THAT’S THE ONLY PLACE, I’VE EVER FELT AT HOME.
CONFLUENCE- MISSISSIPPI JAKE
I’m often asked, “Where’s your favorite place to play shows?” I don’t pick favorites. I enjoy all variety of scenery. That’s also a conscious decision on my part. I would lose my mind if I didn’t find some sort of joy in the change in tumbleweed species as you travel west. I’ll admit that nothing feels quite like dropping in to Duluth after autumn has crawled across the hills. 150 year old brick buildings punctuate the transition between rural Minnesota and Lake Superior. It’s also the headwaters of Interstate 35. There’s something intriguing about seeing the end or beginning of a highway I spend a lot of time on. I look forward to seeing another sunset in New Mexico. The glow of the evening sun on the red mountains can’t be captured in photos. I’ve tried. I assume driving through the panhandle of Texas is similar to being at sea under a full moon. Only the lunar light and horizon lines further away than imaginable.
Badlands
South Dakota
My favorite thing about travel is always the people. I have a community of folks all across the middle west. Ben Boggs is a standup fella I met this spring. After the show in Lexington we went out to a few University of Kentucky bars, met a few musicians based in Nashville. We swapped road stories over some beers and later that night I pulled the hinge pins out of the bathroom door. He never warned me that the handle was broken. In Tulsa, I danced around the basement of Barkingham Palace with some of my favorite humans. $8 champagne and punk rock sing-a-longs are what my soul needs every few months. After some disagreeable street tacos in Albuquerque, I had some Iowa transplants in New Mexico, let me take a shower and sleep in a bed. They sent me with a care package that included bananas, Oreos, and the biggest bag of beef jerky a human could ask for. Luke Hendrickson of Rochester, Minnesota, took me in, showed me the town. Then he put me in the most terrifying Uber ride of my life and we engaged in the most cathartic bitch session about the music industry.
I’ve come to greatly appreciate my relationships with creative friends. Y’all really help keep me going. I love watching artists friends share their success on social media throughout the week. I enjoy getting demos recorded on phones, just to capture an idea. Keep sharing those creative photos. Tell those stories. Write those songs.
I’ve compiled a Spotify playlist of folks I’ve had the honor of sharing a stage with. They’ve got compelling stories to tell you, and adventures to take you on. Enjoy.
