i got an award!

yep, i 100% deserve this. life has just been crazy as of late and it has left no time for blogging. and by crazy i mean i have been traveling for work and blogging on the road is not easy. and then on the days when i'm home i'm busy doing laundry and summery things with my friends here in mpls. 

there are my lame excuses and here are the updates:

• basicila block party happened in my back yard. then i saw nate ruess downtown hanging out and my surprised face totally gave away the fact that i knew who he was when we made eye contact. didn't talk to him because i'm a huge wuss-bag.
• sonshine festival was a trip this year. there was a freezing cold rainy day that i was completely ill-equipped for (don't judge me for only bringing shorts), the next day was so hot and humid i was sweating through my tank top just standing behind the table, then there was a massive storm so a mom and her 3 kids came and slept in the RV with us. not nearly as a great of a line up this year as last but you can never go wrong with live music.
• i am putting frontman friday on hiatus. mostly because i missed last week, i'm missing today, and i will most certainly miss the next two weeks. it'll be back (because i never stop admiring frontmen) but i'm taking a short break, thanks for your understanding. 
• more concerts were announced with more of my loves coming to my city! the classic crime, mute math, ben rector and judah & the lion. be still my heart.
• tonight the tour de compadres rolls through town and whenever i think about it i'm pretty sure i transform into the cat-with-the-heart-eyes emoji. seriously, switchfoot and needtobreathe together is my dream tour. my dreams are coming true tonight. colony house is like fairy dust on my dream. i plan on tearing up at least 5 times. 
• tomorrow i fly to pittsburgh to start tour. for the next two weeks i am hitting the road with the outcry tour. remember when i talked about my tour wardrobe? yeah, it's here and my bunk is chosen and i'm ready. so ready. i've waited 17 years for this...over half my life...it's time.

life has been grand and summer is my absolute favorite and i will try my hardest to get back into a more normal writing routine. or at the very least write at some point ever. 

xo

bro am studios

it's happened again, you guys.
jon foreman and co. won me over all over again. not like they needed to but they absolutely did.

they are opening a music school in their hometown for kids whose parent's can't afford private lessons and whose schools are cutting music programs due to funding. there was an article written up about them in the san diego newspaper and you should probably read/watch it.

they are keeping the spirit of bro-am (their yearly surf contest and concert on the beach to raise awareness and funds for stand up for kids- a non profit working to end youth homelessness) alive throughout the entire year. so frickin' inspiring.

and speaking of bro-am, it's this upcoming saturday. and all the compadres (you know, from the second leg of the tour de compadres) are going to be there and i want to go SO BAD. if anyone knows someone with a private plane that would like to fly me to san diego for free i would love them forever.
xo

frontman friday: randy owen

do you have today off too?!
observed holidays because the actual holiday falls on the weekend is quite possibly the best thing about working in an office.
so the weekend is here and it's extra special because it's independence day weekend. i plan on spending the entire weekend stand-up paddle boarding on the lake, eating grilled food and fresh fruit, watching fireworks, and being grateful that i live in this incredible country.

so who better to highlight today then a country frontman? because country singers are known for being real american.

he's southern and proud: randy owen

yep, he's still doing his thing.

owen is the unmistakeable vocals in: alabama

sorry, it's blurry. dang internet.

they were a band before i was even alive. is this not one of the greatest promo pics from 1980 that you've ever seen? it is. trust me. 

this one is grainy just cause it's 35 years old. 

when i was working in nashville he came into my store for some sort of promo something and was kind enough to spend a couple minutes with each staff member and take pictures. when i got my 2 minutes with the kind gentleman i told him that my mom loved him. so yeah, i'm sure i made him feel great. 

i look way more excited to meet him than he was to meet me. 

happy birthday, 'murica! 

xo

frontman friday: 2015 is the year

it's friday and i'm here at stories of a girl...the world is right.
so that's the good news.

here's the bad news: i promised that this week would be a great frontman friday and i completely lied to you. i had the best of intentions and then my friday100% got away from me. i got up, called my mom (because i am the best child she's ever had) and then next thing i know it's 10:45, friday is almost over and i haven't written a single word.

since i haven't been able to give the appropriate amount of thought to building my weekly frontman shrine i've decided the only responsible thing to do is to get really jazzed about a couple of concerts that were just announced that are coming to my city in just weeks. seriously, 2015 is THE year of all of my favorite artists coming through town.

