It's been quite awhile since I have written a newsletter, and for that I apologize... It's been a busy several months of touring! However, I haven't forgotten about you and I am excited to finally be sending an update! But first, I hope you had a wonderful Fall and I wish you a wonderful Holiday Season as well! May you have some time to rest and reflect, and to enjoy the company of family & friends!
HOLIDAY TOUR: CZECH REPUBLIC, UK & IRELAND!

Paul & I have been doing a lot of traveling the last few months, and December has been no exception... In fact, I am writing this newsletter from Manchester, England as a part of an overseas Holiday Tour!  My husband Paul, my guitarist Dave Mehling  and I started the tour off with 5 fun days in beautiful Prague, where I practiced for and then performed with an awesome band called The Tap Tap for a very special  St. Nicholas Day concert.  

The Tap Tap is a group founded and conducted by Simon Ornest and is comprised of mostly musicians with disabilities. They play fabulous music and also are outspoken advocates for disability rights in the Czech Republic. I played with them at Mikulasska last year, and it was great to be back and to get to know the band members better. One of the coolest parts of this trip is that my parents were able to come along for their first trip abroad... It was so fun to spend some time with them in another part of the world!


This year we had a little more time to spend in Prague so we got to rehearse more, do some sightseeing, and even attend the opera! The trip concluded with a very fun and festive concert. I played three songs with the band - two of them were arrangements of my songs, and the third song was a new piece called "Two Roads" arranged by Ntech specifically for this event... It was so much fun! Here is a video of the new piece from the show:


After that Paul, Dave & I are flew to the UK to continue our holiday tour. The three of us traveled here together in August for a brief run of shows, so it's neat to be back so soon. It is really fun to play with Dave, and the UK is such a welcoming place. One of the many highlights of the August trip was performing in Green Man Festival in Wales. 

So far on this tour we have played some wonderful shows in London, Bristol, Oxford, and Dartington... I feel incredibly lucky to have such creative and dedicated venues & music lovers supporting us on this journey. We have two shows left before we head home - one in Manchester, England and one in Dublin, Ireland... I would absolutely love to see you at a show if you are in the area! 

REMAINING UK / IRELAND HOLIDAY TOUR DATES

 * 11 December at Gullivers in Manchester - Get Tickets
 
* 13 December at Workman's Club in Dublin - Get Tickets
 

NEW MUSIC IS OUT NOW ON VINYL AND ONLINE!

I will definitely update you more on this soon, but I just wanted to let you know that I recently released two new tracks as a preview of my new album with the full band. Every time we've been home I have been chipping away on this project, which is due out in Fall 2018. But since that's such a long ways off I decided to release a couple tracks early, both online for download & on a limited-edition 7" vinyl called " All Changing Tides".  


I have never released anything on vinyl before, and there was a lot to learn (haha, like order them really early or they might just be late)! But nonetheless it was a fun way to raise awareness & financial support for the new album. I only pressed 500 copies of the 7", and once they're gone, they're gone! You can still purchase a copy at my GoFundMe page, hand-signed by the full band!
ON THE ROAD AGAIN - PAST SHOWS & FUTURE TOURS!

November was a super fun month because I got to play with the full band at three shows in the Midwest. I feel incredibly lucky to be playing with such talented, creative and just plain good humans. I would love too bring the whole band on a tour someday... But until then, these types of Midwest shows are pretty fun occasions! Here's a clip from our show in the Chicago area: 


Most of the band went home after Chicago, but we were able to squish Dave Mehling in the van for an entire tour out to the East Coast! We played 13 shows in just 10 days, and each show was really special. 

One of my favorite moments on this tour happened in New York City when Urban Choir Project joined us on a couple songs at Rockwood Music Hall. I met the choir director, Charlie, on a plane this summer and we ended up chatting about music & this little pipe dream of collaboration was born! One of the best parts of music is the endless possibilities that arise from working together and experimenting. Here is a video from that concert:


I have a couple fun holiday shows in Minnesota this month, and then I will be back in full touring mode this January & February. I haven't announced all the dates yet, but I know we'll be playing states like Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Arizona, California, Kansas & Iowa... so keep your eyes peeled for show announcements!
That's it for now, but I will be writing you again when new updates come along! I hope to see you somewhere on the road... Until then, take good care of yourself, and please keep in touch! Happy Holidays to you and yours!!! 

With Love,
Gaelynn Lea
KEEP IN TOUCH!