I was chosen to play a show as part of the Live@Best Buy series that was happening in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Part of what was especially exciting about this series is that the shows were streamed live on the web. But I received an email message just over a week ago that (without explanation) they were cancelling the series, so my show – scheduled to be this Sunday – would not take place. My show in early July at Banjo Jim’s in New York went well – I had a pretty impressive turnout for a weeknight in a city I’d never played in, and I was in discussions with them about a return engagement. But Banjo Jim’s just closed down. Similarly, I just been notified that the Old Groton Inn was considering scheduling me to play music there . . . when it burned to the ground. And now that Borders Books and Music has officially gone under, the shows I was under consideration for there won’t happen either. It feels like there’s been a stretch of disappearing music opportunities lately. Some of it (particularly fire) may just be coincidence, but the state of the economy is certainly contributing. On the other hand, I live in the Boston area, where I can see folk shows every night of the week at multiple venues. And part of the reason that music venues are going under is that music venues are arising in the first place – people are taking a chance on presenting independent music. Sometimes it brings in enough revenue and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s great that people are willing to take a chance. I just received an email message from the person who used to book music at Banjo Jim’s, who has moved to booking at a different venue, asking if I’d like to be considered for a show there. Folk music is resilient – it’ll pop back up somewhere. So although I’m especially sad about the cancellation of my Best Buy show, I’ll start looking for the next set of venues and opportunities that arise to take its place.