Better Late...

In the year of 2016...

We released an album!
We? Yes--we! We did that together!
I couldn't have done it without you!
"Leavin' Home" was an absolute joy to create. A dream of mine come true. Thank you for loving these songs, for it only makes me want to write more for you.

Started Branching Out...
Singing a little further from from home meant I got to start meeting more of you! And that remains... my favorite thing. You all are so wonderful.
Did you know that? It's true. 
I've loved getting to know you guys.

The Bates Ford Talent Search
In Lebanon, TN, I had the incredible opportunity to sing with the Grand Ole Opry Houseband live on the radio! Twice! WSM Radio: The Most Famed Country Music Station In The World! 

The Gulf Coast Songwriter Shootout
In Orange Beach, AL, I had another incredible opportunity. I've never shared a stage with so many other songwriters before! This was a great experience. There are so many talented people out there!

We Started Recording Album 3!

Adventure...
While recording in Nashville, I was surprised to find out "Adventure" was nominated for an Independent Music Award for Bluegrass Song of the Year! That was unexpected! If you'd like to listen to the song that won, click here!

Concerts...
In November, I put on three concerts. Real concerts! In theaters. With tickets. Lights. Sound. Even an extraordinary guest artist! And so many of you came! Thank you!!

You.
That is what this post comes to. You all.

2016 was a fantastic year, and that is thanks to you. Thank you all for your support, enthusiasm, and undying encouragement this past year. I can't tell you what it means to me. What you mean to me. I am incredibly lucky to have you, and I am very thankful for you. 

Thank you to the people behind the scenes who have worked so hard. I see you, and I couldn't have done this past year without you: my manager, Leslee, the volunteers and biggest fans who selflessly jumped in to help when they saw an opportunity, my family...

Thank you for a beyond-my-imagination kind of year. I'm excited to see what this year holds, and I'm excited to make more music and sing my songs for you.

All the love, 
Brittany

Brick by Brick

You guys...

Last weekend, I got to put on a concert.
Of my own.
In a gorgeous theater.
With tickets and lights and a (great) guy running sound.

I had so... much... fun. Thank you to everyone who came out!

This has been a dream for a long, long time... And now? I get to it again on Saturday. Have any idea how excited I am?

I’ll be singing at The Merc Playhouse theater in Twisp
on November 12 starting at 5 PM.

Tickets are $20 ($10 for 18 and under), and you can get your tickets in advance right here: bjeanmusic.com/tickets/the-merc

I can’t wait.

If you can make it, I’d love to see you!
And if you know anyone who might be interested...
Please do pass this invitation along!

-Brittany Jean

Concert Tonight!

Concert at the Snowy Owl Theater in Leavenworth, WA
November 5, 2016
5:00-7:00 PM

I've been looking forward to today for so long! 

Tonight kicks off the beginning of my mini-tour!!
This will be a very new experience, and I'm looking forward to seeing how everything goes and works! Hopefully I don't trip. Or drop something. Or... oh, boy.

Okay, I got this.

If you live in the area and can't make it to the concert tonight, I'll be singing in Twisp, Chelan, and Wenatchee soon! Check out the schedule here!

I hope to see you!


-Brittany Jean

Unexpected Adventure

For one hour, I disappear
Curled up in a rocking chair
Turning pages in musty air
'Cause it's there don't you feel it...
Adventure!

I found out this week that my song 'Adventure' was nominated in the 15th Annual Independent Music Awards for the Bluegrass Song category! What?!

I've known about the IMAs for quite some time, and it was fun to be surprised with this! The winners in all categories will be announced on November 12th from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City! What?!

I have a concert in Twisp that night (ah, I'm so excited about these concerts!!), so I'll have to hear the results after... but...

Wouldn't it be something... 
Crazy how life works sometimes.
We'll see what happens.

