rooting for you.

oh hey there all you bands trying to make it!
i give you mad props. touring isn't always glamorous (especially if you're rolling 15 passenger van style), it's not easy to make a living as an artist, and i applaud you believing in your art enough to give it an honest-to-goodness try.
while i will give you all the kudos in the world for beating the pavement and wanting it so bad you've given up almost everything to be on that stage, here are a couple of key things to endear me to you as the opening band to the band i came to see (correct me if i'm wrong stories of a girl readers):

• tell me some short stories. assume, as the opener, that no one in the room is overly familiar with your music. i know you want to play as many songs as humanly possible in your 20 minute set but cutting out one song and telling two entertaining stories (maybe one about a song's inspiration and one as a glimpse into your personal life) will go a long way to making me remember you. especially if you're funny. 
• be jazzed about the main act. we are jazzed about them and we want you to love them as much as we love them. and we'll assume that you have great taste in music if you seem excited to be touring with them. because then we clearly have the same taste in music, duh.
• be confident but not cocky. you were asked to open this tour or show...play like you should be there. but don't forget, even if you're fantastic, cockiness is a major turn-off. someone please pass this message along to kanye. 

that's it. it really doesn't take much and i will buy a shirt or album at the end of the show. or at the very least i will spotify you the following day, fall in love with your album, and pay to see you when you roll through town in 4 months on your smaller, headlining tour in the dank bar down the street.
good luck, i really am rooting for you! 

xo

hope for the broken.

as you know, i work for an evangelistic association. due to the events we put on we get to meet a lot of really cool ministries and non-profits who are working to make the world a better place.

one of the ministries i learned of through work and have gotten the pleasure of getting to know it's founder is hope for the broken. 

hope for the broken exists to bring hope into your dark places. everyone struggles with something; maybe for you it's depression or anxiety. maybe it's feeling you aren't good enough. there is Hope and there's a Light that can cut right through that darkness and hope for the broken is shining that light.

meg, the non-profits founder, feels called to be a rescuer of the broken, a bringer of light, after knowing the darkness personally and walking through some tough stuff with those close to her.

one of the ways that hope for the broken raises funds to support their work is through selling some pretty rad pieces of jewelry. i have a lantern of hope in antique brass (they also have it in antique black and antique silver) and it has become one of my favorite pieces to wear! it has a verse on the bottom and is a great reminder that there is a light in our darkness.

my actual necklace. love it. 

added note to any those who are thinking about ordering it:
the lantern is a good weight and size (probably about an inch and a half tall) and the chain it's on is long and thin without being too delicate! it lays really nicely against your chest.

okay, now that you're sold on ordering one for yourself, get it here!

and never fear fellas, there's a necklace for you on the site too, check it.

xo