PHOTO DESCRIPTION: This is a photo collage with a blue background. It reads "Summer Vacation" in large letters at the top. There are graphics of a sun, a suitcase, trees, and a cabin in each of the corners. The left photo is of a red dilapidated building with a sign that reads "Side Track Bar". The caption below this photo explains: "I took exactly one photo on our trip, of this abandoned bar... Which is why I'd be terrible at scrapbooking!" The right photo is of our grey bunny sitting by a patio window. The caption reads: "My parents checked in on their Grand-Bun twice a day while we were gone. They sent me this picture of Merlyn smelling the sweet summer air through the screen window."

Summer Update from Gaelynn Lea

Greetings! I hope this message finds you healthy and safe and enjoying the warmth of the summer sun! Yesterday Paul and I got back from our first vacation since March 2020 - it was really nice to venture out of Duluth for a little while! We stayed in a one-room cabin in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan, among the pines on the other shore of Lake Superior. We spent two full days bopping around Houghton, Michigan and in the evenings we passed the time cooking, reading, and journaling. I especially loved the 4-hour drive, because oddly the drives are one of the things I've missed most about touring... America has so much natural beauty to take in, even through the windshield of a moving vehicle! Paul got some fishing in on the way home at Gogebic Lake State Park, which was really pretty as well! Haha, I should have taken some more pictures, but I am simply not a photo snapper... The "postcard" above will have to do! ;) Are YOU taking any trips this summer? Or are you doing the stay-cation adventure? Or perhaps you're more of the gardening, knitting, grilling at home type? Whatever you fancy, I hope summer brings you lots of fun and relaxation!

RELAX TO SOME REPLAYS OF SUNDAY SESSIONS!

Tune in for "Sunday Sessions" with Oakland's Blues Legend-in-the-Making, Fantastic Negrito!

As per usual, I will be doing another Sunday Session this weekend - and this one's gonna be pretty special! I am incredibly excited to announce that my guest on Sunday, June 13th is the first-ever winner of NPRR Music's Tiny Desk Contest (and he's since gone on to be a 3-time Grammy winner), Fantastic Negrito! He'll be sharing some of his music videos and then we'll chat about his career and thoughts on life in between... I hope you can join us, because this will be a real treat! Here's the link to tune in this Sunday. I plan to continue Sunday Sessions through 2021, and I'll determine whether or not these shows will keep going a little closer to the New Year. I REALLY enjoy making them, it's just all about sustainability at this point... So if you enjoy these shows, please tell your friends, family & colleagues about them! Your tips and Patreon contributions are helping me to cover closed captioning and payment to my guest artist each week! And although I am not planning to tour again until the rough draft of my book is done, I do have my first in-person gig confirmed for August 25th at the Glensheen Mansion grounds in Duluth, Minnesota. This will be a FREE show, so come enjoy some tunes by yours truly and the gorgeous view! I'll have details here as they become available!

SEE ALL MY UPCOMING EVENTS!

Join Us This Weekend for the Second Sunday Patreon Zoom: Chatting about Creativity!

Once a month, I host a gathering exclusively for the members of my Patreon Team. It's called "Second Sunday Patreon Zoom" and the next one is happening on June 13th at 3:15pm Central Time (1:15 Pacific, 4:15 Eastern, and 9:15 in the UK). It has turned into a really special gathering - like a coffee house chat among friends or a book club discussion without the book. This month we'll be talking about creativity, and it should be a lot of fun! We'll be basing our chat on these questions - but of course we can bounce around this list as we see fit: What is creativity to you? Do you consider yourself to be creative? Why or why not? Do you create for yourself or to share with others? How do you usually get your "creative juices" flowing? Do you ever do something special to prepare for expressing your creativity?  How do you think one can expand one's creative mind and abilities? Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work, practicing with diligent repetition? Or is it more like letting your mind flow freely to witness the surprising results of your actions? What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your creative endeavors?  What is the best advice about creativity that you have been given? What part of you do you share in your creative endeavors? Do you ever feel that you have to censor your creativity because you don't want to offend anyone? What was the biggest opposing force or block that you encountered on your creative journey? Were you able to move through this barrier successfully? If so, how did you do it? Can you see your finished product before you start it? I hope to see some familiar faces from my Patreon Team there this Sunday! If this sounds fun to you and you're not yet a member of my Patreon Team, please consider joining up and coming to the chat... It's a really wonderful group!

JOIN MY PATREON TEAM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MONTHLY ZOOM!

That's all for now, Friends! If YOU have any summer updates for ME, please hit "reply" and let me know... I really enjoy hearing from you folks! Enjoy the summer while it lasts, take good care, and keep in touch!  Love, Gaelynn Lea

PRESS@GAELYNNLEA.COM OR VISIT VIOLINSCRATCHES.COM