It’s been a bit since I’ve written anything. Really no excuse. Mea culpa, y’all.
So what’s everyone been up to? Had a good summer? Mine’s been fun. Beaches. Mountains. Airplanes. A few cheeseboards. A couple of shows. Quality time with friends. Three photos that capture the madness below. Can’t believe summer is over already. My favorite season quietly making its way out the door…
Grace Potter at The Windjammer, Isle of Palms, SC May 2022The End of America (TEOA), Mile of Music, Appleton, WI August 2022Stole a Talbott hat
Of course, there have also been playlists, which I’ve definitely been slacking on posting here. I pushed August out last week and it’s probably my favorite of the year – featuring my favorite new-to-me band from Mile of Music, The End of America; “Clumsy,” the new single from Quiet Hounds that I’ve been chomping at the bit to be released; the latest catchy-as-hell track from The Brevet, “Feels Like”; plus new Will Hoge, new Butch Walker, new Mo Lowda and the Humble, and sooo many more. Give it a follow if you’re so inclined.
And if you missed anything because I didn’t post it, you can find them at the links below.
You probably didn’t notice, but I missed a Summer Mix. Kind of weird for mess since summer is my favorite season, and usually makes for my best mixes.
I’m not going to lie to you, friends. I haven’t felt like myself for the past few months and I just haven’t felt inspired to make a Krissie Mix. So this one is long overdue, and I’m REALLY happy it’s finally done.
Fair warning: it’s a titch schizophrenic. There’s a lot of old friends on this edition, and maybe a few new finds for some of you. It might be a little too mellow for some folks’ tastes – so apologies if it’s not your bag.
As usual, if you really dig something, please support the artist by purchasing an album, a ticket to a live show, or some merch.
And of course, if you have pressing thoughts on ANY of the tracks, tell me whatcha think in the comments.
P.S. The above playlist is showing two songs that are no longer available on Spotify that I removed from the playlist, but I can’t get them to not show above, so sorry about that!
Honestly, the two things have nothing to do with one another.
I woke up at 3 AM and can’t fall back to sleep. It’s 6:10 AM and pitch black outside. Summer is coming to an end and I hate it.
So what does one do when one can’t sleep? Clean out the email inbox that has been stacking up for months with promotional junk. Buy tickets to a few upcoming shows. And listen to the new Grace Potter song on repeat.
Have you heard it yet? If not, you’re missing out. Just watch.
Grace has been on a promotional tour this week to talk about her upcoming new record, Daylight. Read this. And watch this. She was thinking about no longer making music.
That actually makes my heart hurt.
The first time I saw Grace, I was coerced into it. I was visiting at home in NJ and Will Hoge happened to be playing this festival. My friend Pete was going and bribed me with access to a “members only” area where you could meet and greet with the artists.Pete said he’d get me into the meet and greet area, but that I had to stay the rest of the day to see Grace Potter play. I had no idea who she was, and I REALLY wasn’t interested. But I REALLY wanted to say hi to Will. So I agreed.
And she FLOORED me.
I became Grace-obsessed. Her album, This is Somewhere, came out like a month later, and I played it for everyone and anyone who would listen. She came to Charlotte and played the Visulite to maybe 100 people, and I was a complete fan girl, front row, staring up at her and taking pictures on an actual camera.
A friend and I drove to Greenville once to see her. Grace came out on stage and looked like and angel, wearing this white dress and these chunky sandals with heels. And she said something like she’d been on a bus all day and hadn’t showered and she just needed to put-on a dress to feel like a girl. My friend and I belted out songs at the top our lungs that night…I was so happy.
Almost three years to the day after I first saw her, on the day my Mom told me she had cancer, I drove to Isle of Palms to see Grace play at The Windjammer. It was July. I remember being in that venue and dripping with sweat – July humidity in coastal South Carolina is no joke – and being so emotional about Mom, feeling every note that Grace sang. That night will live with me forever.
