whirlwind, in the best possible way.

TG: You’ve sold over 85 million records worldwide. You’ve won a wealth of awards including eight GRAMMY Awards, 16 ACM Awards including winning Entertainer of the Year three times. You ended 2022 as Billboard’s top Country female. You are a New York Times bestselling author and successful entrepreneur. Seven of your albums are certified multi-platinum or platinum by the RIAA. You were inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. How have you kept so grounded all these years? You are humble, gracious and give lots of time to worthwhile causes.

CU: Again, I credit my family with always teaching me to be grateful for the gifts God gives us and the blessings we enjoy every day. I’m very proud of what I’ve been able to achieve in my career but, more importantly, always remember the things that matter the most — faith, family, and gratitude.

TG: Please talk about your fitness app fit52, which you launched in 2020. Every Travelgirl will want to participate and get fit.

CU: fit52 is my app where I can share all the things I’ve learned about fitness and nutrition. My trainer, Eve Overland, and I have such a great time creating new content for the app and I love that we have created a community of people who want to share their journeys, whether they are just starting out on that path or are looking for new and different ways to approach working in working out into their lives.

TG: In December, 2021, you became the first artist to perform at the new Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas; you actually opened this marvelous venue. Your show, REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency, garners rave reviews and you constantly perform to sold-out crowds. You will be on stage at Resorts World in September, November 30 and December. Please talk about your sensational show and performing in this marvelous arena. You dazzle the audience each evening.

CU: I love having our ongoing residency, REFLECTION. As much fun as it is to be on the road, which we were earlier this year with The Denim & Rhinestones Tour, it’s great to be able to be in one place and to put on a show that we could never move from city to city on a concert tour. We have some incredible set pieces and effects. When we were creating REFLECTION, we knew we really needed to put on a show worthy of the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas and the fun and energy of Nashville, and we’ve really accomplished that. I will always love being on the road and coming to the fans where they are, but it’s also really cool that we can be in Las Vegas for periods of time and perform a show we love for audiences who come from all over the world to see us.

TG: Do you have a favorite song and if so, what does it mean to you?

CU: Well, it’s not fair to choose one favorite… but of course Jesus, Take the Wheel will always have a special place in my heart. Not only was it the first single from my first album and the first hit, it just meant the world to be able to wear my faith on my sleeve and lay the groundwork for a career that melds who I am as a person and as an artist.

TG: Will you please talk about the C.A.T.S. Foundation and let our Travelgirl readers know how they can help.

CU: I wanted to create an organization that gave back to where I’m from, and helping to improve my hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma is extremely important to me. The C.A.T.S. Foundation (Checotah Animal, Town, and School Foundation) is all about giving back to the community I grew up in. We’ve helped out in all kinds of ways, from supporting the animal shelter, to the police and fire departments, to the schools (donating musical instruments and computer labs), and have been blessed enough to meet the needs of many different parts of the town. You can learn more about The C.A.T.S. Foundation on our website.

TG: Travelgirl readers will want to know if you have a favorite destination and what travel destinations are on Carrie Underwood’s bucket list.

CU: I’ve been so lucky to visit so many places here in the U.S. and around the world, I’m not sure I could pick just one. Anytime I’m able to squeeze in a little time for myself, I do love being near the water, whether it’s a pool, lake or the ocean. And visiting any vineyard anywhere always makes me a very happy girl.

TG: Do you have any sage advice for those young hopefuls out there who hope to one day walk in Carrie Underwood’s famous footsteps?

CU: Work hard and treat people the way you want to be treated. Always show up prepared and ready to do your job and never take a good opportunity for granted. Remember to have gratitude and humility.

TG: This month you are releasing Denim & Rhinestones (Deluxe Edition). What can we expect from that?

CU: I loved recording Denim & Rhinestones, which we released last year and we just couldn’t include everything we wanted to on the album. I knew I just had to extend the Denim & Rhinestones era so we are releasing the Deluxe Edition with six new tracks, on September 22.

TG: Tell us about your year-round channel, CARRIE’S COUNTRY, on SiriusXM.

CU: We launched CARRIE’S COUNTRY in June and it’s been so much fun getting to welcome listeners into my personal musical universe. I get to share my favorite music across all of the genres I love, from classic rock to the latest in country and a lot of special features highlighting everything from fitness to gardening, behind the scenes and more. fit52.com; thecatsfoundation.com

TG: Thank you for brightening all our lives.

The post Carrie Underwood: From American Idol to Superstar and Entrepreneur appeared first on Travelgirl.

Story and Photos by Celina Colby

Cerulean Farm in Shelbyville, Kentucky, sits at the end of a gated drive lined with maple trees. The historic horse farm, dating back to the 1860s, is now a charming bed and breakfast and the home base of a nonprofit that rescues horses from difficult circumstances.

Cerulean encapsulates the magic of Shelby County: it’s rich in history, spilling over with natural beauty, and it’s female-owned. It turns out, women run Shelby County and the region is better off for it. We’re not just talking girl power bumper stickers and power suits. A visit to Shelby County inevitably means benefiting from the hard work and kindness of the female entrepreneurs dotting the district.

Shelby County is conveniently located 40 minutes from Louisville and an hour from Lexington. It’s smack dab in the middle of the Bourbon Trail and is home to a number of distilleries, including Bulleit. With just shy of 100,000 people, it’s the largest of Kentucky’s 95 counties and it strikes a perfect balance between expansive farmlands and urban conveniences like tasteful accommodations and au current restaurants.

Strolling along Main Street in Shelbyville, a boulevard so scenic it practically looks like it’s a movie set, visitors will take in the warm sunshine and note the beautiful dogwood trees lining the sidewalk. Those very dogwood trees are the subject of a town-wide festival in April featuring local craft vendors and artists, live music and delectable Southern cuisine.

