New Year ~ New Journeys

Wow. 2010. Lots of changes, but one thing that remains constant is the love of God. And man, am I ever thankful for that.

The Christmas season was a blast, lots of new shows at the Beacon Resort in N.H., in a movie theater, auditoriums, hotels, schools, nursing homes, and Sunday Services. Our Christmas extravaganza was a hybrid performance of the Pirates, Scrooge, What a Wonderful Life and featured a suprise appearance by Rudolph and Santa. Special thanks to all, especially the Morgan United Church and the Champlain Valley Church of the Nazarene (St. Albans), the Goodrich Memorial Library and the St. Johnsbury House. Nods always to the great Frankie Burke ("Will I see You in September") for his friendship and mentorship.

Indoor Recreation of Orleans County (IROC) had its annual New Year's Eve Bash and it was highly successful on a night of threatening weather. 700 - 1,000 people came to an evening of music, dance (Mark Shelton Sock Hop), puppets, Superheroes (Spiderman & Buzz Lightyear), and a Princess Party (with guests Cinderella and Snow White). A great time !! Then we flew out of there for a midnight concert in St. Johnsbury for the First Night celebration there. By then it was a very nice snowstorm to navigate through. But, by the Grace of God we made it on time, and the audience was very cool !

We took January lightly, with only a couple concerts, but are gearing up for the Florida Tour which features two appearances at the Florida State Fair in Tampa Bay along with a showcase in Dade City, and shows at Big Oaks and Orchid Lake. . .and a recently scheduled appearance on 2/11 at the Villages.

Hope to catch you all sometime at a show or drop a line. Keep an eye on the schedule !!!

Oh, and lest we forget. . .special thanks to the Kran family, Jeff, Marlene, Ariel, Rivka, Yoseph, Gavi, and Devorah (and their extended family). Wonderful people with great hearts. Also to Lisa and Johna Saltsman, Chase Gosselin, and Barry Shelton. . .Peter Kelloway and Julie Gunn, Nicole, Sue, Ed Claremont and the staff at the Beacon, Gary Langevin, Ames Electric, and all the romantic couples who like to slow dance along with the hundreds of kids who simply like to scream and have a good time !

Here's to a new and exciting 2010 full of adventure, music, good times, and the blessings that await !

See you at the show !

Out of the Gate

Well, this is the first entry and I wish to thank the Lord for all of you that stop by and for the times and blessings we have shared.

Busy time, summer. But so much fun ! From Pirate shows to Sock Hops, to major Christian Concert events. . .oh . ..we also had some additions to the lady's team ~

Quickly first, upcoming events ~

SATURDAY - AUGUST 15th - GODSTOCK in Duxbury, VT - ALL DAY EVENT

(we'll be doing a Captain Radical performance AND a full band performance with the incredible group of Jeremy Wando, Amy Otterman, Bill Richardson, and Brett Wells along with several background vocalists such as Lisa and Johna Saltsman, Shay Gestalt, Jim Lillycrap and Hank Stocek)

SUNDAY - AUGUST 16th - ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL in Newport, VT - 4:30 p.m.

(St. Mary's Centennial Celebration and BBQ. I have been invited to do a gospel concert as part of the festivities. A great blessing)

Like I said earlier, this has been a very busy summer, from the Littleton Summerfest, Beacon Resort, the Teen Challenge Benefit, a concert to support the fight against breast cancer, the Stone Hearth Inn, the Light Radio Network's "Concert for the Light", an annual favorite of ours ~ the "Relay for Life" concert, dropped down and did a couple shows in Florida over the summer, sung at a chinese restaurant, various nursing homes and schools, we continued our annual shows in Bethlehem and Twin Mountain, N.H. (where the people are so wonderful !), participated in the Newport Waterfront Concert Series and saw lots and lots of friends (loved it when so many popped open the umbrellas and danced in the rain); a special and precious time we had at our concert for the Global Campus (where we had a suprise visit from U.S. Congressman Peter Welch), and so much more ! We've had incredible fun, met lots of new faces and seen a great many dear friends at our shows. And there is still so much ahead.

Orleans County Fair, Bethlehem Gazebo Grand Finale, Lancaster Fair in N.H. just to name a few !

My new CD "At the Gates of Graceland" ~ A tribute to the Gospel Music of Elvis Presley, has been doing very well. It won a GRINDY Award (which is a type of Grammy Award) from RadioIndy for recording and vocal excellence. I am honored and really feel good about the project. A fall tour is being planned. (CDs can be purchased at www.cdbaby.com/markshelton3 )

Oh, and in September, I'll be doing a radio interview for the Light Radio Network's Herb Glynn, talking about the new project, the past, and future. Please keep it all in prayer.

Our latest Swimming Frogs, or as they like to be called now, the "Starlight Angels", who participated in the 2008 - 2009 season, include:

Johna Saltsman, Shay Gestal, Brianna Bergeron, Crystal Tarbox, Gavi Kran, Sheila Combs
Hannah Smith, Haley Smith and Danielle Nelson (there may be couple more. . . I'll have to double check that from the Quartermaster's list !)

The blogging piece is new to me, so I'll endeavor to keep you all up to date. Suffice to say that I truly appreciate your support and hope to see you.

Please stay in touch ~ God Bless !

Mark Shelton

aka Captain Radical