Exploratory Tour Pt. 1 — Pittsburgh

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

The last week of October I spent traveling up north to Pittsburgh and NYC on what I like to think of as an exploratory tour. It was a chance to meet some new people, play some tunes and visit some lovely friends. 

So I stuffed my camera bag, a pair of black high heels I’d never tried to wear before, a handful of clothes, a Baby Taylor, 2 books, 1 journal and a plethora of pens into my duffel before hopping on the bus at 3:20am bound for D.C. (a BIG SHOUTOUT to my brother-in-law Philip for driving me downtown at 3am on his Saturday morning). 

Dowell women code of conduct requires updates on one’s status when traveling (especially alone) which I like to accompany with selfies to remind my loves of what they’re missing while I’m away. Selfies were dutifully taken at the Durham bus stop, D.C, Pittsburgh, and JFK Airport.

Fortunately, the buses were fairly empty giving me and my little guitar plenty of room to spread out. I caught up on some albums and spent a lot of time daydreaming and scheming about recording a few advent songs. 

Landing on the streets of Pittsburgh, my always delightfully magical childhood friend Hannah scooped me up.

I was introduced to Matilda, Hannah’s praying mantis friend. Hannah spent much time fussing over Matilda’s hydration and food needs— making sure Matilda was given fresh and various food options. After feasting at Cafe 33, a local Taiwanese bistro Matilda, Hannah and I spent time laying on the apartment floor chatting with Hannah’s husband— helping ourselves ample leftovers. While we had very little time just between the two of us we managed to serenade each other multiple times, make a fresh curry concoction, drink wine and tea, explore the hallways and garage for stray creepy crawlies for Matilda’s dinner, walk out into the rainy night to find a little treasure Hannah had hidden in the woods behind her apartment AND raid a library book sale (we left with two full stacks and it was glorious). 

I had the pleasure of playing the most wonderful house show at OWL Hollow, an artistic living community of some truly talented and hospitable people. A fire was going all night long to warm those sitting under the stars while the rest of us huddled into a cozy living room/kitchen to hear some good music. I was happy to be one of four artist performing that night (I always prefer full bills with lots of sounds mingling). 

So my precious friend Hannah opened up the night as Chickadee singing some truly wondrous songs. She was backed up by multiple folks from The Hills and The Rivers, a street folk family band, making some fantastic, alluring music (find them at thehillsandtherivers.com and check out their new album on bandcamp here). One of the most important things Hannah has taught me is how to feel the world around me as thick and full of things to see, notice, wonder, ponder, celebrate, draw, sing about, dance around, climb up, etc. etc. She is a person who looks to see not just what’s in front of her but what’s growing under her feet, what’s flying by and what is mysteriously coming to her inner child and jaded adult spirit… and how it all swirls together. I have never spent time with my dear friend without feeling truly inspired by her way of being in the world. I really don’t know how to describe the depths and breadth of Hannah’s writing (I am such a fangirl of hers) but I can describe her melodies as whimsical, meandering and pleasingly melodic without being boring or predictable. 

So these songs filled the room, along with twinkle lights and the smells of good food and drink, right before I began. I was grateful to find a warm and welcoming listening room for my set. I played through my full album and was given many words of encouragement during and after. I have always felt intimidated by the expectation to talk in-between songs, in response to which I have crafted two commitments: become more comfortable with the silence/go with what’s intuitive for me and my music AND keep practicing speaking honestly and vulnerably. I was grateful for another opportunity to give it a shot.

It is a true delight of my life to meet other types of artists and I found them here in abundance. WeirdsoftDarkyear (AKA Weird Year, AKA Soft Dark) performed next and took our collective breath away. Her multi-media performance incorporated spoken word, electronic magic and singer-songwriter folky guitar stuff. Her voice was soft and delicate with these emphatic musical, vocal and electronic moments that gave me goosebumps.  Find her here and check out her albums, specifically find links for her music— past and present— here. 

Another special shout-out to James Bristol, the Bassist from Hills and Rivers, for putting this show together and shamelessly passing and re-passing the tip hat around so that I was able to pay myself back for the bus ride up. Along with his musical abilities, James is a talented artist in multiple mediums (follow him here) and OWL Hollow has the marks of his artistic magic all over it. 

Time in Pittsburgh with new and old friends was the best way to usher in Fall season and my new album Open Spaces.  Having time with the folks in Pittsburgh gave me some energy to keep trying and to take time to delight in the present work. 

Until soon, 

Remona Jeannine