A picture-perfect scene like this could only benefit from one thing: ice cream. Well, gelato to be more specific. Spotz Gelato is nestled in the heart of downtown and it’s pretty hard to miss. The bright pink polka-dotted interior is topped only by the taste of their award-winning banana pudding flavor. Owner Beth Richardson pioneered Spotz out of love for the depth of flavor found in gelato and the special charm of small-town ice cream shops. She now operates six locations in Kentucky, one in Las Penitas, Nicaragua, and a fleet of mobile gelato trucks, wagons and bikes.

Derby Hats and Horses
Once your sweet tooth is satisfied, pop across the street to The Polkadotted Pineapple Boutique. There’s no doubt you’re in Kentucky when you stroll into this women’s clothing boutique, because every spare corner or mannequin is sporting an elaborate Kentucky Derby hat. Shop owner Dori Lewis makes many of the hats herself, piling feathers and flowers onto fascinators in true Derby style. The tradition of wearing hats to the famous horse race was brought over to the U.S. from English and French horse races and some say the bigger the hat, the bigger the luck.

But long before you don your Derby hat and order a mint julep, the horses that race the Derby are training. Melanie Defler, owner of West Meadow Farm in Eminence, has been training thoroughbred winners for years. Visitors can tour the farm and meet some of the soon-to-be Derby competitors. Though Defler breeds and houses race horses, she also accepts rescues and finds new careers for horses that are past their racing prime.

The Derby is an important part of Kentucky’s history and culture, but some of the side effects have been less than productive. Jeanette Aumon, the owner of Cerulean Farm, is using her own rescue program not only to rehabilitate horses but also to preserve original horse breeds. Native quarter horses are much healthier in their original foundation breed than when bred with thoroughbreds in order to race. Watching so many happy horses gallop across Aumon’s fields, it’s hard to believe some of them could barely walk when they arrived in her care.

Not all souvenirs from this trip are horses’ kisses and dusty boots. The Shoppes at Blue Gables is a complex of small shops by local vendors and artists. Built in an old motel compound, the shops include clothing, handmade bath products, an art gallery and much more. Shelby County is also home to The Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass, the only outlet in the entire state.

Bourbon? Of Course!
Alternatively, you could bring home a bottle of bourbon. After all, is it really Kentucky if you haven’t sipped a locally made Old Fashioned? Jeptha Creed is a unique stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour. Co-owned by master distiller mom Joyce Nethery and marketing manager daughter Autumn Nethery, the bourbon is distilled from bloody butcher corn grown by the Nethery family. The red corn, an unusual style for bourbon distilling, adds a richness of flavor to the beverage.

Start your visit to Jeptha Creed with a barrel tasting. You’ll be brought out to the barrel rooms where all the bourbons age. Sitting in leather armchairs, wrapped in furs in the cooler months, you’ll sample limited edition bourbons and learn about the company’s history. If you visit on a Sunday, Jeptha Creed’s lavish brunch Bloody Mary is a must. It comes with the distillery’s hot pepper vodka and enough skewered food to feed four people. Your Instagram will never be the same.

Back at Cerulean Farm you can nap off your trip along the bourbon trail or enjoy tea and homemade cookies on the year round porch. Aumon may join you to check in on your stay or she may be out caring for her horses, photographing local animals, educating students about equine health and generally saving the world. That’s women’s work in Shelby County.

visitshelbyky.com

The post WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS IN SHELBY COUNTY, KY appeared first on Travelgirl.

Atlanta has almost an embarrassing amount of fun things to do. From professional and college sports teams, to world-class museums, to parks, innovative restaurants, the BeltLine to concerts and festivals, we humbly admit that we have it all.

And, now even more! Yes, a number of new and exciting restaurants and activities have entered the city so that no matter where one is located — Westside, Eastside, Midtown, Buckhead and Downtown — there is more to do than ever to have a great time in the ATL.

RESTAURANTS
Atlanta has a firm grasp on what’s happening in the restaurant biz. First off, let’s congratulate Terry Koval of the Deer and the Dove for being awarded the Restaurant industry’s Oscar. Koval was just named the 2023 Best Chef Southeast by the James Beard Foundation. Other local 2023 James Beard semi-finalists include: Clinton Gray, Derrick Moore and Emanuel Reed for Slim & Husky’s Pia Berria, Lyla Lila (for its wine program); Ticonderoga Club (hospitality); Buena Gente Cuban Bakery; and Ronald Hsu and Aaron Phillips (Lazy Betty), Jiyeon Lee and Cody Taylor (Heirloom Market BBQ), Sahar Siddiqi (Chai Pani) and Deborah VanTrece (Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours).

Among the big news for the area was the opening of Nobu, the famous celebrity-favored sushi restaurant, and the Nobu Atlanta hotel. Both became instant hits among locals and outof-towners. Nobu is located across from Phipps Plaza, one of the country’s most exclusive shopping malls, which recently underwent a renovation. Part of the renovation was the recently opened Citizens Market Atlanta, a 25,000-square-foot immersive culinary destination that includes a culinary market with eight chef-driven brands and a full, indoor and outdoor bar. The variety of food offerings are fast casual options ranging from modern American to Asian-fusion.

Speaking of celebrities, Marcus Samuelsson, the acclaimed chef behind restaurants including the Red Rooster Harlem, and winner of eight James Beard Foundation awards, recently opened Marcus Bar & Grille, which serves elevated comfort classics and signature dishes. Located in the funky neighborhood of Edgewood Avenue (don’t forget to go to the nearby Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium), the restaurant shows why Samuelsson has prepared dishes for former President Obama.

We’re excited by downtown’s R3 Rosendale Concepts, a restaurant by award-winning and Certified Master Chef® Rich Rosendale (only one of 72 in the country) with menus inspired from local cuisine, seasonal ingredients and the personal experiences of the R3 team. Everything about the restaurant is impeccable: the flexible and creative menu, the service as well as the decor. There’s also live music every night.

