He writes:

It’s something I’ve been dreaming and scheming about for years now, and I’ve finally set a date. I was born and raised here in Seattle (a true Seattleite), and although I will surely visit family and friends frequently, I am looking forward to a new home across the country. I am grateful to all the talented musicians I’ve had the opportunity to work with, during my years with Dolour, The Traveling Mercies, and my “solo” band. When writing my latest album (Shouting At A Silent Sky, June 2009) I sort of envisioned it as a ‘Goodbye to Seattle’ album. Songs like “Never Turnin’ Back”, “There’s No Star to Lead Me Home”, and “Death & Texas” captured my growing restlessness.

The South had always been a great mystery to me. The fabled land that brought country music and blues together and breathed life into rock and roll. My first experience with Nashville was in June of ‘08 when I flew down there to play some shows supporting “Hey Lazarus!” (my second album with The Traveling Mercies). I fell in love with this legendary music city. Although it is one of the greatest music meccas in the country, it still carries itself like a small town. I met so many great people, went to so many great clubs, and I saw endless possibilities as a songwriter. It was on that trip that I started writing my most recent album, Shouting At A Silent Sky. Now I feel a strong desire to dig deeper in the heartland, and get to know the South and its music from a first-hand perspective.

I hope that Seattle will stick by me during this new period of exploration, musically if not geographically, and I will be back to play shows as often as I can.

His last show here in Seattle (while still a resident of Seattle, anyway) will be December 16th at the Electric Tea Garden on Capitol Hill.

Good luck, Shane. And when you get to Nashville, go straight to Las Paletas and eat an avocado popsicle for me.