Set list at The Boot open mic

August 26, 2026

I felt like this was less of an open mic night, more of a wake for Dolly Parton. I reckon it's what she would have wanted.

Normally, when we lose a musical icon, they get an immediate spot in the Jam Night Of The Damned, but that felt completely inappropriate for Dolly. However, it would be completely on-brand for her to visit and perform as part of a campaign to raise the morale of the eternally tormented.

I played:

I was pleased I could run a Dolly thread through the first few songs -- When I'm Gone is about living a life so that speaking ill of the dead doesn't cross anybody's mind; Hope, making her debut and in with a reasonable shot of becoming a favourite, about a fabulous singer, and Heidi, about a library.

I was joined on Connection by Hedley on violin, which I'm thrilled about -- a few times, I've regretted not inviting him to join me, and I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing what the host recorded.

Performance-wise, I bottled out of finger-picking on Hope, and I think the dynamics are important for the song; I also forgot some of the verses to When I'm Gone, which is par for the course. Heidi was lovely, always nice to get people to laugh about traumatising children, and overall I felt like it was a good set. One of those where it's not just about entertaining, but about a community coming together.