Packing My Bags and Locking My Door

Photo by Raymond Meeks

Packing my bags and locking my door to head off to these places! I'd love to see you there.

Oct. 1st: Free concert with The Lower Lights at the Rooftop Concert Series in Provo, UT

Oct. 9th: Private benefit concert in Carslbad, CA, hosted by April Meeker (SO EXCITED!).

Oct. 16th: Acoustic Concert at Jazzy Java in St. George, UT. Details here.

Nov. 5th: Acoustic Concert at Whysound in Logan, UT. Details soon.

Zombie Girl

The surest sign that I am on overload is when my eyes start glassing over and I can't focus on one single thing. So what do I do? I pray that people will be forgiving about those emails I couldn't get to. I allow my house to exist in it's post-whirlwind state. I trust that life will go on without me for a day and I check out. Today's check out activity? Going to thrift stores with my momma. It' our favorite past time.

Adios world.

For the Beauty of the Earth

I know, I know. I just linked to this video in my last post. But I love it so much that I had to post it on here for all to see just one more time. Can't wait to sing this live for you with The Lower Lights on the Rooftop in Provo this Friday. Peace.

Rooftop Concert Series - The Lower Lights

You may have heard me mention The Lower Lights before on this here blog. It's a rather cool project of classic hymns recorded a la "Oh, Brother Where Art Thou" style. I had the great fortune of playing a small part in these very fun recordings. If you come to the Rooftop Concert Series this Friday in Provo, you'll get to hear the debut of this project for FREE. Yup. I said, FREE. Bring your coats, lawn chairs, blankies and chillens because this will be SO MUCH FUN. The concert starts at 8:00 and is located on top of the parking structure at 100 N. & 100 W. in downtown Provo.

To see some really beautiful footage of The Lower Lights (shot by Jed Wells, himself), visit their website, here: www.thelowerlights.com

Post-edit: Just noticed that CJane posted a video of some of us in the Lower Lights singing a live version of "For the Beauty of the Earth." CJane knows how to rock the tambo. Check it out here: www.cjanerun.com

Cedar City!

Photo by Holly Coombs

So, I did my first show ever in Cedar City last Saturday and it was awesome. First of all, I got to share the stage with Stuart Maxfield and open for his band, Fictionist which always makes my day. Secondly, a very handsome young man by the name of Tommy Ashby came to interview me from SUU. Nice.

SUU pulls through for another interview. Yessss.

And, still another SUU interview with reporter, Holly Coombs. I think they may have gotten sufficient coverage. (Way to show up, SUU!!!).
But the best part? The crowd. Thanks so much for coming. I'm hoping to come back again very soon!Want me to come to your town? Contact Krista Maurer at kristaqm@gmail.com.

Spark! and Touchpoint!

I'm telling you, if you are a woman who enjoys creating art from photography, to collage, to painting, sewing, and even book-binding, then Spark the Event is something you HAVE TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE. The only problem is, when you see it, you will pretty much die and go to heaven anyway. I had the chance to sing and speak at Spark and I loved it so much I wanted to marry it. The women there were so inspiring.

Such a fun audience to spend time with!

Look! It's Rhonna Farrer!

Look! It's Margie Romney Aslett.

And look! It's Liz Kartchner of Dear Lizzy.

All of these lovely photos were shot by Jefra Starr Linn who has many more photos of Spark on her blog: here.

These women amaze me. Fortunately, I get the chance to spend another weekend with awe inspiring women at the Touchpoint Conference hosted by Startup Princess (a foundation for women entrepreneurs). I have attended this conference before and it was so invaluable to me as a woman who owns and operates her own business. If you are a woman in business, I highly recommend it. I'll be singing at the pre-party on September 23 as well! You know what's cool though? On September 16th only, you can pay what you want to get access to both days of the conference. The regular price to attend is $175! This is a crazy deal! So click this link and from midnight to midnight on the 16th, you can just pay what you want to attend. I'll see you there!

Bella's!

So, there's this amazing Mexican restaurant right off of the I-15 in Farr West, UT called Bella's. Seriously amazing. Bella's holds a concert series every summer and because I love the owners and because I love their food, I am proud to be a part of this concert series. Tonight we will be doing a really fun, intimate, acoustic CD release party for Anchor.

So, come and grab some dinner, and then head over to the courtyard at 7:00 to enjoy a concert. Bring your family! Tickets are $10 each, but if you buy 4 or more, then they're only $8 a pop. Call 801.737.0557 to purchase yours. Bella's is located at 2851 N. 1850 W., Farr West, UT. See you there!

Sammy's Cafe Rexburg, TONIGHT!!!

I'm SO STOKED to rock the stage at Sammy's Grand opening tonight!!! This event is going to be amazing and I will definitely not escape the evening without a burger, sweet potato fries and a famous Sammy's shake. Can't wait to see you there!

Behind the Scenes, Part 2: Meet April Meeker (illustrator, jewelry designer, artist)

Meet: April Meeker
(the lovely illustrator behind the Anchor music video!)

First of all, thank you all again SO MUCH for the way you have supported the music video for Anchor! I have been honestly just speechless at how many of you are posting this video to your blogs, Twitter and Facebook pages. As an independent artist, you can't possibly know what that means to me.
One of the aspects of the video that so many of you have been buzzing about is the departure from film half way through into a deliciously visual, imaginary world, illustrated by the very gifted April Meeker. April is not only an incredible illustrator, but designs and crafts jewelry for her company Second Sister Designs as well. You have to see her collections. I'm so very picky when it comes to jewelry, but for me, April's jewelry is right up my alley. I mean, cast your eyes upon this bracelet! And these earrings!!! And if you ever need a visual treat, all you need to do is hop on over to her blog and gaze upon all sorts of visionary delights. In fact, if you happen to be attending SPARK (which I'm speaking and singing at this weekend!), then you probably already know April, who will be teaching and sharing her creative gifts.

Truth be told, I could not have dreamed up a more perfect person to do the illustrations for this music video. A million thanks to April for taking on the challenge. You can read about April's own awesome perspective on working on this project here.

(Below, the technology behind the way Matt Eastin created an imaginary world with April's illustrations. Also, note the collaged hills and clouds in the background, made by my wonderfully artistic niece, Marin Reeve.)

"Anchor" Behind the Scenes Part 1

Thank you all SO MUCH for your very warm responses to the new music video for "Anchor." I had some really amazing people work on the video and I wanted to share some behind-the-scenes photos with you. My director, Matt Eastin, is the handsome gentleman who is in the canoe with me. Aaron Hymes, the other main camera operator with the sweet mustache, is assisted by Russ Mayo in the opposite canoe. These guys are so talented and I loved working with them. In fact, I get to see them often because we happen to have neighboring offices (which is how we first met). Many thanks to them! And if you haven't had a chance to see the video yet, you can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AWRHBHDVlQ
I've noticed that so many of you have copied and pasted the link to your own blogs and FB pages. How can I thank you enough? That really means a lot. Love to you all!

Anchor - Official Music Video

Dear Bloggers,

You are the first to see my new music video for "Anchor." I had so much fun making this video! In fact, I actually produced it. The director, Matt Eastin, is amazing. You may have seen the videos he's done for Joshua James and the Neon Trees. And now, I'm lucky enough to have had him work on one for me. I'll be posting some more on Matt and the others who were involved (can't wait to tell you about April Meeker who did the illustrations!). For now, enjoy.

P.S. If you'd like to share this on your blog or FB, just copy and paste this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AWRHBHDVlQ