What are your plans for the summer? I’d love to hear about them, so please hit me up on Facebook or Twitter to share! I’m pretty stoked about my summer plans! Though the next few months for me will be vacationless—(which is why I beached in May)—my summer will not lack adventure. In fact, if I’m honest, I’m a little overwhelmed by the amount of adventure it will hold . . .
For the first time in years, too many to count—which seems impossible since I’m only 25—I will be playing festivals all over the country, and many shows in between. Yikes! Festivals are great, but they are outdoors, hot, more for rockers than singer/songwriters, and definitely more for those 24 and under. But not this year! This year, festivals are for me, too! And I’m honored to have the opportunity to participate!
I sure hope you’ll be able to join us at at least one of the upcoming festivals or house shows! I also thought you’d like to meet the incredibly delightful humans who will be traveling ‘round the country with me! You’re going to love them!
Kyle, (next to me), has played guitar with me for over three years now. During that time, he and I have made lots of friends and memories together. We are both introverts pretending to be extroverts on the road, so when we drive somewhere, we spend lots of time listening to music and podcasts to refuel. I’ve come to love This American Life and Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me! Thanks to Kyle. When not on the road, Kyle is producing and engineering projects, and he’s fabulous at it! (He just finished Cindy Morgan’s new record, which you are going to love!) Kyle will be MIA for our first few summer dates, but he’ll return to us in a week or so. Yea!
If you catch us in Omaha, Sheldon, Moline, or Mt. Union, you’ll meet Hannah, (far right.) A recent Berklee grad, Hannah is a fabulous percussion player and an all-around cool chick. Hannah and I are new friends, and I’m looking forward to spending hours upon end in a vehicle with her, where we will undoubtedly have time to become old friends!! I’ll tell you more about her after that.
Andrew, (back left), is also a fairly new friend. He plays drums and percussion and went to Berklee with Hannah. He’s a coffee enthusiast and a fun and super-creative guy. You’ll love all the interesting percussion toys he plays! He’ll b joining us on the road starting at the beginning of July. Andrew has been in a band for several years, traveling around in a van, so unlike me, he’s not overwhelmed by our summer plans.
I met Dave, (next to Andrew), a couple of years ago at our home church. He often plays bass when I’m leading worship there. Dave and his wife, Kelly, are from Idaho, and moved clear across the country to Nashville right after they got married, so Dave could continue touring with the band he was in. It was a rock band! I can’t believe he agreed to convert to the non-rock music we’re playing. Brave man! I’m looking forward to spending the summer playing with Dave.
Last but not least is my good friend, Steve. I met him at church, too, as he often plays guitar when I’m leading worship. Steve’s full-time job is not music. He has a doctorate in Speech Pathology. Isn’t that impressive? Since he teaches during the school year, he agreed to come play guitar on some of our summer dates! Steve and his wife, Christie, have quite a story. It’s so compelling, I wrote an entire chapter about it in my new book with Andrew Greer, Transcending Mysteries.
So, this is us! I sure hope we’ll get to meet you on our wild and crazy musical journey this summer! And if you happen to get to the beach, say hello to it for me!
