September, 2026
Howdy and Happy Labor Day to all Y'all!
Thanks to all the workers who've built and continue to maintain the world we live in. We just couldn't exist as we do without their efforts. Think about all he things we use on a daily basis…food, water, electricity, news…the list is endless and workers provide it all! Labor Day and the Labor Movement are important reminders of the strength we have when we all stand together against a common and existential threat to our lives and liberty. It was the robber-baron steel and railroad magnates 150 years ago… and it's the social media and e-tail owners, AI oligarchs, and the maga crazies now. They're the same. They're not on the side of the people. Stand tough y'all. Resist.
It's also great to finally be back in Santa Fe (New Mexico … and it always will be) as fall edges into our lives again. And I have a few updates!
Maverick has an official release date!
It's an exciting time here at JW HQ….Maverick, the first single from Open Skies will land on all streaming platforms on Friday, September 25 via Idol Records. You can check out a preview HERE. Please help me spread the word about this new song. Ask your favorite radio station to play it and send it to all your friends when it comes out. It'll also be available to download and purchase at jeffwhittington.com
Summer Promo Tour
Speaking of spreading the word…I had the great pleasure of getting to visit some awesome radio stations to talk about songwriting and stuff, and play some of my songs as I crisscrossed the country this summer.
Thanks SO MUCH to KBAC - Santa Fe, WMPG - Portland ME, WERU - Bluehill ME, WWUH - Hartford CT, WESU - Middletown CT, WNTI - Hacketstown NJ, WCNI - New London CT, WCBE - Columbus, OH, KUSH - Cushing, OK, and High Plains Public Radio in Amarillo - for having me on and for playing my record! I love radio so much and it was a so RAD to get to visit these stations. (Note to self…maybe take a few more shirts on the next tour…)
Thanks also to the great folks at WCBE in Columbus OH for having me and Tootsie as guests on their Live from Studio A series. Check it out:
Upcoming Shows
Cowgirl Santa Fe - Weds 16 September - 4pm - FREE SHOW
Ahymo Wine Garden - Fri 18 September - 4pm - FREE SHOW
You can stay up-to-date on all my appearances on the Calendar Page
Dog (news)Bites
Tootsie's Big Adventure – Perhaps the biggest news of all is that Tootsie had an absolute blast on her 6,400+ mile summer vacation van trip to Maine and back…even if she did sleep an awful lot and didn't help drive or tune a guitar even once…
Toots met lots of new dog friends along the way (and only acted like a jerk a couple of times)… She encountered what may have been her first ever lake in Missouri. We're just not sure, but she was real curious about it. In any case she was an old pro at bodies of water by the time she visited the best dog park in the world at Little Long Pond on Mount Desert Island (left).
She made friends with the menagerie of carved critters at Langlais Sculpture Preserve(right), long before anyone read about it in the New York Times. It's worth a visit if you're ever close to Cushing, ME. Such cool work to be seen and we've been stopping there for years.
Tootsie got the chance to size up Leonardo's Horse in downtown Allentown, PA (left), which has a strange and convoluted history from its original, but never-completed commission in 1482 to this twelve-foot tall realization spearheaded by a retired pilot in Allentown.
She also visited the monumental Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis (right), even if it was starting to get super hot…and to be honest, we were both pretty tired and road weary by this point…
We also got to hang out a bunch with dog buddies Pheobe in Burlington VT, Stella in Machiasport ME, Django in Bar Harbor ME, Rosie in Stanfordville NY, and Abigail in Tulsa, OK (left to right below)!
The one thing all these dogs agreed on, was that we should all take a minute right now to check our voter registration and make a plan to VOTE in the November election. Y'all…we need to vote like we might never get the chance to vote again…seriously.
Peace and Love,
JW - Santa Fe, NM - Sept 6