Life got the best of me over the past few months. For those of you who usually check the blog (and haven't given up on me yet) I hope this brief update will serve as my apology to all of you.

I recently moved across the US, from Missouri back to Seattle. Although the move was mostly for personal reasons, sad personal reasons, I am also looking forward to a wide array of new musical opportunities, and so far haven't seemed to miss a beat.

Before leaving Columbia, me and my second family, The Hilary Scott Band, had the opportunity to play Fire in the Sky for our second time. Performing in a football stadium is certainly fun! We had to dodge a couple of fleeting rainshowers, but it was a beautiful, and blessedly cool night (by Missouri standards!)

Since arriving back in Seattle, I have taken a couple of trips, mostly for personal reasons. I visited an old friend of mine, Shannon, on the east coast, and it was an enjoyable, whirlwind ten days that included dinner in Baltimore, several days in rural Pennsylvania, a day in New York City, several days in New Haven (recognized a few of the landmarks from when I went to Yale summer school) and several wonderfully relaxing days in another rural Pennsylvanian town near Pittsburgh. It was great to see Shannon - whom I met when we both studied abroad in Milan, Italy.

This weekend, I went to visit my dad and stepmom in Idaho on Pend O'Reille lake. Sandpoint is the site of the Festival at Sandpoint (which I played last year as the opener for Tanya Tucker) and this year I was able to attend Jonny Lang and Lyle Lovett's shows, and last year after performing, I stayed an extra few days to see David Grey. What a beautiful festival it is....and what awesome musical performances I have seen there.

I have several projects going on right now, all of which are exciting. Here in Seattle, I have begun collaborating with Robert Parks, who produced one of my first albums, 'Hypothermia,' (a die-hard fan favorite). We will be performing here on the 18th of August, and I have another solo show on the 22nd of August. After that, I fly back to Columbia, thrilled to see friends whom I miss like crazy already, and ready to play with the band again, for 5 or 6 wonderful dates packed into a couple of weeks. All show dates will be available on the various websites.

I have almost completed a project I started working on a while ago, with Keith Colley, songwriter and recording artist out of LA, who wrote several hits, with heavy exposure in the '60's. He has started a couple of awesome projects, one called Can Do! to help raise self-esteem in children, and now the Salute Amerca project, of which I will be a part. I have written a song called 'America's Song' for the project, which at some point I will record with Keith in either his LA or Seattle-based studio, and possibly I will record a couple of other songs which Keith has written for the project. The project is directed toward re-invigorating positive feelings about this country, and will serve the dual purpose of promoting some artists, such as myself.

It looks like there is a good chance I will be touring abroad, in Italy, this fall and winter, with a band of italian musicians. I have also befriended a musician in France who has done booking in the past and is looking to help book me more extensively abroad. I am very excited for these opportunities!

Recently, the Kansas City Rockers for Life project I was part of was released. We hope to get extensive promotion for this project, as it benefits the very important cause of raising awareness about, and against, drunk driving. My song 'Sugar Bomb' was included on this compilation CD of Kansas City-area artists. Links to purchase and for more information should be on the website.

I also was recently contacted by a company out of LA, Hitt Street Music, which will hopefully be instrumental in shopping my songs to various TV, Film, Label, and review opportunities.

All in all, these coming few months are going to be busy, filled with travel and music. I want to say, to my band members, friends, and family: THANK YOU for all you have done over the past 8 months to support and love me. There are not words enough....

To fans - please keep coming back! No matter where I live, I can't do this without you, and there are so many exciting developments I hope you will be a part of. Stay with me on the road to hope, I need you....

OK - you can officially string me up by my toenails for being out of blogdom since August. My life has been utter chaos, and it's time to fill you in.

Within the last week, some great possible developments have come about with the music. Keep in mind all of these are 'possibilities' and I'm not making grand announcements here, just talking about stuff that I think you will be interested in hearing about, especially after my prolonged absence! :)

First of all - drum roll - the long awaited booking agency has finally entered stage right! Through Hometone Records (check them out - great Columbia-based record label/promotions company) I've gotten the opportunity to work with Sound Mind Booking out of St. Louis, which is going to be a wonderful opportunity beginning with a possible spring break tour and an extensive tour in June starting in the midwest, heading up to New York and circling down the east coast to finish in Nashville. This is a huge step in the right direction for promoting my music and taking it to the next level. Through this same booking agent I may have the opportunity to compete in a wonderful north Hollywood showcase for female singer-songwriters that might enable me to be seen by TV, film and label types.

Locally, the Hilary Scott Band has some great gigs coming up like a two-night-stand at Uncle Bo's in Topeka, Kansas, a huge blues fest in September, another appearance at Jim Curley's Mountain Music Shoppe and Knuckleheads, all favorites. We recently were chosen from Sonic Bids to compete in the Wakarusa Winter classic (national competition happening in several cities across the US) at the Blue Note - we made connections with the festival which may eventually lead to a booking there.

I've been asked to appear as the feature artist on the radio show Homegrown at the Lake of the Ozarks this weekend, which is also a tremendous honor.

Recently, my mother got in contact with a friend of hers from many years ago, Keith Colley, who is incredibly successful as a songwriter for Sony and who has many years experience in the music business. He has agreed to become a mentor of sorts for me in terms of polishing my songwriting, possibly helping me direct who I send my material to and how to present it.

In Nashville, the songs I completed several monoths ago with producer Matthew Wilder are in their final stages of production, mixing and mastering. Matt has said several people with whom he is working have shown interest in the material - this could lead me to several different types of opportunities and is very good news.

I even received an e-mail from someone who probably found me on My Space, and who has a successful (ie label, promotion, distrbution, touring, opening for major acts, playing the best festivals, radio play, etc.) three-girl-fronted band and who needs a replacement for the singer/violinist who left the group. I don't know if I'd be exactly what they are looking for but it's great how, just as my good friend Steve once told me, when the opportunities start to pour in they don't stop - it's an AVALANCHE!

I know the above comments are vague, but that is all they can be at this time. Details to come - but the good news is that all the years of hard work start to pay off and as more opportunites present themselves I realize that there are multiple paths that can lead to success. Patience and readiness are the keys!

I apologize for being silent for so long. Forgive me, and let's blog again soon, OK?