Deborah VanTrece continued her history of fabulous restaurants with the opening of La Panarda, which showcases her love of Italian cuisine, in the revitalizing Cascade Heights area. Follow the yellow brick road (literally) to Amore e Amore, a Ponce Highland restaurant that takes its themes, well, very seriously. Currently it’s a Wizard of Oz theme, complete with Dorothy, the Tin Man and lots of Wicked Witch hats decoratively and literally filling every inch of this great Italian restaurant. Themes change, so you must keep going back.

Other new restaurants making waves are: Zakia Modern Lebanese Restaurant in Buckhead, Brassica in the Waldorf Astoria, Wicked Wolf Sports Pub & Club and Johnny’s Chicken & Waffles, both in Midtown. Last but not least, we need to give a nod to the Fishmonger, named one of Esquire’s best new restaurants, with two locations.

Check out the Summerhill neighborhood near the former Turner Field, (now the Georgia State Stadium) for a variety of great food and drink options such as Little Bear for international fare, Wood’s Chapel BBQ or Halfway Crooks Beer for great craft beer.

Of course, we can never forget Atlanta’s favorites including the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, the Livingston Restaurant & Bar (which re-opened after three years), Bazati on the BeltLine, Ray’s in the City, Aria, Thumbs Up Diner, The Optimist, Atlas, and Nan Thai Fine Dining.

ENTERTAINMENT
Pullman Yards, in the Kirkwood neighborhood, has come on strong lately as a fun spot with two great restaurants (Fishmonger and Dailies & Sides), pickleball, as well as concerts, and special events such as Jurassic World the Exhibition. But its latest addition is AlcoHall, a food hall for drinks. AlcoHall features seven stalls with different alcohol brands offering everything from wine, whiskey to beers on tap.

Föwling Warehouse, located on the Westside, is the only place in Georgia to play föwling, a combination football, bowling and horseshoe game. There’s also a great bar, games, pub food and has a dog-friendly outdoor patio. Located at The Works on the Westside, Your 3rd Spot has it all — great food and drinks and games — lots of games — more than 80, in fact. Explore the shops, restaurants and activities over at Atlantic Station.

PuttShack in the Interlock complex on the Westside still delights with tech-infused mini golf and great food and drinks. While on the roof is L.O.A. Rooftop, which offers some of the best views of the city, a beautiful pool (day pass or membership pass) and Restaurant L.O.A., a fantastic restaurant. Other new entertainment entries into Atlanta include the Sloomoo Institute, a slime and sensory play experience, Painted Pickle, a boutique bowling bar, Beat the Bomb and Flight Club Atlanta, an interactive social darts destination.

Explore the wonders of the ocean at the Georgia Aquarium where you can have an immersive shark, sea lion and ray interactions. The Aquarium inspires, educates and entertains guests about aquatic biodiversity through its hundreds of exhibits and tens of thousands of animals across seven galleries.

Westside Motor Lounge is a dynamic indoor-outdoor culinary and entertainment experience near the Westside BeltLine Connector. Westside Motor Lounge is an adaptive resuse project that features a restaurant We could go on and on… but we really (honestly) don’t want to brag.

Be sure to explore bustling Brookhaven where you will find a wealth of locally owned restaurants, exceptional shops and a vibrant arts scene. Don’t miss the opportunity to shop at Brookhaven’s Farmer’s Market. Open every Saturday morning, 9AM – 12PM at 1375 Fernwood Circle NE, 30319, stalls are filled with fresh fruits, vegetables and more. Brookhaven also sports Food Truck Nights. Join the crowds flocking to try the fare on the last Wednesday of the month and enjoy live music, food trucks, and activities for the kids. Be sure to bring blankets and chairs and check the weather before you head out.

Trendy restaurants, including Haven and Petite Violette, savvy shops and a fabulous vibe make Brookhaven the place to see and be see.

The post HOMETOWN: ATLANTA, GEORGIA appeared first on Travelgirl.

Story by Mary WeIch Photos by Grady McGill

In the United States, they’re called the “Flyover States.” In Canada, it’s all about “VTM” or Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Everything else, according to coastal elites, doesn’t matter.

But, as anyone who has ever had a jelly donut or an Oreo knows, the best part is in the middle. And, that is certainly true of Winnipeg, the crown jewel of the Canadian province of Manitoba, and 1,600 miles from Vancouver and 2,300 miles from Montreal. Winnipeg is a city with heart, grit, culture, charm, quirks, authenticity and surprising diversity. There are more than 100 languages spoken, resulting in great ethnic mom-and-pop restaurants.

Come to Winnipeg and you’ll discover what others already know — it’s cool! Winnie-the-Pooh (AKA Winnipeg Bear) is from Winnipeg as was William Stephenson, the martini-swilling, gadget-loving, romancing spy that Ian Fleming used as his model for James Bond. Homer Simpson is an honorary “Pegger” because creator Matt Groening named the character after his father, Homer, who hailed from — you guessed it! South Park even has an Earl of Winnipeg. And, the list goes on and on.

So, a visit to this city and Manitoba should be on every traveler’s list — especially if you’re cool. It’s a unique Canadian adventure and introduction to a city and province that are making a comeback with a vengeance with world-class museums, great shops, scenic beauty, and good old Canadian humorous self depreciation.

Yes, it’s cold!
Even some Peggers questioned our desire to visit the Great White North in March and, after one particularly blustery day, we did too! But, we’re glad we persevered and learned to, as someone said, “lean into the winter.” Embrace it. Make lemonade out of lemons — even if it’s frozen lemonade..

A visit to Winnipeg should start with an informative, comprehensive and entertaining Winnipeg Trolley Company tour that takes you to a chocolate shop in the French section and to an alley where the garages are painted with wildlife — and everything in between.

We were disappointed that we missed ice skating on the River Skating trail where people skate, walk, ride a fat tire bike or kicksled with an occasional stop at a warming station. The trail stretches 3.7 miles on both the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, and yes, a Zamboni grooms it daily. Skating ended the day before we arrived as the temperatures started inching up toward freezing.

