Well, the past couple of weeks have been quite the adventure, and now that I'm home again, I've been enjoying looking back on it all. Here are some of the highlights. :)
First stop: Oriental, North Carolina
Oriental is one of the sweetest towns I've ever seen. It's beautiful. The people though... they were far more beautiful. On the first day of the festival, my parents and I stopped by an information booth. My dad mentioned liking the programs, and one of the ladies we were talking to seemed very pleased by that--come to find out she was the one who put them together. My dad smiled as he opened up a program and said something like, "Well, the main reason I like this program is because you put my daughter right here on the third page." The eyes of both ladies went wide, and they both exclaimed, "Brittany Jean--! Brittany Jean is your daughter?? Oh! Is she here??" Mind you... I was standing... right there. As soon as they realized I was the person they were asking about, I got pulled into about six different conversations.
Why do I share this? Not because I felt like a celebrity, but because every single person I met was absolutely wonderful. I felt adopted into an entire town, and... it was lovely. They were lovely. I hope to have many excuses to return there. And the festival itself? Oh... it was so much fun. The Ol' Front Porch Music Festival takes place on beautiful front porches throughout town, and I loved every single second of it.
Next stop: Nashville, Tennessee
Two weeks ago, I had the final recording sessions for Wander With Me, and recording days are still my favorite days...
These guys pictured below (John Nicholson, David Smith, and Joel Key) helped me put the finishing touches on the album, and I can't wait for you to hear... all of it. I tried some new things for this project, and I'm excited to know what you think...
I hope you love it as much as I do.
Next stop: Franklin, Tennessee
I'm so used to playing at county fairs, wineries, farmers markets, and festivals, that whenever I get a chance to play in a venue where everyone is sitting down, listening, and not milling about... it's almost kind of strange. In the very best possible way. I've only done a couple in-home shows at this point, but I love them. I'm thankful Terry and Wanda were open to this different kind of show.
If you're ever in Franklin, check out their schedule--they have a fantastic, ongoing series of one-of-a-kind, songwriter shows.
One of the very best parts of the trip was that all of my brothers and sisters (and my littlest nephews and niece) came to meet my parents and me in Nashville--we all stayed in a little cabin in the woods. Some of them joined me in the studio and came to cheer me on when I sang downtown, and then the rest were at the concert in Franklin... They all dropped everything to be there, and that was incredible.
And these were just some the highlights.
If you made it this far... Thanks for reading. :)
-Brittany