Mikey Mains House Show

We were lucky enough over my spring break to host our friends in Mike Mains and the Branches for a few days while they were on tour. We were even more lucky when they agreed to play a house show for us! Such a fun Monday night. We had friends come in from Lafayette, Cincy, Indy, and even the Louisville area just for the show. Mike play songs acoustic and told stories for an hour in our living room. Many of our friends are fans of MMTB, but I think anyone who hadn't heard them before that night left with a CD or vinyl in hand. My friends even surprised me with a cake and singing for my birthday that was a few days away! It was just a really special night.

Even beyond the show it was just the best to get some quality time in with our friends in the band. They are always so busy and travel constantly, so Jake and I really treasure the time we get to spend with them every few months. We are so blessed by their friendship.

...and a little video for your listening pleasure. :)

In honor of a never-ending winter...

Here's some perspective in the midst of the coldest, snowiest winter I can remember in a long time. I'm typing this during snow day number 10, I believe. I am fully enjoying living in this snow globe, but I am yearning to see my grass again soon. :)

When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes
Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies
And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh
For the green grass waiting on the other side

It's always winter but never Christmas
It seems this curse just can't be lifted
Yet in the midst of all this ice and snow
Our hearts stay warm cause they are filled with hope

It'd be so nice to look out the window
And see the leaves on the trees begin to show
The birds would congregate and sing
A song of birth a song of newer things

The wind would calm and the sun would shine
I'd go outside and I'd squint my eyes
But for now I will simply just withdraw
Sit here and wish for this world to thaw

And everything it changed overnight
This dying world you brought it back to life
And deep inside I felt things
Shifting everything was melting
Away, oh away
And you gave us the most beautiful of days

Cause when it's always winter but never Christmas
Sometimes it feels like you're not with us
But deep inside our hearts we know
That you are here and we will not lose hope 

Relient K

Nashville: Our Picks

Thankfully, we have some wonderful friends that shared their favorite spots in Nashville before we visited. They did not steer us wrong! I highly recommend asking around before going to a new city. Our trip would not have been near as memorable without their help.

Here are our picks when traveling to Nashville. I hope they help if you ever find yourself there!

Ryman Auditorium
The "Mother Church of Country Music". This was the first home to the Grand 'Ol Opry. We geeked out over the Johnny Cash exhibit and the fact that they allow you to get up on the same stage where he once played! It didn't hurt that we watched John Mellencamp's crew set up his gear for that night's show!



The 5 Spot
I talked about The 5 Spot in my previous Nashville post, but it is just a great dive bar/venue experience. It's not intimidating at all and the bands were great!



 The Pharmacy
Fun, hipster restaurant in East Nashville. Gourmet burger, milkshakes, and a beer garden. They make their own sausages for goodness sakes!

Barista Parlor
Coolest coffee shop I've ever been to. It was once a car garage, so it still has vintage motor cycles and the garage doors as part of the decor. We actually went here two mornings in a row we loved the vibe (and coffee...and sausage biscuit) so much!


Crema
Another awesome coffee shop closer to downtown Nashville. I had a pear rosemary scone with my coffee that I wouldn't mind eating every day for breakfast. We went here on a rainy morning and it was so cozy I didn't want to leave.




 Hatch Show Print
Famous print shop where concert and event posters have been made for years and years. They still use a letter press to make their posters! They have such a neat, vintage vibe. They are each like pieces of art. They just moved their operations into the Country Music Hall of Fame. We bought quite a few to hang on our walls.

Third Man Records
Jack White's (of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, etc.) record company. The have a record store, and they record and press their own vinyl next door. The store is quite the experience even though it's small. I highly recommend going!





Jack's Bar-B-Que
Iconic BBQ place right across from the Ryman. We went there right after our Ryman tour and just soaked up the atmosphere of Broadway Street. Oh, and the bar-b-que was delicious!

The Parthenon
Nashville has been called "The Athens of the South," so it's only fitting that they built a scale version of The Parthenon for their centennial celebration, right? It's smack dab in the middle of a beautiful park. The inside has the history of The Parthenon, an art gallery, and a HUGE statue of Athena.



