Dear George Jones,

Why the hell don’t you have any shows planned for the Pacific Northwest in 2007… or the entire West Coast for that matter? A similar thing happened last year, remember? Yes, yes, you played several shows on the West Coast in 2006, but none in the Pacific Northwest. Adding insult to injury, those concerts took place a few months after I moved up to Seattle from California, where you not only played in the Bay Area, where I lived, but also in my dinky, one-horse hometown! In fact, my hometown was as far north as you went on the West Coast. I was so disappointed.

I’ve had chances to see you before, but for one reason or another, it has never worked out. Four years ago, I even had tickets for your concert at the Silver Legacy Casino in Reno, but after I bought those tickets, I got a new job and I could no longer take the day off needed to get to the show. The year after that, a friend and I were arranging to go to your concert on Valentine’s Day in San Jose, but then I stupidly changed my mind and decided to spend that evening with my then-boyfriend instead (who had no interest in seeing you, and who broke up with me five months later). And while my sister and I were planning our Tennessee vacation in 2004, I went online and disguised myself as a new member of the George Jones Fan Club, infiltrating their website and message board to find out whether there was any truth to a rumored free concert at your farm during that huge festival Fan Fair. It was tough getting a straight answer from those tightlipped fans, but eventually I learned that it was most likely that your band would be playing for free at the farm without you, and it was indeed a members-only event. Fuck that. If you were going to be performing, however, I would’ve put down the $20 for the fan-club membership for sure!

You’re 75 years old and you’ve lived a hard life filled with booze, coke, and seemingly nonstop touring; how much more touring do you have left in you? I’m worried that I’ll never get to see you in concert. I’ve seen several of my favorite older country musicians (like Merle Haggard and Buck Owens), but you’re the only one left from the good ol’ days of country music (1) who I know is still alive, (2) who still tours, and (3) whom I really, REALLY want to see (except maybe Ray Price). I want to see you sing “Just One More” and “She Thinks I Still Care” live. Hell, why not bring along Melba Montgomery and do “Let’s Invite Them Over Again” and “We Must’ve Been Out of Our Minds”? You are one of my most favorite musicians, ever. You’re amazing; your voice carries such enormous emotion. You’re easily in my top-three favorite country artists—and the other two are dead, so I’m counting on you!

I see that you have several gaps in your 2007 tour schedule; please, for the love of god, consider filling those gaps with dates in the Pacific Northwest. Don’t pull another “No-Show Jones” here this year.

Love,
Kim Hayden