The Full Story :: The day I turned 30 & had one of the most memorable shows ever.

Sometimes it takes me a little longer to figure out how to share about a happening that ended up being extra special and significant to me.

Last Friday night (the Sept 24th Show and my 30th birthday) is one of those.

LEADING UP TO THE NIGHT
We had some nervousness about the risks we were taking with this show leading up to it. I scheduled it because it was the only thing I wanted to do on my 30th birthday. We rarely hire a band to work with us on a production and that's one thing that surely makes me feel completely alive. Also since it was a significant birthday, mom was coming into town from half way across the country. This was the first time I'd seen her in person since the debut album release in April of 2008.

I wanted to make the most of my time with her, but I also wanted to share as much of my music life (introduce my music-making compatriots, communities we work within, songs she's never heard live) with her as possible and needed to do the work for it all to go well. I felt spread a little thin, was quite stressed leading up to that week and my immune system was totally weakened by all that.

That week, though, my mom sought to reassure me that I didn't need to worry about her and she was amazingly supportive and flexible. Jason and I reminded ourselves that anything worth doing also required taking big risks and all of our life is one big risk anyway. Why should this one night be any different?

It was good to to hear some buzz building about the show a few days prior and hear that even folks who hadn't been to one our our presentations in a long while would being showing up.

The guys came over that week and totally brought their A-game to rehearsal.

That morning I woke up feeling absolutely miserable but luckily, I had given myself some time that day to mentally and physically prepare for the big night.

THE NIGHT ITSELF
The night itself rocked beyond my imagination. Long time friends and new fans packed the listening room at The Beat in Uptown of Minneapolis. Their presence carried a lot of love.

The Brighton, our good friend Ben Rosenbush, who also plays cello with me, warmed up the crowd with a lovely opening set.

Jason, my husband - who usually remains unseen and in the background running lights, sound, imagery projection or cameras - surprised and delighted us all by approaching the microphone to give a rather humorous yet sincere plug for The Brighton album and then he gave me the sweetest introduction I've ever received in my life!

Ben (cello), Alex (drums/percussion) and Zach (bass) did an amazing job and their energy totally inspired me. Also, one of the advantages of being an extrovert is that on days I'm feeling low energy, simply having people arrive begins to make me feel better. It felt awesome to play each song and I sang my heart out for the crowded room.

It really was a great production...you might have heard that it was a coffeehouse and not realized that it was a performance space with lights and projection.

What did we project? Jason's photography and we also introduced the first original photo greeting card for sale. There will be sets of greeting cards made available soon, but we began with the photo Jason took in Phoenix that accompanies the song Welcome to the Masquerade.

Julia Dinsmore; friend, storyteller, artist and social change maker shared her story and a couple poems. She delivered a compelling presentation with refreshing honesty, humor and personal insight into poverty and homelessness. One of her poems is performed by Danny Glover in this video. We gave away her book along with a couple other things. She shared a bit about the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless following my songs Wayfaring Stranger, Jack Riddle and Invitation to the Unlikely. We're sending the Coalition a check for over 10% of the door/cover charge and merch sales that night. Julia has always been so encouraging to us and we are so glad she honored us with her presence.

That night I also performed one of the verses on Home with You Continues that will be recorded on the forthcoming album. It's the verse inspired by the community we met in a tent city in Seattle and the story we heard of a couple who met in a tent city and whose lives were transformed by the love they found in one another.

We recognized other September babies in the room, my own mom included, but Ben and Alex surprised me by leading everyone in singing Happy Birthday to me with a delightful, spontaneous duo on the cello, which Ben played more like an upright bass, and the drums. That sweet moment still makes me smile.

The night I turned 30 felt like a true celebration of life, love, genuine community, good cause and the art and soul of music all come together in one place. Everyone who came was so kind and responded with a standing ovation at the finale.

I'm grateful for my mom's presence, my sweet husband, my brothers who so wonderfully made music with me and for all of you who chose to spend the evening with us.

Thank you for being part of making it what I believe may be one of the most personally meaningful shows of my life so far.

Big love and gratitude.

Peace to you and yours always.