Heya everybody,

plenty of news this month so I'll try to keep it short.

Had a great time on a short tour in January. I played some gigs in the Netherlands with fabulous Dutch guitarist Jan van Bijnen, some in the north of Germany with my buddy Robert Oberbeck, and one in Berlin mostly solo but with a little help from Jenny Weisgerber, Colin Bass, and Martin Abend.
I wrote a lengthy tour blog that you can peruse at your leisure at www.myspace.com/markusrill
There's pictures in the gallery

This year not one but two of my songs made it all the way into the finals of the International Songwriting Competition. "What Might've Been" is a finalist in the Americana category, "The Things That Count" in folk.
15,000 songs were submitted. The judge's panel reads like a who's who of the music biz with Tom Waits, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rosanne Cash, Robert Smith of The Cure plus numerous record label big wigs, journalists and industry people sitting in judgement over my songs.
You can help me win the people's choice award by going to www.songwritingcompetition.com, listening to a bunch of cool songs, and - if you're so inclined - voting for me.

Reviews for the new album as well as feature articles and interviews are pouring in left & right. From major publications, too. And they're unanimously very very positive.
Read them all in the press section
(There's still plenty of them that I haven't translated yet - I'll post them soon as I can.)

Some info for you guys in the US: Miles Of Music are now carrying "The Price Of Sin" and "The Things That Count" and selling them at a reasonable price with the "It's a Cracker" guarantee. In other words, you'll get your money back if you end up not liking the record. How's that for trust?

We got a gig coming up, Thursday, Jan 21, at the K4 in Nürnberg. Piano wizard Andi Obieglo & I will be playing a double header with alt.country icon Jason Ringenberg (formerly of Jason & The Scorchers). That should be a fun night, so come on out!

Hope to see you soon,
Markus