Lots of snow also lends itself to creativity and dozens of ice sculptures dotted the city, some heroic in nature, others whimsically creative. Although we looked nightly, we were a little too far south to see the Northern Lights and should have added an extra day to take the train to Churchill, where the lights seem to perform nightly.

Of course, Canadians do love sports and while you’re there enjoy a game of hockey either with the NHL team, the Winnipeg Jets (be sure to order a Jumbo Jet Dog) or the AHL team, the Manitoba Moose.

Outdoor spa
A local favorite is Thermëa by Nordik Spa-Nature, a wellness spa that eliminates toxics, releases adrenaline and gets the endorphins flowing. All of that happens with a routine of sitting in a sauna or steam room, then plunging into an icy pool followed by two rounds of hot tubs (one lukewarm, the other hot) and then relaxing (heated stone beds). Repeat — twice. The pool and hot tubs are outside, so you are literally in a bathing suit walking from station to station in freezing weather. The ritual is based on a 2,000-year-old Nordic tradition and afterwards you are refreshed, exhilarated, and ready to have a drink and lunch at Restö, the spa’s restaurant, and one of the best meals of our trip.

Museums and a Zoo
The city has world-class museums, notably the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the world’s first museum dedicated to human rights. The 10 galleries offer insights into understanding human rights from a number of perspectives including women, indigenous people, Canadian, and the Holocaust. But it also showcases how to make a difference, speak out and understand the fragility of human rights. It truly was inspiring and we took the call to action to heart.

The locals have taken to heart acknowledging human rights as they frequently pay tribute to the area’s ancestral lands and various tribes including the Ojibway, Inninewak (Cree), Métis, Anishinnewak (Oji-Cree) Dene and Dakota peoples. Many signs on buildings note they were built on ancestral lands.

Another must-see is the Manitoba Museum, a human and natural history museum that tells the province’s story from rare 90-million-year-old fossils to a Cree settlement, to a teepee or Red River house and the Nonsuch Gallery, to viewing the Nonsuch, the ship that helped start the Hudson’s Bay Company. Honestly fascinating and well done.

Winnipeg has been the epicenter of trade and commerce dating back to the Indigenous nations. Get the scoop by visiting the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada with more than 90 historic aircraft and 70,000 artifacts, texts and photographs. Our favorite was the replica of the Avrocar, a joint U.S.-Canadian attempt at a top-secret flying saucer that never got off the ground — literally and figuratively.

The 80-acre Assiniboine Park Zoo is the perfect way to explore the animals of the world, but particularly of the north. Although there are a number of exhibits, it’s the Journey to Churchill exhibit that is the most exciting. It’s the most comprehensive northern species exhibit in the world, and you can view foxes, seals, snowy owls, musk, reindeer and arctic foxes in what is close to their natural habitat. Of course, the two polar bears who stepped out of their cave to say hi made our day.

Continuing our journey into nature, we Ubered to The Leaf, a botanical garden that showcases the plants of four distinct worlds. The tropical biome overflowed with tropical plants and the country’s largest indoor waterfall, while the Mediterranean biome features plants from Greece, Italy as well as South Africa and southwest Australia. You can also interact with butterflies at the magical Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden as they flutter around you.

Let’s eat!
We stayed at the Fairmont Winnipeg, ideally suited between the downtown area (we walked to the Jets game) and the Forks National Historic Site. The hotel’s luxury was in full view and we loved the hot cider in the evening and breakfast in the Velvet Glove restaurant.

As we mentioned, Winnipeg’s culinary diversity is front and center with an eclectic selection of eateries including Corrientes (Argentina pizza with a Canadian twist featuring toppings such as pickerel cheeks and corn) and Clementine’s, a hipster place with classic brunch dishes. Definitely try the smoked Arctic Char with crispy potato cakes, horseradish, creme fraîche and cured dill cubes. Feast Cafe Bistro is one of the few Indigenous-owned and operated restaurants in Canada that is rooted in First Nations cuisine and prepared in a traditional manner. Chef/owner Christa Bruneau-Guenther oversees a menu featuring Saskatoon berry smoothies, elk stew, braised bison ribs, pickerel and buffalo lasagna.

Have your pick at the Forks Market. The Forks is Manitoba’s top tourist attraction that offers year-round shopping, activities and a slew of dining options, including Sri Lankan specialities and fish and chips (our choices).

Tabula Rasa is a charming tapas restaurant while the pizza is wonderful at Cibo Waterfront Cafe. Nearby is Patent 5 Distillery that distills gin and vodka using Manitoban wheat and barley and serves innovative cocktails based on Zodiac signs. It’s local all the way and worth a try.

Manitoba
While we only stayed in Winnipeg, Manitoba deserves a shoutout. We truly intend to go back and take the train up to Churchill (there are no roads) to spot polar bears and beluga whales (it’s in the migration paths of both). The Northern Lights (bucket list) are visible up to 300 nights of the year.

For those who love nature, Manitoba has it all — from the arctic tundra, Hudson Bay coastline, fresh lakes, prairie and a dense boreal forest — and it’s a world-class place to fish, camp and hike.

Both Winnipeg and Manitoba have new slogans. Winnipeg’s is “Made From What’s Real” that celebrates its what-you-see-is-whatyou-get mentality. Manitoba’s is “Canada’s Heart is Calling”.

Answer that call.

tourismwinnipeg.com
travelmanitoba.com

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No, you can’t see Russia from your window but you can see a lot more — and you won’t want to miss it. A trip on Celebrity Cruises’ Millennium is a treat one should take — for themselves, for their family, to renew their lust for life and marvel at the wonder of nature. It’s all there.

This was our fourth trip to the Last Frontier and our first on Celebrity. In both cases, it won’t be our last. While the Millennium is awesome (more on that later) the true star is Alaska. From our balcony we simply sat in awe as snow-capped mountains passed by. We wanted the Northern Lights to show up (nope) but the sun and its shadows presented a visual display especially at sunset, which was well past 9 p.m. The air was fresh, the scenery pristine and nature was all around and glorious.

