I have been busy traveling, playing music and developing my own musical skills! What a great opportunity this has been and I can't wait to share more about my experiences and what I've learned with you all! Let's see...
It's been a while since my last blog; where were we...?
Well, I think we were on our way out of South Dakota. We had a chance to stop by Custer and take a few quick photo opps with Glen... have I mentioned Glen? Our generous PTO president Ms. Beth sent Glen along with us on our journey for the year. Glen is, of course, our school mascot and a great traveling companion. I will be sure to get some more great pics of him while we continue our journey.
We also had a chance to dip into Wyoming and check out our nations first National Monument: Devil's Tower!
After leaving South Dakota we dipped into Nebraska to play a show in Omaha and then headed back into Iowa (my home state) for one more show en route to Minnesota! We enjoyed playing ten different shows in and around Minnesota including playing on a radio show! We even played a show during one of their biggest festivals, The Defeat of Jesse James Day in Northfield, MN where the infamous bank robber Jesse James was taken down. They even did a fun reenactment on the street!
We also played in Duluth, MN. The home of the famously talented musician, Bob Dylan at Fitger's overlooking Lake Superior.
We moved on to Wisconsin from there and played a few shows, one of which was in the capital city of Madison! Great city by the way! It was quite interesting that the same night we played the show there, there was an antigovernment demonstration going on at the state capital. The demonstrators were using song to protest against the local government. While I'm not very familiar with their particular stance, it was really cool to see how they were using music to peacefully fight for their rights as protected by the 1st amendment.
Moving on from Wisconsin we headed to the incredibly amazing city of Chicago where we visited friendly and played three different shows in the area! It was also a great place to check out other amazing musicians!
Glen flew up to visit the Willis Tower (formerly named and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower). It is a 108-story, 1,451-foot skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. At the time of its completion in 1973, it was the tallest building in the world.
Glen also took a moment to stop and see the famed Cloud Gate sculpture which Chicagoans lovingly refer to as the Silver Bean. Can you see why?
Next we started to make our way back down south and played a gig in the Indianapolis area en route to Louisville, Kentucky for a gig.
And then found our way to Ohio to play a couple of places in Cincinnati and Cleveland! Cleveland Rocks! Cleveland is home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! This is a great place to visit and learn more about the history of Rock! Definitely worth taking the time to check it out!
Moving on from Ohio we headed back up north to Michigan and enjoyed playing a couple of gigs up there on our way to Toronto, Canada to play and attend Indie Music Week.
We had two different performances with Indie Music Week and also attended a few conferences and visited the high look out of the great CN tower which is more than 1,800 feet tall!! Toronto is a great city and we also enjoyed beautiful views of Lake Ontario.
Making our way back into the United States we found ourselves in upstate New York where we visited Niagara Falls, visited my aunt and uncle's alpaca farm, played a couple of shows in the Syracuse area and enjoyed driving through the state and seeing all of the beautiful fall leaves.
Next we went a bit farther north via ferry and headed to the ever beautiful mountain state of Vermont where we enjoyed playing a couple of shows in the city of Burlington and visited with my aunt, uncle and cousins that live in the area. We also climbed a mountain while we were there and stopped at a great little pumpkin patch!
We left Vermont after a few days and headed to New Hampshire where we loved playing at and visiting a couple of great port towns! New England is such a beautiful area and the seafood is fantastic!
Finally, this morning we made our way to the largest city in the state of Maine, Portland. We cannot wait to play a show here tomorrow and enjoy some lobster while we are at it! Maine has been home to many great musicians, a few of which include Patty Griffin, Ray Lamontagne, and the bluegrass great Jimmy Cox. We can't wait to enjoy this state and then head down the east coast! With hurricane Sandy on the way we do worry a bit. But we hope to find safe passage and enjoy continuing to share our music with people in small towns and big cities and learn new things along the way. We will head to Connecticut, New York City, and Baltimore. And by Thanksgiving we'll be in my husband, Cie's home state of Virginia where we will do a soft release of our new album at the University club of Virginia Tech.
We also look forward to heading back to Nashville for a quick stop in early December where we will be playing our official CD release show for our sophomore album, "You, Me, and the Rest of the World," at the great little Nashville venue: The Basement in Nashville on December 6th with the doors opening up at 7PM! And of course, we plan to make a stop to see all of you at Glencliff while we are in town!
Much love and music from on the road,
Ms. Karisa Hoover