-Brittany

Snowy Owl Concert

Back in September, I had the chance to sing in the Snowy Owl Theater for the first time. What a lovely... lovely theater. In a beautiful location. And the acoustics... oh, man. I was only there for a couple hours, but I kind of fell in love with the place. It's tucked away in the woods and mountains that make up Leavenworth, and I felt like I'd stepped into one of my dreamlands.

So... you can imagine how thrilled I am about putting on a concert of my own there!

This is my invitation to all of you.

I would love for you to join me for an evening of original music and stories (just might include a preview of what I've been working on this week... I could be persuaded) and classic songs from my favorite artists and songwriters (John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, Judy Collins...).

Concert at the Snowy Owl Theater in Leavenworth, WA
November 5, 2016
5:00-7:00 PM

If you want to come or know people who might be interested, you can get your tickets here! Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for everyone 18 and under.
All proceeds will go to long-term wildfire recovery efforts.

I hope you guys can make it!!

I know I say this a lot... but...
I am so excited.

-Brittany Jean

Journal Entry

Saturday, June 25:

This was a good day.
My parents and I had a long day of traveling on Thursday because of a six hour flight delay--we didn't get to our hotel in Nashville until 5 AM on Friday morning... Not exactly how we planned it, but at least it was Friday morning and not this morning.
Hey, we made it. That's what matters, right?

Everything about this round of the Bates Ford Talent Search was similar to the first round four weeks ago except for the fact that we each got to sing two songs (an original and another country classic from their list). The other eleven contestants and I had a rehearsal in the morning--with the same band members as before except for one, and it was an incredible feeling running through "The County Fair" with a group of Grand Ole Opry regulars...! What an honor that was. "The County Fair" had never been performed live with a full band before, and... now I need a band to travel with me so that isn't such a rare occasion.

It seemed like there were more nerves across the board for all of us this time. This was our final chance at this huge opportunity of opening for Darryl Worley or the Oak Ridge Boys, and every single one of us wanted to earn one of those spots.

Oddly enough, I wasn't nervous. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but I felt ready and excited to get to sing on that stage again--knowing the show would be broadcast live on the "Most Famed Country Music Station in the World" (and that friends and family across the country would be listening)! Wow. The reason I point this out... When I was younger I would have been a nervous wreck in this situation. Maybe I would have been so anxious I wouldn't be able to enjoy it at all. Maybe I would've run. There are some people in my life who only remember me this way, and they don't get the 180 degree turn or how I could love it so much today. Which is fine, but all this to say... how the tables turn.

I went into this day confidently.

The actual performance went great, and everyone did great. I went second to last this time, and I got to sing "Always on My Mind" along with my "County Fair". At the end of the show, when they announced who would be opening the upcoming concerts in July and then in August, my name was not called.

When we got back to the hotel awhile later, I was greeted by quite a few messages and texts from people who had listened in... And it meant so much. I had been singing to more people than I knew, and they had all been there for me today. They were pulling for me, and that meant the world to "come home to".

At the end of one of these messages were the words: 
"Congratulations. You won."

That's how it felt. Just being a part of this event was reward enough. There were so many positives from making both of these trips to Lebanon, TN, and I'm so glad I got the chance.

Before the show, one of the other singers, Chazz Wesley, was telling me and my parents about his regular gig at a place called John A's over by the Opryland Hotel, and that he'd be singing there tonight. He mentioned that if I was ever in area, I'd be welcome to come sing with his band. I asked him if he was serious because, well... I was in town tonight! He said he was, so around 8 o'clock, we drove over to the place that's practically a stone's throw away from the Grand Ole Opry itself (maybe a little further than a stone's throw, but after driving back and forth across the country several times in the recent past... my distance estimation gauge is a bit off).

It was so much fun, and I think I shocked my parents with the way I took Chazz up on the offer. I told them both afterwards (oh, I'm so glad they both could come to Tennessee with me...) that if I ever have a chance to do something like that for another singer, I hoped to recognize it and do it. It was so kind of him to give me his stage and his band for a couple of songs... I won't forget it.

All in all...
It was a great trip.

-Brittany