The Mendenhall Glacier
The first day was blustery so we weren’t sure we could get close to the Mendenhall Glacier, which is almost 14 miles long and unfortunately receding. The captain made a valiant attempt to navigate the icy waters and then turned around. Suddenly, there was an opening and he reversed course to give us as close a view of this blue-tinged wonder as possible. Bravo to the captain and crew!

Juneau
Alaska’s capital was our first stop as our group dispersed to explore. Some went up the Tram for a bird’s eye view of the port and a quick hike. Others went whale watching, visited a dog sled summer camp or panned for gold. We chose to get our land legs back and walked around the colorful town, checking out the many jewelry and souvenir shops and the infamous Red Dog Saloon, which has welcomed miners and their lady friends for food, drinks, honky-tonk piano playing and overall adult frivolity, for decades. Located on a prominent waterfront spot is King Crab Shack with giant crab legs cooking outside. We were tempted but the price of $70 for a pound of crab leg led us scurrying back to the ship’s restaurants.

Icy Strait Point
The Huna Tlingits have called Icy Strait Point home since the Little Ice Age and in the 1880’s it was populated by fur traders followed by schools, churches and shops. Around 1912 it was the home of the largest salmon packhouse in the territory producing a mind-boggling 152,505 cases year.

Icy Strait Point is the only privately owned cruise port in Alaska and is owned by about 1,350 Alaskan natives, many of whose ancestors were the original Tlingit settlers. It’s a beautiful little area where packhouses and canneries are now shops, restaurants and event rooms. The shops are less touristy, more authentic and you can get great selections of spices, art, jewelry and clothing not found elsewhere.

Instead of careening down the world’s largest zip rider (at a 1130-degree vertical feet, that’s taller than the Empire State Building), or kayaking on the mirror-calm waters, we opted for a local culinary experience with an elderly Tlingit woman delightfully reminiscing about her childhood, showing us pictures of an upright bear she saw that morning and fixing Halibut Italian sausage, salmon burgers and smoked salmon dip. A young man demonstrated the art of filleting a halibut and then we took a slice of halibut and salmon outside to grill. Delicious!

Skagway
Skagway is cool. From the White Pass railroad to a “brothel” where the madams stick a leg outside the second-floor window, this center of the Klondike Gold Rush takes its somewhat shady past with a grain of salt and a bit of a giggle. The oncelawless town was the home of thieves, madams, shoot-outs and prospectors who only really found out how difficult it was to reach their goal when it was too far to turn back. More than 35,000 prospectors died (mostly from disease) and Gold Rush cemeteries can still be seen. The historic district is impressive with more than 100 buildings, including the 1899 Arctic Brotherhood Hall whose facade is covered with more than 8,800 bits of wood. Like we said, quirky!

We opted for a trip on the White Pass Scenic Railroad, a long scenic railroad with climate-controlled, old-fashioned rail cars (to flush the toilet, you have to use a pump). Oh what majestic beauty! The train took us through tunnels, over sky-high trestles going all the way up to the 2,865-foot summit of the White Pass. Trail highlights include Bridal Veil Valls, Inspiration Point, Dead Horse Gulch and a black cross memorializing two workers who were crushed by a falling boulder, which is still there. As the train slowly climbs its way up the mountain, you hear about the heroic efforts of railroad workers and miners as well as view waterfalls and take pictures at almost every turn. Travelgirl tip: Sit on the left side of the train; it’s more scenic.

Ketchikan
Our final stop was the salmon capital of the world, Ketchikan. We chose the Best of Ketchikan by Land and Sea tour where we spied bald eagles on the boat ride, learned about how salmon was caught and processed (the workers were treated horribly) and, after a brief walk through the nation’s largest national forest, the Tongass National Forest (and the world’s largest temperate rainforest), on to the Saxman Native Village to view magnificent totem poles.

Our group of eight all chose different excursions with some coming back thrilled at seeing orca and humpback whales while others cuddled up to husky puppies or watched a lumberjack show. Many went kayaking while some simply explored on their own. Whether you are adventurous or more on the subdued side, there is an activity waiting for you at each port — even if it’s a restaurant with fresh salmon and a local beer.

Meet the Millennium
We boarded the Millennium in Seward for the seven-day Southbound Glacier cruise that ended in Vancouver. Other Alaska Celebrity cruise ships with different itineraries include the Solstice, Edge and Summit. All offer the amazing amenities found on any Celebrity ship.

The Millennium, which is being assigned to Asia after the season, has an occupancy of 2,218 and is one of the first cruise ships to receive a Four-Star rating by Forbes Travel Guide. We stayed in the AquaClass, which featured a private balcony, complimentary dining at the health-focused Blu and unlimited access to the Persian Garden, a private spa that featured a hammam, infrared and steam room. The cabin was roomy, but we would have preferred losing a few feet of stateroom for a few more in the shower, which was unbelievably small.

Nevertheless, there was a well-balanced list of activities to keep one busy, including gambling, yoga, wine tastings, sports, movies and contests such as Deal or No Deal. There were also plenty of quiet spots to read and have a morning coffee.

Two of the best parts of cruising are the food and entertainment. The Millennium had several restaurants including the Metropolitan, the main dining room, and Oceanview, the cafeteria-style eatery. Both, as well as the others, had a varied selection including glutenfree and vegetarian. The specialty restaurants lived up to their names with the Tuscan Grille offering Italian food and steaks.

Travelgirl tip: Order a quarter-size portion of pasta and then a terrific steak.

Sushi on Five offered traditional sushi and rolls as well as delectable dishes such as excellent miso soup, homemade lobster & shrimp wontons and lobster ramen. The real surprise, dare we say mind-bending, was Le Petit Chef. Sit down at the custom 3D table and meet Le Petite Chef, an animated character who pops up on your plate and table and explains the menu and its inspirations. It’s delightful and the food matches the inventiveness of the character.

