Show Review: Sara Bareilles with the Collective 4.15.12 Nashville, TN

I'm a little behind and need to play catch up (ie. Mumford & Sons, Fanfarlo, and The Head and the Heart...), but this show was just so different I needed to share it now.

Why was this show different? Because it was actually a part of my job. I don't write a whole lot about my work, but it centers around events. All different kinds of events. Some high profile. Some not so much. As I was thinking about it, I have been employed by the same place for 7 (SEVEN!!!) years. This is pretty rare, I get that. There have been ups. And there have been downs. But the stars aligned and my department was finally able to act as not only the venue, but the promoter. It was an amazing experience. I learned a lot. Met some great people, reconnected with old friends, and just had a good time. Last night was something I've wanted for not only myself, but also my co-workers and the students I work with on a daily basis. It was such a rewarding experience to put on a show that people were truly excited about. It's my hope that this will become a more regular occurrence.

Apparently, I put together a pretty rockin' gift basket. How do I know this? Sara Bareilles asked who put it together and said it was one of the best gifts she had ever received and thanked me personally.

Some of Nashville's Best:
A T-shirt from Imogene + Willie. 
A travel kit from Thistle Farms.
Various Olive and Sinclair Southern Artisan Chocolates.
A few different types of toffee from Nashville Toffee Company.
Handmade gourmet marshmallows from The Bang Candy Company.
A notebook from Hatch Show Print, as well as the Hatch we had made for the show.
A few Spirit of Nashville Art Deco Style postcards.
A copy of the current Nashville Lifestyles Magazine.
A copy of Garden and Gun.
She gave me another hug on the way out thanking me again. She probably won't remember me, but hopefully she will have good memories of her show in Nashville.

The Collective opened and if you have heard of the show The Sing Off, they were on it last season. They were amazing and I couldn't have picked a better opener. A great group of people and so much fun. I wasn't able to grab a picture, but I did find this You Tube video from the show.


I also got to see one of my good friends Erin, who just moved back to Nashville to start an artist management company. She's going to be big time.


I have to say one of the highlights for me was seeing so many alums come to this show and who were also a part of this show. We are all in our mid-to late 20's now, I can't wait to see the face of Nashville in 5+ years!

The meet and greet. Official non-crappy picture to come later.


Holy Moly the CROWD! This exceeded my wildest dreams.





Sara opened the show with her song Gravity. I've seen a lot of shows in my time. The crowd was so quite and Sara KILLED it. Like I had goosebumps. And the sound was great! After hearing her perform this song, I wanted to download everything she's ever done.


I didn't get to see the whole show, but from what I understand the encore was pretty awesome.

I am so glad that I will be able to look back on the past few months and weeks leading up to this show and the actual show itself and smile. We did it. We really did it.

So do you listen to Sara Bareilles?

This Is My Jam: Ho Hey by the Lumineers

I go through phases where I will listen to a particular song almost daily. Usually multiple times a day. And then I will move onto another song that I love equally as well. Right now, I am obsessed with Ho Hey by The Lumineers.  Have you heard of them? Their first album comes April 3 and I can't wait. They are tour across the US and the shows are selling out. I have my ticket for their show in April and I can't wait!

Ho Hey is such a fun little song. Here is the official video.


And here is an acoustic version.


Any new music I need to check out? Any songs you just love?

Race Recap: Tom King Half Marathon 3/10/12 Nashville, TN

Why hello there! I am still here. After a 3 straight weekends of travel I am back in Nashville for a while and I am here to stay. I am looking forward to some wonderful spring weekends spent with my wonderful friends and likely a few Sunday long runs.

I am not really sure why I signed up to run the Tom King Half Marathon, especially given my social calendar. January was rocking in terms of exercise, training, and eating. But isn't everyone's January the best month of the year in those regards?

Being out of town for 3 weekends straight really put a damper on my training schedule. For serious. I only went on one long training run where I needed a Gu. FAIL. I had a few 12 mile training run days split between morning and night runs. Whoever said those could substitute for long runs? I don't think it works, at least for me. Also, I don't suggest staying out 4 nights in a row past midnight (and drinking) before a race. While there were completely worthy reasons for staying out and it was so much fun, it probably wasn't the kindest thing I could do to my body. Like the time before I ate an entire pizza and pint of ice cream the night before a half marathon, I wasn't sure what affect it would have on my body...

The.Race.Was.Hard.

Really hard.

I learned that running a half marathon that you have quasi-trained for is much harder than running a full marathon you have really trained for. Go figure! Lesson learned.

Miles 1-7 were pretty easy. Miles 8-10 were probably my slowest miles. 11 and 12 were much easier because I knew I would see the East Nasty water stop at mile 12. The last mile of any race just kind of sucks and you want it over.

1:55:41. Not my best. Not my worst and certainly better than my first.

No pictures and I'm ok with that. I am sure when they appear they will not be suitable for viewing by young children.

Oh and I signed up to run the Marine Corps Marathon in DC in October!

Show Review: The Civil Wars at the Ryman Auditorium January 12, 2012

While watching The Civil Wars "open" for Taylor Swift tonight on the Grammy Awards I realized I never posted about the show.

I liked the Civil Wars before I saw them live.

I loved them after the show.

They were amazing. Their energy and chemistry was great on stage. And at times it was hard to believe they are married to other people. Joy Williams is such a treat to watch on stage too.

I felt like all of Nashville's music industry was there. While they might not have all been there, a good deal were. Amy Grant was in the pew in front of me. No joke. Did anyone else have the Heart in Motion tape??? I know I can't be the only one.



Taylor Swift came out and they sang Safe and Sound from the Hunger Games Soundtrack (Who else is excited for this movie???) With the bright lights and her pale skin, you can't really tell it's her, but it is. I swear.



In case you didn't know, the Ryman is one of my favorite places to see live music.

Besides playing their own songs they also covered Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins, and Dance Me to the End of Love by Leonard Cohen.

Anyone else like The Civil Wars?