In The Round with JP Williams, Blue Mother Tupelo & Michael Logen; A benefit for National Federation of the Blind of Nashville

In addition to life coaching, JP is an accomplished songwriter, singer, songwriting workshop leader, and public speaker. Blind since age 10, he brings a unique, seasoned perspective to every opportunity. Whether it’s one-on-one coaching, a music gig on a notable stage, a songwriting workshop on a university campus, or keynote speech at a national conference, JP has an innate gift for connecting with audiences through humor and music to share wisdom and inspiration.

JP has performed on the Grand Ole Opry (a stunning solo acoustic performance of his song entitled “The Grand Ole Opry” cowritten with Bobby Tomberlin), as well as countless other notable stages throughout his career in the music industry.

He writes under his own publishing company, Blonde Leading Blind Music. Previously, he was signed as a staff writer with Major Bob Music from 2011 to 2018.

2020 found Blue Mother Tupelo celebrating 25 years of music together. 2021 found BMT pretty Quiet.
2022 resounds with Love, Soul & New Music on the Way!

Rising up from the bluffs of Memphis to the mountains of east Tennessee, through the Mississippi Delta, Nashville & now Como, MS, Blue Mother Tupelo oozes a deep kind of blue southern soul & roots rock sound that's been described as truly Americana.

Blue Mother Tupelo is Ricky & Micol (pronounced "Michael") Anne Davis. Our life together as (The) Blue Mother Tupelo began in Knoxville, Tennessee as a duo in 1995 & melding into various experimental configurations, from notable blues-rock electric quartet to a kind of acoustic driven country blues.

The two of us moved to Hendersonville, TN just outside of Nashville in 1998 where we lived, worked, toured in and out of, wrote songs and recorded for  21 years until heading to the quieter cusp of the North Mississippi hill country and the Delta just south of Memphis.  Como, Mississippi is now our home.

Peaks & valleys, sweet memories & some difficult lessons, life's highs & lows ...  all are the realistic, rhythmical landscape for our songs' lyrics that find us landing on our feet, still soaring on the melodic wings of a spiritual kind of harmonic flow. You'll likely always find a positive edge, though; through the boogie, on the fly, flowing through the sweat, tears & joy.

We are ramblers of the musical soul, sometimes in pure, cool agreement & sometimes in an energetic counterpoint. Seeking honest self-connection,  we sing & we play knowing that the wavelengths can reach far beyond ourselves. Our music is meant for You.

It's always a gift to share the stage with other musicians who become like family, sometimes having traveled many days in a row together on tour & others a night at a time. Currently it's more often the 2 of us connected by a tie that binds our gypsy hearts.

Some folks have had us on their recordings, several of which might be some of your favorite performers & others whom are not familiar to the mainstream. Most of our songs are self-penned but we've written songs with beautifully gifted songwriters, shared stages with some of our heroes, had songs in movies & on soundtracks, our voices on commercials & TV, played in juke joints, honky tonks, stages big & small,  at festivals, writers' rounds, happy hours, & even busking on the  streets.

“The noisier the world gets, the more powerful silence becomes. I headed out to a cabin in the Tennessee mountains. I took a few books. I covered all the clocks. No TV, no internet, no phone, no radio. Songwriting can be a bit like deep-sea diving and in everyday life you have to “surface” now and then. But in the wilderness, you never surface, even if you want to.” 

This is Americana/Folk artist Michael Logen, based in Nashville,Tennessee, describing his writing process for his stunning, sophomore album, “New Medicine”.The album has garnered 6 TV placements so far and includes Michael's original, acoustic version of a song he wrote with Jennifer Hanson, called “Breaking Your Own Heart”, which was covered by Kelly Clarksonon her Platinum-Selling, Grammy-Winningalbum, “Stronger”. 

"New Medicine"is an articulate, measured examination of the inner-workings of the human mind and heart on a backdrop of gorgeous, sweeping, acoustic-based, rhythmic folk/pop. 

The album features 3 phenomenalguest artists: Kim Richey, Liz Longleyand Ruby Amanfu. 

Logen grew up in a small college town, Lewisburg, in North Central Pennsylvania.  He was raised listening to Americana and Folk classics like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Gordon Lightfoot.  He comes from a musical family and learned to play guitar from his Dad, even recorded a folk project with his brother, Dave.  

Michael's songs have been featured on many TV shows including multiple placements on “Nashville”, “Suits”, “Parenthood”, “The Fosters”and “One Tree Hill”. 

Logen's folk song, “Couldn't Ask For A Better Friend” played prominently throughout the 2016 Rio Olympics when it was chosen by Folgers as the theme for their award-winning ad.  

Billboard Magazine also did a write-up on Logen's song in their article, “Olympic Gold”. 

Michael has performed in every state in the continental US as well as in the UK, Denmark, The Netherlands, France and Spain, opening for such artists as John Hiatt, John Legend, India.Arie, Jonny Lang and Mat Kearney.  

A prolific songwriter, Michael’s songs have been recorded by many other artists including Jonny Lang, Kelly Clarkson, Mat Kearney, Brandon Heath, The Greencards, Paul Carrack, Will Hoge and Sister Hazel. 

"Ready Or Not," the first single from the album, starts out small before exploding into a full‐on, sing‐ along, indie‐folk/rock redemption story.  

Regarding the album, Michael says, “Music to me is a mystical medium that connects us all to some other, deeper dimension of ourselves and reality. It expresses the inexpressible. It can truly act as prescription-strength medicine to the human soul. That's the theme running through this record.”