The Martini Bar is another favorite. The master bartenders literally pour six flavors of martinis into 12 glasses at the same time. They do the same feat with three martini glasses situated on the bartender’s head and shoulders. By the way, the martinis are sublime.

We loved the intimate entertainment with a few musicians, or even a solo guitarist, playing but you could also enjoy loud and caffeinated Broadway-type shows as well as a very funny musician and Cirque de Soleil-type aerial team. In any event, there is plenty to do at night, including dancing, silent disco and karaoke with a live band.

Yes, on this trip you’ll see it all. You’ll witness breathtaking scenery, admire the heritage of the native populations as well as the colorful settlers who (semi) tamed Alaska. It’s about watching the sun set from a hot tub or the delighted faces of cruisers having the time of their lives. It’s quite a view — and it’s waiting for you.

celebritycruises.com
travelalaska.com

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The illustrious and uber-talented Michael Feinstein is a dynamic force in the world of music. He is a five Grammy Award nominee and has numerous Emmy nominations for his awe-inspiring PBS television specials. His work as an archivist has made him one of the most preeminent forces in music today. He is a distinguished and renowned performer, a composer and an arranger of his own original music.

Feinstein began his prolific career in his 20’s working alongside the legendary Ira Gershwin. Gershwin’s influence, along with Feinstein’s enormous talent, led the way to a remarkable career. He holds three honorary doctorates and is the noted author of The Gershwins & Me. Michael founded the Great American Songbook Foundation in 2007, which celebrates and preserves its music through educational programs, Master Classes, and the annual High School Songbook Academy. Michael devotes his time, his energy and his talent to numerous worthwhile causes and he serves on the Library of Congress’ National Recording Preservation Board.

Travelgirl: It’s a pleasure to see you again. As you know, I’m a huge fan. You were enchanting in Atlanta. What a performance and your storytelling about former Jewish performers was enlightening and entertaining. We were all mesmerized. The crowd stayed through several standing ovations.
Michael Feinstein: I appreciate that; I really do. Anytime I can perform the music I love is wonderful. Being Jewish is a part of who I am and life is about building bridges. We all have certain backgrounds and if one looks beneath the surface we find the common bond of humanity that is necessary for happiness and survival. I’m deeply affected by Judaism. It is a religion that at its core teaches about helping others. If one is given the gift of health and any kind of prosperity, it is incumbent for that person to give back in whatever way they can. I am mindful of that. Giving back is a pleasure and a natural thing for me.

When I left my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, at the age of 20, my grandmother had just gone into assisted living at the Heritage House, a Jewish residence for older folks in Columbus. When I moved to California, I started playing at the Jewish home for the aged twice a week. I did that just because I hoped someone would come and play for my grandmother in Ohio. I developed a great bond with the residents and I met amazing people. There was a man in there named Walter Schnell, who was a Holocaust survivor, and to hear his story was something. He was in an internment camp and was sent to a Jewish community in China, and he spent most of his years there. Walter’s stories of survival were so life-changing; how could anyone ever be the same after experiences like that!

My experience at the Jewish home was so powerful. My mother, who is 95, was just accepted as a resident in the Jewish home
and one of the reasons I was able to get her residency there was due to something I had done 40 years ago, without any thought of
reward for it. Life takes unexpected, beautiful turns.

TG: I understand you starting playing the piano by ear as a five-year-old. Your mother Florence was an amateur tap dancer and your father Edward was an amateur singer.
MF: My parents bought a new house and had saved $500 to buy furniture for the living room. My father impulsively said let’s get a piano because my parents loved music. There was so much music around our house. My mother had been a professional tap dancer until she married. I must have soaked up all of that music. When they bought this upright piano, and started playing the piano with both hands, right off the bat. My father was not home but my mother came into the room and asked me who had taught me to play and I told her no one had taught me. My mother didn’t believe me; she didn’t think it was possible for me to play the piano without some sort of instruction and I was sent to my room for lying.

TG: Whoa, seriously?
MF: Yes, seriously. I stayed in my room until my father came home later that night and realized I was playing the piano by ear. The ability to play like that is something that has always been with me, and it’s always been natural. I believe in reincarnation so I think I must have come in with some past memory that stuck.

TG: Who encouraged you and did you have a mentor in your early years in Columbus?
MF: No one really encouraged me. I’ve always been interested in spirituality. I believe that all beliefs fundamentally come back to a single truth. I’ve never been particularly religious but the more esoteric and spiritual aspects of Judaism I find quite attractive. It’s a feeling of being in direct contact with a divine presence.

TG: You moved to Los Angeles when you were 20. How did you meet the widow of Oscar Levant? I understand she introduced you to Ira Gershwin in July 1977 and you became his assistant. You’ve kept Gershwin and their music alive and prominent all these years. Would you talk about those years with Ira and the influences he had on you?
MF: Absolutely. Indeed I was introduced to Leonore Gershwin by Julie Levant with whom I had become friends by a series of amazing coincidences, even though now I don’t believe in coincidences. The moment I met Ira it felt just as if we were long lost cousins. There was an immediate connection regardless of the fact that he was 80 and I was 20. I began cataloging his phonograph records, which I thought would take a couple of weeks, but I ended up there for six months working just on that project. I would see Ira every day and he became fascinated by this 20-year old kid who knew so much about his work. He was at a point in his life where he thought the world had passed him by. Here was this young man who knew so much about his work, he almost found it freaky in the sense that I knew facts about his life that he didn’t know.

One day we had a gentle argument about what date something had happened. Ira said it was 1930 because this and this had happened, and I told him actually it was 1931 and I found a reference book to show him what the chronology was. Ira said okay, you are right, but you have an advantage over me and I asked what he meant. He told me he had only lived his life, but that I had totally researched it.

