Happy 2nd Anniversary at So Many Roads

Believe it or not, today marks the 2nd anniversary for So Many Roads To Ease My Soul. When I started this blog 24 months ago, I had no idea what it would grow into. We've posted almost 500 different concerts from over 100 different artists. Those posts have included such monumental events as Woodstock, Monterrey Pop, Knebworth and Live Aid. We've grown from a 2 column layout to a 3 column one, have added numerous special features such as set lists, artwork, trivia, etc., and have been through 17 versions of our front page banner. We now average over 700 visitors a day and have had folks from 144 different countries stop by. We've had over 390,000 unique visitors, and almost 1.3 million page views. Why, we even have 84 followers, visitors who have signed up to get notified every day of any new content that we post. I'm still amazed that so many folks have taken an interest in my little place on the web. Amazed and very appreciative.

It takes a significant investment of time and effort to keep So Many Roads going. Finding shows to post, especially great sounding shows, isn't easy. Researching each post to provide some historical context involves numerous hours of searching the web. Of course, writing something coherent, that will actually interest folks who stop by, just may be the hardest part. I sometimes wonder why the hell I do it, but then I remember 3 things. First, I love music, history and writing, so this place lets me pursue those passions. Second, whenever I get disgruntled, I wind up getting a comment like the one below and it makes it all worthwhile:

Anonymous said... Thank you for your generosity in posting these great moments in music history. Also, for the time you took to write comments for each show. Makes this site a new favorite, and shows how you hold the music in high regard.

Third, I've made some great Internet friends while running this site, folks like Dino, Normski, Andy, Laker, Volke, Beaker, Staffie, AZ,  Sterling, Scousemike, Wardy, Jordan, Justdave, T-Fred, Kat, Coop, Matt G, Zep, Doug B and many many more (sorry if I missed anyone). Dino helped me get started and you can visit him and all the regulars listed above at his amazing site, Bootleg Tunz World.  When you visit, be sure to join the community area where you'll find a treasure trove of concerts (none commercially released!), great music resources and a very active (and usually insane) chat box!

My thanks to everyone who has helped So Many Roads grow over the last 2 years. We'll have a very special concert for you later today to help celebrate. I look forward to year 3 and beyond as we continue this "long strange trip".