The Hip Zipper
Best vintage store I've ever been to. A lot of times I'm intimidated by vintage stores and to even try anything on, but the girl working here couldn't have been more welcoming and helpful. She even gave us a huge list of of other vintage stores and her favorite restaurants in the area. Jake and I both walked away with some great finds!

Gruhn Guitars
a HUGE guitar shop just outside of downtown. Jake was in heaven. Mandolins, banjos, and lots of other things I'm sure he could tell you about. They even let you try out any instrument you would like. When else will you get to play a $5,000 guitar?



Opryland Hotel
This hotel has its own zip code it's so big. We didn't actually stay there (although I would love to someday), but we did pay to park and walked around for a few hours. There is  basically a small city inside the hotel, complete with tropical trees, rivers, cobblestone walkways, gazebos...you get the picture. It's huge, and definitely worth seeing.

Twenty One Pilots

We went to see them while in Nashville. This is not a "Nashville" pick per say, but they are just a really good band that you should check out! :) They are amazing live, too!!


Now go forth, and have a great time in Nashville!

Copperlily

I am a huge fan of House of Heroes. When I heard that Tim Skipper and his wife, Stephanie, started a band, I knew I was going to love it. They did not disappoint. This song is just too sweet.

Enjoy Copperlily!

Gentlemen of the Road

What a crazy weekend! Jake and I made the drive up to Troy, OH to Mumford & Sons' Gentlemen of the Road festival. The entire downtown Troy was turned in to a street festival with all of the local businesses having booths outside of their stores. Boy, did they get some business this weekend. All of the shops also decorated with mustaches and British flags for the occasion. There was such a fun, friendly vibe everywhere you went. You could tell Troy was very excited to host GOTR.

The concert grounds were just as festive and fun. They had food booths from all over the country, including my favorite Jeni's Ice Cream from Columbus, OH. The concert itself was on the Troy High School football field. At the height of the day's concerts, the entire field plus both sets of stands were covered with 30,000 fans (PS- Troy is a town of 25,000- it doubled this weekend!). We definitely didn't have the best view, but you couldn't match the atmosphere on both days (even with a slight rain storm that brought out our super cool ponchos- see picture below).

Some new-found favorites from the weekend were Willy Mason and Bear's Den. We also had an awesome time singing along to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show. In fact, I like both of them better now than I did before. Mumford was excellent as usual and even brought both Bear's Den and Old Crow on stage for a few songs. You could tell they were genuinely having a great time on stage. We were as well, along with 30,000 of our closest friends.

 

Paul McCartney: Out There Tour

Well, I crossed something off my bucket list this July. Jake and I saw Sir Paul McCartney live in concert! I mean, he was a Beatle!! I still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that we saw him. The concert was very well done, and not near as flashy as it probably could have been. It was just him and four other band members on stage playing Beatles and Wings music for almost three hours. My favorite parts of the show were when he told stories about his days with the Beatles leading in to songs. One story in particular included both Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton at the same concert. He is living music history and I saw it. Unreal. I you ever have a chance to see him, go for goodness sake!

 

 For your listening pleasure, Sir Paul on ukulele. 

House of Heroes: Davis Park Show

I still can't believe it, but Jake booked one of my favorite bands, House of Heroes, to play at Davis Park a few weeks ago! Dream come true! It was a blast watching them set up for the show, and getting to know the guys a little bit. Jake even found that Matt from HOH shares his love of comic books and Spiderman (that was a dream come true for him, too). Curt Anderson and Come Wind opened for them as well, rounding out a night of great music. To top it off, the concert had a great turnout of area youth and HOH fans. Best night ever!

Columbus Concert Weekend

Waaay back in May, Jake and I traveled to Columbus, OH to see each of our favorite bands play a show together: House of Heroes and Five Iron Frenzy. I hadn't seen HOH in years, and this was my first time seeing FIF. Both were so fun! The crowd was a little older because of the bands, which was enjoyable as well. It was neat to see entire families with little kids in noise-canceling headphones enjoying the concert along with mom and dad.

We decided to make a weekend out of the concert and hit some of our favorite places in Columbus the next day. Breakfast at North Market (best waffles EVER), lunch at North Star, ice cream at Jeni's, and dinner at Basil. We did some shopping as well; our favorite by far was Tiger Tree. Can't wait to go back soon!