It's the time of year when reflection is nigh and hopefully regrets are few. Although there is always room for growth of all varieties, we had a wonderful year here at Tumbledown Headquarters and 2019 already looks to have UPPER LEVEL SHENANIGANS in store (and you're invited!). But first some reflection:
As has been our custom, January has been a great month for downtime and cheap travel for us, a great combo that invigorates our creative juices, and 2018 was no different. Tyler traipsed all around India and Gillian, newly married, honeymooned in China and Indonesia. This coming January has Tyler swooping off to Morocco and beyond, and Gillian is grateful to have free time to see some girlfriends and accompany her folks in Denver for her dad's upcoming surgery. Perhaps a quick jaunt somewhere is in store afterwards. February found us in Arizona for two fabulous shows: The Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale and The Elks Theater in our old stomping grounds, Prescott. How good it was to be back among the amazing friends we found there! It's such a magical place full of wonderful people and we hope to return again and again. By March, we were on the road with friends and bandmates, John Brothers Piano Company for a tour through northern Cali and up to Eugene, Oregon and Portland. We then jumped on a plane and played some Montana shows! The Ellen Theatre in Bozeman is a special time with our original supporters (we love you!) and of course we couldn't play Great Falls, Montana without a trip to see the mermaids. April, May, and June were a blur of local events including a very intimate, special wedding show for friends, another quick trip to Montana for a private soiree, and tons of planning and work on our other local artistic endeavors, including a live music stage Tyler and Gillian help run at a local music festival. July found us playing for fantastic audiences in Vegas and Reno (we love how seriously Reno is taking THE ARTS. If you thought you knew Reno and didn't like it, try it again; there is VERY cool stuff happening there these days), And then on to Alaska for our TENTH TOUR up there (Salmonfest!) complete with a full Bay Area band. It was a riot. It had been a few years since our last tour up there and it was SO good to see our wonderful friends again. Man, the people we have met through music...we are beyond blessed.
When autumn hit, it was our intense music conference season, and we found ourselves lanyard-clad and performing for music industry people from all over the globe, showcasing and attending Western Arts Alliance (LV, NV), South Arts Exchange (Orlando, FL), Arts Northwest (Eugene, OR), and Folk Alliance FAR-WEST (LA). This is always both exhausting and inspiring, but ultimately it's great confirmation that we are members of a beautiful community. Conferences can open doors we didn't know existed, and it's also great talking shop with other musicians and seeing the varied talent out there. That pulled us into the winter and much communication over the events of 2019! We have surprises in store that need finalizing but we can go ahead and encourage you to take a Valentine's Day trip to the Yucatán, 'cuz Tumbledown House is playing the Full Moon Jazz Festival in Merida, Mexico, baby! We are so excited to party it up on February 16th and hope all of you consider making a little trip south of the border to party down in the beautiful Yucatán. Stay tuned for more exciting tidbits as we roll into a new year. In the meantime, we hope you are all safe, healthy, happy, and finding much inspiration and satisfaction from the world of music around you.
Happy holidays, friends.
-Tumbledown House
"If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week." --Charles Darwin