Hello fellow wanderers!
I wanted to let you know about a couple upcoming dates!
This week:
September 20: Layla’s Grand Opening in Chelan, WA @ 7 PM
September 22: Wenatchee River Salmon Festival in Leavenworth, WA @ 3 PM
(For more details: bjeanmusic.com/tour)
And then in October it's on to North Carolina and Tennessee for the Ol' Front Porch Festival, a couple house concerts, and... secrets too secret to tell.
In other news, I had so much fun at the Okanogan County Fair a couple weekends ago. This fair's night lights inspired a song of mine a couple years back, and it was wonderful to get closer than Highway 97.
As always, the people I met were lovely, and it was great to see some familiar faces!
Oh, and... I also faced a fear of mine at the fair...
I've always been a bit anxious about the prospect of singing the National Anthem.
I've always had this fear that if I was asked to sing the Star Spangled Banner, it would end up being the kind of wreck that could haunt me forever.
If you mess up the National Anthem... everyone knows. And they will remember. Probably forever. Or at least, if they ever see you again... they will remember you then. For that.
This is what I was thinking when Tracey asked me if I'd be willing to sing the National Anthem before the rodeo on Saturday night. However, I said "yes", nervous as I was.
Because it is an honor to sing the National Anthem.
So Saturday came around, and between singing at the Wenatchee Farmers' Market and singing at the fair, I ran through the anthem over and over in my head, hoping the memory games I often experience with "City of New Orleans" wouldn't play into this important, one-minute-twenty-second song. Oh, and the Canadian anthem as well. That's right. One fear multiplied by two. I was singing not one but two national anthems. Thus increasing the odds of my nightmares coming true.
However, confidence is key, my friends.
So, I told myself I had this, and we went to the fair.
Well, upon arriving, one of the first questions I was asked was if I'd be willing to sing the National Anthem on the back of a 2,400 lb steer.
...
I was assured that the steer was gentle and sweet and that people did this and sang from their backs all the time--as well as standing on them like platforms.
I have never thought of myself as a "city girl", but... I guess that's what I am.
Because I said no.
Since then, I believe I missed an opportunity to be about as American as a person can possibly be...
Ah well.
Anywho, the time came to sing the anthems, and goodness gracious, it didn't help that the announcer (who was fantastic, by the way) introduced me by telling the crowd to get ready to hear the greatest version of the National Anthem they'd ever heard... No pressure.
After I sang and as Tracey gave me a ride around to the front of the arena, I asked her if I sang all the right words, and I was relieved when she said that I had.
That was truly all I was worried about.
I enjoyed talking to her, her husband, and her daughter--what fantastic people, and they made me feel very welcome at my first rodeo. (Yep, that was my first rodeo.)
Oh, one more thing...
My mom told me the next day that she filmed me singing the National Anthem, but that when she watched it, she realized she'd been singing along. She told me she was sorry for that (because she thought she'd ruined her recording of the performance), but... I couldn't be happier about it. I'm so glad she sang with me. She had not a thing to be sorry for.
The next time you're asked to stand and join in singing the National Anthem, I encourage you to sing. Sing the anthem out.
Fear: Conquered ✓
All the love,
Brittany