I’ve played 19 shows so far on the ‘Seeing You’ tour and have not yet managed to write a single blog post. Although there are many tales to tell, there just hasn’t been enough time to process, reflect and share. The hours spent on rails have been many, those spent asleep have been few. Many coffees have been consumed over many a mile, or kilometre to use a less abstract term for me, and I’m still not used to this new dynamic. I’ve been travelling pretty much since June and my life has somehow tumbled into a spiral of “Waah, what’s going on?! What day is it? What’s most urgent on my to do list?!”. This is not a complaint, nor is it meant to evoke a “Oh, wow, she’s so busy”, I’m just trying to let you know what it’s like. I’m still learning the ropes as a full time, independent Singer / Songwriter and am trying to get the balance right. I need to learn to take a break between adventures… and I need to learn how to do my taxes properly without getting very angry letters from HM Revenue and customs (“let me tell you how it will be…” How many times have I heard that song?! I get it now, George, and I don’t even have anything to give the taxman!). With regard to the tales, I’m not really sure where to start! Maybe here: I’ve released an EP! Hurray! Seeing You is finding its way into your homes, radio stations and blog posts, which is wonderful. I’m really proud of these four tracks and am very happy to share them with you.
The shows in England were fun. The London EP launch was just incredible. The Finsbury was packed on a Monday night and I got to share the stage with amazing musicians. I also got to take my telecaster out… how much fun is “red and white blood cells’ electric, ey?! Thank you so much to all of you who came along, I cried twice, that’s how nice it was to see you all there. A special thank you goes to Raphael Knapp, Andy Bruce, Sebastian Hankins for performing with me (the beautiful band depicted below) and also to the very talented Nick Stephenson and Ellie Ford, as well as the lovely Minnie Birch or helping with merch.
The Liverpool show was also great fun too, I feel so at home there.. Thanks also to Dave Monks for having me on his BBC Introducing show. Thanks to Graham from Liverpool Acoustic, you can still listen to the live session and interview on Soundcloud if you missed it. It was also really cool to revisit Hull.. I just love that walk from the trains station to the Fudge Restaurant.. It took me a long time to get there, because I just had to stop and take a picture of every second shop.
This was my first headline tour in the UK. I totally underestimated the effect that would have – I felt a different kind of responsibility toward the promoters, the acts and the audience. It was lovely to have such a great support come along for some of the ride though… the last three shows were hosted by Hidden Trail Records and the lovely Ellie Ford opened those shows. Her songs stuck with me for quite some time and it was so much fun performing together (in an observatory, under the stars!). Thank you to everyone for helping me along the UK roads, to all the musicians I met and got to share the stage with and to all of you for coming along.
So Germany! I’m currently leaving you.. I’m on a train from Tübingen to Zurich and am then heading to Thun, where I’m performing tonight – my very first show in Switzerland. I played eleven shows in Deutschland and overall it’s been fun. I can’t believe that my first Germany tour was only last year, February. It seems like at least four years ago… I suppose so much has happened and playing in Germany itself has been so important for me over the last year that it seems odd to consider it a new thing. Highlights this time around were performing with the wonderful and super talented Karl Neukauf on piano and sitar in Dresden and Berlin (yes, Sitar, how cool is that?!), performing at the beautiful venue Savoy Kino in Bordesholm, playing for the lovely people in the tiny, sleepy town of Weilburg again and the two living room gigs that closed the Germany tour.
Butterfly, Berlin, Zimmer 16:
On my first trip to Germany (all those felt years ago), I had a blast performing in Tübingen. It was one of those magic shows that take you by surprise and turn out to be amazing. Ever since, I’ve tried to organise a return show in the student town, but it just didn’t work out. Some of the lovely people stayed in touch with me and, when Tübingen was yet again not included in my tour schedule, contacted me to ask whether they could host a living room show. I’m so happy that you asked, it was great to see you again and an amazing experience to perform in such a packed living room. I’m already looking forward to touring in Germany again next year, hopefully together with a band. Bis bald Deutschland and hello Schweiz and Italy…tales to be continued.