We had a very close and loving relationship because Ira had no children. He would have been a wonderful father but his wife didn’t want kids. So I became the surrogate son or grandson that he never had. It was life changing for me because I had moved to Los Angeles less a year earlier playing in piano bars trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life and suddenly things crystallized. I felt I had a greater purpose. I still played in piano bars, which was my main income until I was hired on a full time basis by Ira, and that lasted six years. That period, ages 20 to 26, is very impactful and important in anyone’s life. Those years helped to crystallize a lot of things in my world personally, spiritually and professionally.

TG: You are an incredibly talented performer, a composer, an arranger, a musical director and an author. You’ve received three honorary doctorates, and your book The Gershwins & Me is a best-seller published by Simon & Schuster. Which of one of your numerous talents most defines you? If I asked you what you are, what would you say?
MF: I would say LUCKY! I’ve been very lucky. I’m a singer, an interpreter of American popular song and a conservator of it. I’ve amassed this huge collection of music and artifacts relating to this music just to save and preserve it. I’m lucky that I can perform the music that I love because the world and the audiences are changing. I was in my late 20’s when my career began to garner national attention and yet I discovered music finds new fans. It doesn’t diminish in power.

TG: Please talk about your latest album, Gershwin Country.
MF: That was one of my most fulfilling projects in that it was unlike any other recording I’ve even done. Most of the other recordings I have created were completed rather quickly because most are taped live and are comparatively easy to create. Most pop records are built through production. This Gershwin album was certainly a departure for me in many ways. One, I had never done anything related to country music, and two, it was an album of duets. I had never wanted to record an album of duets because I usually found they were created for cynical reasons, for reasons of commerce.

This album was one I put together because I felt that Gershwin’s music was a certain kind of Americana as is country western, country as we call it now. It seemed like the album could be a bridge in combining two styles of music and genres that I thought could be complementary. Many of these songs were written for the stage and were created as duets. That seemed to be another element that would make organic sense. The hardest part of putting together a duet recording between a man and a woman was finding complementary keys. Usually a woman’s keys are four or five steps away from a man’s. These duets were very carefully created with vocal lines and harmonies so it’s a true collaboration. It had a real purpose of combining the emotion of two different hearts and souls to tell the story.

TG: You’ve joined forces with Jean-Yves Thibaudet presenting Two Pianos: Who Could Ask for Anything More. Please talk about the collaboration and what sparked this amazing collaboration?
MF: Johnny Thibaudet is one of the greatest living concert pianists. He truly is a global sensation in that he plays concerts in every corner of the world. He plays a varied repertoire. In other words, many concert pianists will do a tour where they play the same repertoire with an orchestra in recitals in different cities; it’s one program. He plays multiple programs with great depth and interpretive brilliance and his musical palette is very, very broad.

We’ve been friends for 30 years. We became closer through the years and talked about collaborating but couldn’t figure out what it would be because our worlds are so different. Our approach to music is different. I play mainly extemporaneously, and he doesn’t.

He plays mainly what’s on the page better than anybody. We realized that the bridge of Gershwin was a common bond. When he was 13 growing up in France he discovered the world of Gershwin and it changed his life. I had the same experience.

It was that shared love for something that transcends culture and time and space that brought us together. We put together a program that is primarily American popular song although it does include Rhapsody in Blue, and we present the music largely played on two pianos. Gershwin loved two pianos and often wrote for two pianos and then I sing, of course.

The Gershwin songs, along with the music of Richard Rogers and other composers of the era, are presented in a style that is in some ways more authentic to the composers original intention but also has more of a contemporary sensibility to it. The programs have been received rapturously. We just did two nights with the Boston Pops, which was our first incarnation of this program with a symphony orchestra and there was pandemonium in the audience. The reaction was so fervent and touching and we are definitely on to something, and we are thrilled. It brings together two different audiences that seem to be very complementary.

TG: I spent a day interviewing your dear friend Liza Minnelli. Please talk about Liza and your upcoming touring show, Get Happy, a tribute to Judy Garland.
MF: I’m very proud of this program that pays tribute to Judy Garland. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to assemble. The enormity of her talent and legend is such that I didn’t know that I had the wherewithal to properly convey her greatness. It truly is because of Liza that I continued to pursue the project because I was ready to give it up at any point if I couldn’t give it justice. I didn’t want to do anything that was half baked. As I continued to assemble the program, as I figured out what it should be and shouldn’t be, I enlisted the aid of several wonderful people including John Fricke, who has an archive of thousands of photographs of Garland and Judy Garland’s family. That stockpile of material along with things that Liza and her family made available to me helped me to assemble a program that is very historical and very entertaining with anecdotes. It celebrates the incredible art that she, as a performing artist, displayed even from her earliest years. I realized that I had the opportunity to tell her story focusing on the talent, her singing and her legacy as opposed to the tabloid stuff.

It celebrates Judy Garland; it doesn’t whitewash anything, but it focuses on the enduring part of her legacy. The response of people in the audience has been quite extraordinary. There is something about her energy that is very personal to people and very powerful. There are numerous visuals in the show, several film clips and there’s audio including a lost recording of hers that I found and in which I accompany her. The cumulative effect is extraordinary. Part of the time people are looking at the visuals while I am singing and I don’t mind that at all because the show is about her and I am the tour guide, if you will.

TG: Your bio is so prolific it’s hard to put it all into an interview. Your Emmy Award-nominated TV special, Michael Feinstein – The Sinatra Legacy, which was taped live in 2011 was a huge success. You were the Principal Pops Conductor for the Pasadena POPS and you serve as Artistic Director of the Palladium Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana Indiana. Your performance schedule is extraordinary. Where does this incredible energy and passion come from?
MK: Well, thank you. As far as energy goes I believe the universe provides infinite energy and one of the feelings of contemporary society is the lack of and recognition of the understanding that there is a source of infinite energy that is available to us. I focus on that spiritual energy. Having the great gift of being able to do something I love isn’t something I do not take for granted.

