On a fun side note, a six-degrees of separation story for those of you who watch American Idol (I don't, but have heard a lot about the recent season with Sanjaya). I didn't know until I was in Seattle for the hurricane relief project and meeting over dinner with Patrinell Wright that Sanjaya was a member of the Total Experience Gospel Choir and a couple other Idol contestants have come from that same Seattle-based choir. Inside Edition was there to interview Pastor Wright the night I went to their church to rehearse for the banquet. It really is a small world; I think I missed my chance to be on national TV by a few minutes, but while watching the television the other day at the gym, I caught Pastor Wright on the entertainment news program, and recognized the interior of the little church we had rehearsed in. I was there!

I am very much looking forward to two shows coming up before the close of this month. This Saturday we return to the Martini Bar, where the atmosphere is great and the crowd's fabulous. This venue has been so welcoming to us - stepping on that stage is a little like coming home. On Tuesday we play a special fundraiser for the Gurucharri Foundation (assisting families with cancer) at a Racing Clinic and Auction. Carl Edwards' mother will be speaking at the event and it should be a great evening with Jack's gourmet catering.

The hint of the REALLY warm weather we will eventually get is in the air. I look ahead to those hot days with anticipation for the 4th of July Fire in the Sky celebration at which we will be performing, and the Roots 'n Blues 'n BBQ festival to be held in September, amongst other great shows on the calendar. Good things are on the horizon.

I had the opportunity that night to hear a contemporary of Dr. King speak about that particular time in American history. It was incredibly eye-opening. I had the opportunity to view some amazing artists of different genres, including drama and dance. I had the opportunity to witness some extraordinary high school students use their creativity and giving natures to raise some impressive amounts of money for this cause. Most incredibly, I had the chance to sing with Pastor Patrinell Wright (director and founder of Total Experience Gospel Choir) who is not only an intelligent, humorous and amazing woman, but one of the most gifted singers I've ever heard in my life. It was extremely moving to sing 'Blessed' with her standing beside me and a choir of talented singers behind me, filling the room with sound. Directly in front of me were several tables of honored attendees; survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It was very moving, and I felt people connected with the message of hope.

Efforts are ongoing, and your help is needed and welcomed. At any Hilary Scott Band show, you can pick up a copy of the 'Blessed' limited-edition CD, which also includes Total Experience Gospel Choir's rendition of 'Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand' and the Jeff Busch Quintet's song 'Congo Square.' The CD includes moving photos of the hurricane- devastated areas. For every donation of $10, you will receive a CD as a gift. Your money goes directly to help those who need it. You can also order the CD online. If you buy more than one copy at a show, we ask you to keep one and then write a special message to survivors on the other copy or copies so we can give the gift of music and your kind thoughts to a survivor in the south. You will never be able to obtain this special version of Blessed (with gospel choir back-up vocals) except through these fundraising efforts, and you absolutely must hear the other two fabulous songs on this CD! Most importantly, unless you see the devastation, you can't believe how desperately they still need our help.

To make a donation, click on the link below:

"Best Local Musician Locally based singer and songwriter Hilary Scott is making waves - on-air and musically - that are gaining momentum and sweeping up new fans as they stretch coast to coast from our Midwestern city. The independent 20-something chanteuse is a musical force to be reckoned with because her work is personal, uncategorical, rich, energetic, accessible and virtually incomparable to any one musical predecessor or contemporary. Whether she's performing for charity events in a concert hall, arts festivals outdoors, or in underground bars for her fans, local music lovers just can't get enough of Scott's ever-evolving sound."

Coming up in April, the band will perform at the Martini Bar in Columbia on Saturday April 21st starting at 9pm. Also this month, Hilary and several members of the band perform at the Gurucharri Foundation's Racing Clinic and Auction to raise money to assist families with cancer. Nancy Sterling, mother of Carl Edwards will be a special speaker at this event, and the Hilary Scott Band will perform from 5:30-6:30. Entire event runs until 9pm, with food catered by Jack's Gourmet. Event is to be held at the New Elk's Lodge and tickets can be purchased for $30 at IB Racing or by calling 449-4786.

In September, the Hilary Scott Band will perform in the 1st annual Roots 'n Blues 'n BBQ festival which is going to be a huge event, with performances by Taj Mahal, Tab Benoit, Big Smith and many other national, regional and local 'big names.' Festival takes place September 7 and 8, and you can check out www.rootsnbluesnbbq.com for more information.

In Nashville news, producer Matthew Wilder has nearly completed mixing and mastering for final versions of the 5 songs Hilary co-wrote and recorded there last year. More information to come...

Recently, Hilary attended Inside Columbia Magazine's 'Best Of' Honoree party at the Holiday Inn Expo Center. Hilary was voted in 2006 and 2007 to be Columbia's Best Local Musician and has been extremely honored to accept the prestigious award.