Holy hell what a tour! We’ve been home for a week now and have been busy weeding garden beds, mowing the lawn, catching up with friends and doing everything we need to get done before we, you guessed it, leave again. This Saturday, July 20, we’re playing at Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield, ME, which is one of the coolest venues in the country. Tonight, Patty Griffin is playing there and tomorrow it’s….well, it’s us. BUT we’re playing with our friend Alice Wallace and if you know Alice, you know it’s going to be an incredible show. So if you’re in Maine or can get there fast, come on out. And then we’re going on vacation. I don’t know if we’ve ever really “gone on vacation.” I mean, we’ve taken days off on tour and have done cool things, we even had a honeymoon 6 months after we got married, but we’ve always booked a show wherever we go. But this time, we’re going to Martha’s Vineyard with a couple of friends and we are going just to relax. It’s going to be magical and honestly, well deserved, because like I said, “Holy hell what a tour!”
We started the Hit Pacific Tour this March in Saratoga Springs, NY and then drove all the way across the country to Chico, CA. It took us five days of bad weather to get there and when we did we immediately went to an accordion repairmen in Petaluma to fix Mallory’s out of tune accordion. Turns out, he was the original man to burn the man at Burning Man but stopped when he burnt his own hand. He did a great job on the repair and we were on our way.
This was the first time our new Casita made a cross country trip and let me just say THANK YOU to everyone who supported the Campstarter last year. Because of you we were able to actually make it without any breakdowns. We had better gas mileage, had a comfortable space for us and our dogs, and felt safe the entire time we drove. That is a new experience for us.
We played 52 shows in 14 states to great audiences. We played house shows, some well beloved folk venues like Cafe Carpe and Caffe Lena, Nor-East’r Festival, a lavender farm, some breweries and wineries. We played in our 48th state (North Dakota) and there was axe throwing right next to the stage. In Montevideo, MN we were outdoors on May 30 and those Minnesotans were so ready for summer to arrive that they didn’t move even when it started raining during our set. We kept playing because it was clear they weren’t going anywhere. And in a small town in MI we had to say that it was Scott’s birthday in case the cops showed up to shut down the show. We had fans drive from Vermont to Western MI to see us even though we were one week away from being home.
It’s hard to sum up a tour like this. It meant so much to us and we saw so many different things that March feels like a year ago at this point. So, here are a few lists that should basically sum up the trip. They are in no way exhaustive.
Favorite Food Experiences:
L’Etoile Madison, WI (this is the fanciest place we’ve ever eaten. Thanks, Nick for the gift!)
The Salad Bar at Happy Hill House Concerts, North Freedom, WI
Amy’s Drive Thru (total vegetarian hippy drive thru in NorCal)
Corvus Bakery, Grass Valley, CA Pastries and coffee,
Thai Restaurant in East Lansing, MI
Milkshakes and vegan Burgers at Francis in St. Paul, MN
Vertical Diner in both Portland, OR and Salt Lake City, UT
A vegan Burger at Da Picky Vegan in a mall outside St. Louis
Wild Culture Kombucha Bar, Iowa City, IA
Anna’s House, Grand Haven, MI Vegetarian Chilliquilles,
Favorite walks/hikes:
Fern Canyon, CA- we walked through the big trees in Northern CA into a canyon of ferns.
Monterey Bay Aquarium- not technically a hike, but we sure got our steps in.
Point Isabel Dog Park, outside Oakland, CA. So many dogs.
Robert and Nancy’s House on the South Dakota Prairie
Walk with our nieces, nephew and sister in law along the Rogue River in OR
Favorite places we parked:
BLM Land in Nevada on a full moon night
Dani and Bob’s tractor garage
An olive oil farm in Napa (it overlooked the valley and there were baby chicks)
The woods beneath Mt. Rainier
A narrow road on the side of a steep mountain in Northern CA (also, scariest place we’ve ever parked)
Hoffmaster State Park, Grand Haven, MI
An Alpaca Farm in Iowa City, IA
A lavender drying shed in Boyne City, MI
Things we were gifted while on tour:
1 Stumpf fiddle
1 accordion
2 mailboxes
1 spider plant
1 pan
1 ukulele
1 “I’m Sexy and I Tow It” dishtowel
1 Michigan Pillow
1 Book
And that’s not including the gift of hospitality all across the country.
Thank you to all the venues, hosts, friends, fans and fellow musicians who made this tour such a success. We’re going to treasure this one for a long, long time.
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