Keep Walking Tour Reflections

On Sunday, my pal Hayley Lynn and I finally got home after a month on the road and, boy oh boy, were we tired. I treated myself to twelves hour of sleep and permission to stay in bed past noon. It was fantastic.

Now that I am well rested, it’s time to reflect on this rollercoaster ride.

Being on the road is not easy.

I found myself constantly calculating, assessing, and planning:

How long will it take us to get from point A to point B? Where could we find the cheapest gas? Which friend (or friend of friend)’s house would we sleep at tonight? Should we schlep every (and I mean every) thing out of the car and into the house so it wouldn’t get stolen? Did I eat any vegetables today? What time is sound check? Will we get paid tonight?

Oh yeah, and where can I find *a moment* of alone time in between driving 3k miles and playing 16 shows in 30 days?

Spoiler alert: The answer to that last one, most of the time, is no!

~~~

Kvetching aside (that’s yiddish for complaining)…

it was absolutely 100% worth it. 10/10 would (and plan to) do again.

I quit my teaching job in June. Eight years in the field of education and I finally threw in the towel in order to pursue my musical dreams. And, wow, this tour, truly felt like a dream come true. Every day, I found reminders that I am doing what I came here to do.

And if that ain’t the best feeling in the world…

~~~

Here were some of the highs:

1. The mid-set power outage turned campfire-style show at the Conor Byrne Pub in Seattle.

2. Playing a packed-house hometown show with the whole band at the renowned Mississippi Studios.

3. Singing songs to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on the same epic stage as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead. (pictured below)

5. Feeling the love, generosity, friendship, and hospitality from every person who came to a show, spared us a dollar, cooked us a meal, lent us a place to rest our sleepy heads, or spent some quality time with our bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and/or road-weary selves (depending on the day).

THANK YOU.

My friend Grayce sent me this song “Manifesto” by John Craigie (live at Mississippi Studios) and I’ve had it on repeat all day, because it sums up the touring musician life with humor and flying colors.

Go give it a listen. It goes something like this:

“It doesn’t matter all the hype you heard, or the fact that you may or may not have heard any hype.

It doesn’t matter what record label I’m on, or the fact that I may or may not be on a record label at all…

All that matters is right here. All that matters is right now…

And I might be sleeping on your couch tonight. I’m not sure if they told you yet.

I know you want me to be more famous than that, oh but fame ain’t got nothing to do with it. Cuz I’d rather sleep on your couch and eat your cookies, than sleep alone in some hotel room and not have any cookies at all.

I came here to meet you. I came here to sing to you.”

~~~

Thank you to everyone who I had the pleasure of meeting and singing for on the road this summer.

I love you all,

Blair