• IRELAND | What to know before your trip

    April 30, 2018 - By 

    I’ve been lucky to have experienced this beautiful country several times now, and I’ve compiled the list of things I wish I’d known before my first trip. I also sought the consultation of my dear friend and The Elders lead singer, Mr. Ian Byrne. He had some fun insight and a few points to add. If you’re preparing for your first trip, fear not: the scenery, food, and language are every bit as beautiful as you could imagine! Enjoy!  1. Read up on the history. Learn about the “troubles” and have a base knowledge of the Irish history, particularly the…

  • IRELAND | Keeping Perspective

    April 25, 2018 - By 

    My last posts touched on the importance of staying passionate and keeping a perspective on my role in the world, not just my day-to-day travel life (link here.) This helps me keep moving forward in a globally relevant way, and also keep a clear view of how incredibly lucky I am. I sit pretty high in the world. Perseverance and hard work have a lot to do with it, but there are also many things that I was handed and I think it’s important to acknowledge them. I am vacationing in Ireland at the moment, perched in a recliner overlooking…

  • MADISON | Empower Our Girls

    April 15, 2018 - By 

    In addition to some powerful teaching moments in Madison (link here), the topic of women’s equality presented itself in several ways and caused me to think harder about the topic. This post is a bit of a departure from the travel themes, but it was too important not to share. Life always seems to throw me recurring “themes,” or a topic that repeatedly presents itself and gives me no option of ignoring it. In this case the global conversation about this issue caused me to take note of several examples in my own life and subsequently motivated me to take…

  • MADISON | Slow Down to Stay Passionate

    April 11, 2018 - By 

     We had a short time and busy schedule in Madison, WI, so we resigned to pretending we weren’t actually there. The Moxie Strings fell in love with Madison after performing at the Mad Gael Music Fest the summer before. We found it to be a fun, fit, open-minded community that appreciates art and great brunch. I wish we could say that on this trip we toured the stunning Capitol Building and jogged the expanse of trails, but there just wasn’t the time. We spent most of our time teaching and then retired to our quaint Air BnB outside the city.…

  • NASHVILLE | Locals’ List

    April 7, 2018 - By 

    These aren’t the “Top 10 places to visit in Nashville.” These are the spots the locals love: Fido: My favorite brunch eats. Creative specials daily and refill-yourself coffee. I spend full work-days here! The Station Inn: Center of Nash’s down-home bluegrass scene. You might sit next to a grammy-winner. Lightning 100.1FM: Nashville’s independent radio. Life changed when I discovered this gem! Marche: My other top brunch spot. Great ambience and friendly staff. Musician’s Hall of Fame: I haven’t been, but I’ve heard it’s a fun visit for musicians, specifically. Turnip Truck: Nashville’s local “Whole Foods.” All your organic staples and good…

  • NASHVILLE | Commit and Enjoy

    April 2, 2018 - By 

    Brilliant photographer Sean Fisher and I chose the coldest day of the year for this photo shoot, and to explore the Tennessee beauty outside the city. Sean is a driven and inspirational artist who I’m lucky to call a friend! (www.fisherai.com) He’s also one of my favorite IG follows: @mr.bootstraps The pictures turned out beautifully thanks to Sean, but the story of that particular day is hysterically bad. I woke up at 5am in a fit of stress about the amount that needed to be done as The Moxie Strings finished booking our summer months. I watched in annoyance as the…

  • Use Routines to Reduce Travel Stress

    March 29, 2018 - By 

    Handling uncertainty has been one of the hardest but most necessary skills in this travel life. I face uncertainty daily in schedule, sleep patterns, paychecks, band dynamics, meal times, etc. For that, I look for consistency anywhere I can. Routines and familiarity are key. Here are some of my daily tricks: Start your day the same way. Your mind and body will be able to handle far more travel uncertainties if you feed it some consistency in the morning. Plus, it just feels good. Self-care is key! My morning: Something physical (stretching/physical therapy/workout), a cold shower, and a little time enjoying…

  • Nashville | Wait for Option C

    March 26, 2018 - By 

           Hello from Music City. As a fiddle player I’ve always been curious about the Nash scene, but also pretty resistant to what I thought was a cut-throat and highly competitive town. I just didn’t feel the need to throw myself in the shark tank. I’ve had the chance to visit a few times over the past year, and I’m incredibly lucky to have been shown a side of this town that completely changed my mind. Don’t fret, (heh) music row is as glitzy and industry-driven as you’d hope, complete with large-scale honky tonks, label execs, and celebrity-sightings. (Your Nashville vacay…

  • ALASKA | Locals’ List: Anchorage

    March 26, 2018 - By 

    We loved getting to explore Anchorage in the “off-season.” It was cold, but no shortage of warm faces and delicious local fare. In no particular order, here are my favorite recommendations straight out of the locals’ mouths. (All with active links) Snow City Cafe: Artistic, local spins on breakfast favorites. We went twice in one day.  The Bubbly Mermaid: Champagne & oyster bar. Creative and upscale! 10 retro seats in the whole place.  Alaska Center for the Performing Arts: Word-class acts in the heart of downtown. The Anchorage Concert Association won’t steer you wrong! I was lucky to perform here with The…

  • ALASKA | Plan to Un-plan

    March 19, 2018 - By 

    Anchorage– It’s our final day on The Last Frontier. I sit in my hotel room around 9am, and the sun will be MIA for several more hours. There’s something nice about the illusion that you’ve gotten an extreme head start on the day. The band had a particularly fun day-off yesterday, mostly because we left the day completely open-ended. I’ve talked a lot about pre-planning in the last few posts, but the next step in easing my travel stress has been learning to let go of the plan altogether. Traveling means all days look different (that’s why we love it),…