What an amazing year 2011 was. I guess I expected nothing less from my lucky number eleven! First and foremost, this year will always be special to me and Amber because of the birth of my baby girl London Ava in October. Words can't describe what she's meant to my life and the inspiration she brings to my world. 2011 is her year and I'm so blessed by having her.

I started the year like most of mine, in the studio. We completed what in my mind is my best work to date with the "Poets & Prisoners" album. The lead single "Sleeping on the Interstate" spoke word for word my life on the road with my boys and ended up being the perfect theme song for one of the greatest adventures I've ever tackled: the 100 Mile Soldier Walk. Me and some of the guys in the band set off from South Austin in combat boots on what was to become a hugely emotional and physically taxing 5 day/100 mile trek to Ft. Hood to raise awareness for our freedom fighters overseas, back home and veteran. While bringing attention to the ones that give us our freedom, we learned a lot about ourselves during that walk. One of the highlights for me was being able to walk the entire trip with my brother and when we ascended over the hill on that last day with Ft. Hood on the horizon, I put my arm around Tyler and honestly held back a few tears. What an awesome event that was. You better believe we'll do it again in 2012!

We burned up the road that summer on tour and it was a hot one! Probably the hottest I can remember. So hot in fact that after a trip from Arizona and Colorado our trusty Chevy van, "Blackhawk" finally bit the dust. I guess she's kinda famous from her appearance in the "Sleeping On The Interstate" music video and we put one too many miles on her. We welcomed the newest Chevy to the team "Phoenix" and she's been the perfect touring van so far. She's rigged with Blackhawk's bunks and networking technology so we feel right at home.

Summer of 2011 also brought us a new amazing tour sponsor with Ranch Hand Truck Accessories and our newest band member (and one of my best friends) Caleb Kelly on the drums. I somehow discovered my alter ego Mr. Earl Dibbles Jr. and we switched gears a little bit and released our wild card radio single "I'm Wearing Black." It was fun running with a little Irish jig in the set and I had an absolute blast shooting that music video in Austin, TX. I was excited to release something so different to radio and it's still one of my favorites to play live!

The fall brought us to one of the greatest moments of my music career: the recording of my first live album at the Dixie Chicken in College Station. We built the show from scratch and avoided (like always) the normal chain of command that most use for live albums. I always prefer to do my own editing on all our records and this one was different enough from what I've done in the past to be very intriguing to put together. I can't wait for this thing to release on Valentine’s Day!

During our travels we see a lot. New venues open up and old ones close down. Radio stations change formats while others pick ours up. Some of my best friends have quit the game while others are just now signing up. Nothing is really for sure in this business besides one thing: the fans. Let me make this absolutely clear…I don't do this for anybody else but you. Not for the promoters, the managers, the labels, media, the radio DJs, the booking agents, the venue owners…nope. I do it for the fans. All the aforementioned are simply different avenues to build a closer relationship with my fans and I truly hope that comes across in all of my work. Without you, this show stops. Thank you all for making 2011 my best year yet and here's to many, many more!