just a few days ago muth math announced that they were going on a tour of small venues around the states, an intimate tour if you will. tickets went on sale today and they sold out in minneapolis in a matter of minutes. but GOOD NEWS you guys, i got my ticket so come sept. 16th i get to see my boy paul meaney up close and personal cause they're playing a club with max capacity of around 200.

then just today the classic crime announced that they are hitting the road and my city made the cut. i love that virtually every tour comes through town...i love that artists love my city as much as i do. so i get to see another one of my frontmen, matt macdonald, in august <3 p="">

how fantastic is 2015?!

weekends are for dreamers.

xo

calling all colony house fans.

GUYS.

colony house came out with a remake of their song "waiting for my time to come." 

it was just put up today on the wall street journal speakeasy blog. 

the blog tells the story behind the song and the reason for the remake. 

such good things. all of the things are good. 

go listen here! 

xo

driving the beast.

i know, i know...i missed frontman friday again. you'd think at this point i would really wise up and start writing them in advance but i guess not.

i was, again, out of state this past weekend and didn't have time to create a mini-shrine to one of my favorite lead singers. this friday's post will be great...i promise.

but i was out of state doing music related things! i was at a music festival for work in a tiny little town called sheldon in iowa. it was called risefest and it was a ton of fun! we (me and the interns) repped at a booth in the merch building, did a couple of stage spots (yeah, they gave me the mic....crushed it), and slept in the RV.

i did festivals for the college so most of it wasn't new to me. but the RV, that was a new one. not only was i sleeping in an RV instead of a hotel or my jeep (that's when i go to festivals by my lonesome) but they also made me drive the RV.

you may think "okay, so it's a little bigger than a normal vehicle" but no. this RV is a beast. it sleeps six. has a full kitchen. 3/4 bathroom. 2 couches. and a bay underneath for storage. so yeah, it's massive.

the best part of the story is that i learned how to drive this gigantic vehicle the day before we left for the festival. the guy who taught me made me go through a wendy's drive through to make me learn how to handle tight turns. i was terrified i was going to take out the whole joint! he did buy me a frosty though so that was nice. my legs were so shaky i could barely walk when i got out of the RV but the frosty was delicious.

so here's the beast in all it's glory. you can see me and the two interns in front of it for scale. i still look at it and go, "holy balls, i can't believe i drove that!"

xo

couldn't wait til friday to love on a musician. jeremy loops, my friends.

have you ever been to one of those concerts where you don't want it to end? it doesn't matter that you only know a couple of the songs because the show is just so incredibly captivating that you wish you could freeze time and just live there, in that moment, for a little bit.

jeremy loops.

he was that concert for me.

he's south african and this past monday was his FIRST time in minneapolis. ever.

i've had a minor crush on mr. loops since we rode the same plane from johannesburg to cape town last october. i had seen a couple of his music videos and dug his sound. i didn't talk to him then, just admired him from afar (like 2 rows ahead on the plane and then 50 feet away at the luggage carousel). i had 28 hours of travel on me, i smelled bad and my hair was greasier than a fella's from the jeresy shore.

well that minor crush has grown into a full-blown obsession after seeing him perform live.

that man can entertain. he's ridiculously talented musically...he played everything from guitar to harmonica to beat boxing to a child's toy...looped them all together and created tracks out of thin air right there on stage to compliment his killer vocals. he's handsome, has a man-bun, and a delicious little accent. he got the crowed going and danced right along with everyone, seemingly so excited to be there in that tiny, dingy club at 11pm on a monday night.

after the show ended he hung out, taking pictures and talking to anyone and every one. normally, i don't talk to artists after the show unless we're friends but i figured who knows the next time he will be in minneapolis or even in the united states for that matter so i might as well! so i popped in line and when i got my minute with him i told him that i saw him on the plane but didn't want to talk to him because i looked really yucky. he laughed and said he always looks yucky when he flies too. then he told me i looked beautiful (i know he was just being kind but i still turned 50 shades of red). he asked if i wanted to grab a picture and i said no. his response: "you're just taking it all in, i LOVE that" followed by a giant bear hug.

i left that club wanting more. i hope that the next time he and his band come to this continent they choose minneapolis as a stop, wild horses couldn't keep me from being there.

xo