Hello all!
I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! Mine was quiet and wonderful, spent with some of the people I love most. Makes for a pretty perfect day.
Hey, I wanted to let you know that right now (almost) everything is on sale over at my store! Albums and mason jars are many percents off! (I know there's something grammatically wrong with that sentence, but in the real world... that's probably how I would have said it...)
If you're looking for a unique gift for someone or even for yourself this Christmas, go check out the store: BJeanMusic.com/store!
I have a few Christmas shows coming up in Chelan, Bonners Ferry, and Twisp--so keep an eye on my schedule if you're interested in those!
(A couple of them haven't been posted just yet!)
I'd love to see you!
I'm looking forward to this season.
It is, after all... the most wonderful time of the year!
All the love, Brittany
Spokane Public Radio
Hello again!
Just a quick note to let you know I'll be at the Spokane Fall Folk Festival today (which is super exciting)--playing the Underground Stage at 4 PM!
Here's a map if you want to come by!
But I also wanted to let you know, I'm going to be singing a few songs LIVE on Spokane Public Radio (KPBX-FM 91.1) around 11:25 this morning if you wanna tune in!
Or you can listen online here: https://tektite.streamguys1.com:5012/KPBX-mp3
All the love, Brittany
"Wilderness For Heart" Music Video
This song is for the wild at heart.
And this video is completely all thanks to Grant Walker.
He had this vision for "Wilderness For Heart", and I'm so grateful he was willing to pour his own heart into this project.
We went on quite the adventures to get every piece of this video--exploring places I never would've known were there. Exploring the wilderness... I loved seeing so much more of Washington--what an exquisitely beautiful, rugged, wild part of the country...
I can't wait to hear what you all think!
If you enjoy it, please do pass it on and share it with fellow wanderers!
All the love,
Brittany
November 1
This Thursday, something new is coming your way, and there's the sneakiest of sneaky sneak peeks over on my Facebook Page!
Stay tuned!
All the love,
Brittany
A Different Kind of Post
I have never in my life read a book so slowly for fear of reaching the last page.
Growing up, my dad read to me and my siblings every night. Together, we explored such worlds as Middle Earth, Narnia, Prydain, the Wild Wood, and so many other wonderful places. And I’ve loved them for as long as I can remember.
My sister started writing “King’s Warrior” when I was nine (though it had a different name then), so I’ve known these characters of hers for a long time. Throughout the years, they’ve been good friends of mine. It all started with a summer challenge where my sister was writing ten pages a night for my dad to read aloud to the rest of us. Before a family trip to Minnesota, she wrote many pages ahead so we’d have enough to read every night. Several of those nights, my whole family went down to Trout Lake with a flashlight, and we were all lying on the dock looking up at the stars (in the clearest skies known to man) while my dad read to the very end of Jenelle’s first book.
Fast forward to now...
“Minstrel’s Call” is the culmination of her series The Minstrel’s Song--the culmination of many years and so much work and heart, and the end of this book had me in all-out, ugly-cry tears, my friends. I hated to see this story come to an end, but
what an end.
I’m a mess.
Now that may sound silly to some, but if you know what it is to love a good story, I’m sure you understand.
I’m beyond biased because the author is my wonderful, beautiful, plot-wizard sister, but…
I can’t recommend this series enough. If you are looking for an adventure and new characters to love, pick up “King’s Warrior” and step out onto the road.
Oh, and keep an eye on the Minstrel…
Jenelle, thank you for writing my favorite books.
(I mean it. Thank you.)
There is much to be learned from such tales.
Check out Jenelle's books here!
All the love,
Brittany
Odds & Ends
Hello fellow wanderers!
I wanted to let you know about a couple upcoming dates!
This week:
September 20: Layla’s Grand Opening in Chelan, WA @ 7 PM
September 22: Wenatchee River Salmon Festival in Leavenworth, WA @ 3 PM
(For more details: bjeanmusic.com/tour)
And then in October it's on to North Carolina and Tennessee for the Ol' Front Porch Festival, a couple house concerts, and... secrets too secret to tell.
In other news, I had so much fun at the Okanogan County Fair a couple weekends ago. This fair's night lights inspired a song of mine a couple years back, and it was wonderful to get closer than Highway 97.
As always, the people I met were lovely, and it was great to see some familiar faces!
Oh, and... I also faced a fear of mine at the fair...
I've always been a bit anxious about the prospect of singing the National Anthem.
I've always had this fear that if I was asked to sing the Star Spangled Banner, it would end up being the kind of wreck that could haunt me forever.
If you mess up the National Anthem... everyone knows. And they will remember. Probably forever. Or at least, if they ever see you again... they will remember you then. For that.
This is what I was thinking when Tracey asked me if I'd be willing to sing the National Anthem before the rodeo on Saturday night. However, I said "yes", nervous as I was.
Because it is an honor to sing the National Anthem.
So Saturday came around, and between singing at the Wenatchee Farmers' Market and singing at the fair, I ran through the anthem over and over in my head, hoping the memory games I often experience with "City of New Orleans" wouldn't play into this important, one-minute-twenty-second song. Oh, and the Canadian anthem as well. That's right. One fear multiplied by two. I was singing not one but two national anthems. Thus increasing the odds of my nightmares coming true.
However, confidence is key, my friends.
So, I told myself I had this, and we went to the fair.
Well, upon arriving, one of the first questions I was asked was if I'd be willing to sing the National Anthem on the back of a 2,400 lb steer.
...
I was assured that the steer was gentle and sweet and that people did this and sang from their backs all the time--as well as standing on them like platforms.
I have never thought of myself as a "city girl", but... I guess that's what I am.
Because I said no.
Since then, I believe I missed an opportunity to be about as American as a person can possibly be...
Ah well.
Anywho, the time came to sing the anthems, and goodness gracious, it didn't help that the announcer (who was fantastic, by the way) introduced me by telling the crowd to get ready to hear the greatest version of the National Anthem they'd ever heard... No pressure.
After I sang and as Tracey gave me a ride around to the front of the arena, I asked her if I sang all the right words, and I was relieved when she said that I had.
That was truly all I was worried about.
I enjoyed talking to her, her husband, and her daughter--what fantastic people, and they made me feel very welcome at my first rodeo. (Yep, that was my first rodeo.)
Oh, one more thing...
My mom told me the next day that she filmed me singing the National Anthem, but that when she watched it, she realized she'd been singing along. She told me she was sorry for that (because she thought she'd ruined her recording of the performance), but... I couldn't be happier about it. I'm so glad she sang with me. She had not a thing to be sorry for.
The next time you're asked to stand and join in singing the National Anthem, I encourage you to sing. Sing the anthem out.
Fear: Conquered ✓
All the love,
Brittany