There are probably a dozen more Grace memories I could write about…For 12 years now, that woman’s music has been part of the soundtrack of my life.
I cannot imagine my world without her music.
Thanks for coming back, Grace. It’s so good to hear you sing.
Has it seriously been more than four months since I made a blog post? A third of a year? Yes. I’m ashamed of myself… I’m busy as hell with the new job (did I mention I got a promotion?), but that’s no excuse for going MONTHS without posting.
Ugh. I’m tired. you guys. I need some down time.
The good news is, I have a new Mix for you. It’s longer than usual…since I have gone all digital, I decided to hell with length, and just did whatever felt right. This feels right. 27 songs – 3 of which are not available on Spotify (but you can probably find a bonus if you look hard enough). You can get the liner notes here. The best notes I’ve written in awhile, I think – because I didn’t have to limit myself to two pages!
So have a listen. Do me a favor and follow the playlist on Spotify. Trying to figure out how many listeners I’ve lost since going to Spotify. And as always, let me know what you think – what your favorites are, what you don’t like, etc. That’s my favorite part.
As always, please support these artists. I’ve included links to their web pages in my notes. Buy their music. Go see a live show. Buy some merch. Invest in vinyl. You know the drill.
Confession: An old high school boyfriend had to bribe me to see Grace Potter. If you know me now, this should make you laugh, because I may be Grace’s biggest fan… so indulge me for a minute while I tell the story.
It was 2007 and I was headed home to New Jersey for what seemed like the umpteenth time that year – and the trip happened to coincide with WXPN’s Xponential Music Festival, where my beloved Will Hoge was playing. I had recently reconnected with my high school boyfriend Pete over a shared love of music. He was also heading to XPN and had some passes to get into the autograph signing/artist area. He said, “Hey, I’ve got these passes, you can go see Will…but you have to stay to see the headliner Grace Potter.”
Now, let me explain. I am not the biggest fan of female singers. I wish I could explain why, but I guess I just prefer male voices. But for Will Hoge, I would endure just about anything, so I agreed to stay.
[Aside #1: Clearly, now I think that Will and Grace should make little rock n’ roll song babies together… not actual children, you understand, but music… a duet with the two of them could possibly cause me to have a heart attack. I once made a mix CD for someone who didn’t know either of them called “Will & Grace.” I’m clever. I know.]
And when Grace and her little band of Nocturnals took the stage, it took one song for me to get it, and probably three songs for me to fall in love. Soul. Energy. Sass. And my God, her freaking voice. She had it all. I refused to acknowledge it to Pete since I’d been so obstinate about it, but a few weeks later when her breakout album This is Somewhere was released, I immediately bought it and became Grace’s biggest advocate. I told EVERYONE about her. I’m lucky, I caught on at just the right time, as she and the Nocturnals were on their way up. I got to see her at small venues with 50 people there [Aside #2: Some of the best concert photos I’ve ever taken have been of Grace. I suck as a photographer, but these are good.] …now, of course, she sells out 1000+ attendance venues. I’ve probably said this a million times since that night, but I’ll say it once more. I have never wanted to be someone else in my whole life, but I would love to trade shoes with Grace for just one day (and damn, her shoes…how does she rock those 5-inch heels on stage for hours?).
Tonight, I will attend my ninth GPN show. I will sing along. I will dance. I will envy her shoes. And I will love every single minute of it.
[Aside #3: Rumor has it Grace has been covering Bruce on this tour. You should all know that if she does cover him tonight, I will go completely apeshit.]
So, in honor of the show, this week’s Earworm is the first Grace song that I ever loved, “Big White Gate.” It’s still my favorite. I think it’s because it’s about loving music. I kind of know how that feels. Watch this video. Listen to her introduction.
Finally, here’s my long overdue thank you to that old, high school boyfriend: Thanks, Pete Calabrese. You gave me the gift of Grace. You will never know how much that means.
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