Ruby Blu, frontwoman and songwriter of Minneapolis retro roots-rock band Red Eye Ruby, born and raised in North Dakota, Ruby spent part of her childhood in Medora—a place that helped shape her imagination and remains deeply woven into her story.

I’m a big fan of Kacey Chambers, an Australian singer songwriter who wrote huge hit called, NOT PRETTY ENOUGH and that debut album was amazing. She may have been blown away by fame and the critical acclaim, so she took a break and never really reached her rocket momentum again, though she still tours the world and still writes great songs. I noticed she’d take selfies with their crowds, and I thought it was the cutest cool thing… so we started ding it.

As a lifelong author and musician, I’ve road-tripped for about 30 years. The overwhelming majority of out-of-town excursions have been delightful: Frequently playing lovely venues, meeting friendly folks, as often as not savoring scrumptious local scenery or cuisine. The next level down is a much smaller collection of subpar performances, people in dirtball towns with unrealistic expectations, and Cheez-It dining in my car enroute to the venue because there’s no time for anything else.

If you just logically look at the costs of taking a 4 piece band on the road, of course you can split costs in 1/2 if you double up and share hotel rooms. You could also sleep 4 people in one room, but not everyone wants that…

A couple years ago I left the harsh Minnesota winter and did two months performing solo with backing tracks in Florida. I did Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Elton John 2 or 3 hour shows in bars, wineries, a brewery in Boca Raton, an old opera house in Arcadia, FL and one at an auto museum in Sarasota. I camped…