TG: I’m a huge fan of the Great American Songbook. Please talk about your passion for preserving the music and songs of the Great American Songbook and created The Great American Songbook Foundation, which you founded in 2007.
MF: The Great American Songbook Foundation is something I created a number of years ago for the purpose of preserving the American popular music that is so important to me. I felt it was in danger of disappearing in that someone needed to bring attention to the music for younger generations. I created it to not only preserve the amazing artifacts that I’ve accrued through the years but also to educate and introduce young people to the songbook.

I find that when young people hear these songs they like them; they respond to them. They have meaning and resonance and this music takes its place next to whatever pop music they listen to. I felt it was created just to preserve something that mattered to me where I felt there was a need for an organization to focus on that.

The foundation has grown by leaps and bounds. We are building a museum. We are proud to be a Grammy Foundation affiliate and only a few other museums can claim that honor.

In addition we created a summer academy, The Great American Songbook Academy. Forty young people from all over the United States come and participate for one week. It is songbook intensive and they learn about American popular music and thus they can add this music to their lives. Through music you can create healing; you can teach anything and music has the potential to offer tremendous transformation and that is certainly a mission for me.

TG: Please tell us how to contribute to this noble cause.
MF: At its core music is one of the most important forces in the world, in the universe. In its most simplistic terms think of soldiers going off to battle bolstered by the music that is being played as they march. The music transforms, heals, inspires, raises consciousness, and offers hope. All of that is encoded into any given piece of music. To bring awareness of this, especially to young people, is a holy pursuit.

Like all nonprofit arts organizations we are always happy for like-minded souls to contribute in any way they see fit. People tend to devalue the arts. People don’t think that contributing to an arts organization is as important as contributing to a cancer or similar organization but they both offer healing in different ways. To me they are equally important.The arts unites people from different backgrounds and helps them find common ground. It transforms and heals. I’ve seen it time and time again, starting with those days when I started playing in convalescent and retirement homes. I saw many whose quality of life improved through music. There is research that shows that people who have music played during their last days on earth need 40 percent less medications. There are scientific proven effects of music played for people who are ill and going through transition. It is all quite extraordinary. The experience of being involved in music is the greatest blessing of my life.

TG: Your travel schedule keeps you constantly on the road. Is there one item one of the most legendary performers never leaves home without?
MF: I am vegan and I never leave home without protein powder. I also have a deck of oracle cards that I travel with called The Cosmic Deck of Initiation because it moves me to my heart. I also always have that, and a little book called The Quiet Mind.

TG: Your music has made a difference in the lives of so many people. Your preservation of the Great America Songbook will last the test of time, and we’re very grateful. Thank you.

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Story by Mary Welch Photos by Grady McGill

Now that the hotel, Nobu Atlanta, and its flagship restaurant came to Atlanta, we can testify: “It’s really special. It’s a big deal!”

Nobu Atlanta is a 150-room hotel nestled around the corner of Buckhead’s Phipps Plaza with a restaurant, rooftop pool, corporate conference space and spa facilities. Upon entering, the Asian influence of muted browns and textured wallpaper give a sense of serenity, Japanese minimalism and, after being greeted with a cold towel and a cup of tea upon arrival, cool luxury. The service, both in the hotel and restaurant, was impeccable.

We stayed in the Momiji Suite, which is 825 square feet of pure bliss. The living room, kitchen area and half bath had a businesslike atmosphere with leather and woods while the bedroom offered an oasis of calm and peace. The huge master bathroom featured a deep, deep tub, separate rainfall shower, Natura Bissé bath amenities, Dyson hair dryer and hair straightener (loved them) and two sets of bathrobes, one a terrycloth for après bath and another patterned silky one for… we don’t know exactly …fantasize you’re a movie star, drink wine and enjoy the luxurious accommodations? Anyway, it worked!

It’s like heaven!
Those exuberant words came out of our companion as he tasted a variety of dishes at this famed restaurant. Nobu was founded by world-renowned Chef Nobu Matsuhisa as well as film producer Meir Teper and Robert (needs no introduction) De Niro. While all the restaurants across the world (including the dozen or so, like Atlanta, where there is a restaurant inside the hotel) are decorated slightly differently, they all exhibited a casual warmth that makes you feel welcomed, even if you’re not a superstar. The large open sushi bar and kitchen brought a bit of energy to the room and made it more intimate.

While there were a few in suits and an unfortunate few in shorts, dining at Nobu is more of a business casual atmosphere where again the focus is on relaxing and enjoying a meal that will thrill and, in a tapas sort of way, encourage you to order more and more.

The menu is divided into a couple of sections: Shuko (appetizers), tacos, kushiyaki (skewered protein), cold dishes, hot dishes and sushi. We started with crispy okra with spicy tosazu sauce, which was so light it almost floated away. Perfection. We then ordered two tacos, lobster and wagyu. They were small — two bites each — but were so packed with flavor that one felt sated and ready for the next dish.

It was difficult selecting the cold dishes so we went with our amazing server’s suggestion: tai with dried miso. Tai, a Pacific sea bream, is a Japanese delicacy and Nobu’s chef invented dried miso. The paper-thin fish floated in olive oil and truly melted in our mouths. Crispy rice with spicy tuna was a surprise as there were six crispy rice squares — almost like dice — that you dipped in soy sauce and added the tuna. We finished the cold starters with salmon belly sashimi with wasabi salsa, which was heaven and added a little tartness to our selections.

For the hot dishes, the lamb chops served with gochujang honey were cooked to perfection and the rock shrimp tempura with a butter ponzu was different from the tempura that we’ve had in other restaurants. We followed the hot dishes with the chef’s selections of sushi and a flaming Baked Alaska.

So, does Nobu Atlanta and its restaurant live up to all the Hollywood hype? Actually, it does. It’s a superstar hotel and restaurant that deserve a standing ovation for excellence and a reservation.

noburestaurants.com
nobuhotels.com

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