For anyone attending Folk Alliance International this week my showcases are as follows:
Official showcase: Saturday at 8pm in the Knoxville room
Ditty TV: Thursday at 1pm at the Ditty TV studios. (508 S. Main St., Memphis TN 38103) ALSO, for anyone at home, this showcase will be broadcasted live from www.dittytv.com
Musical Chairs Room #1723: Friday at 3pm in room #1723.
(in the round with Cassie Peterson, Putnam Smith, and Brad Yoder duo)
Notice that my gig calendar has been pretty empty lately? I’m not being lazy I promise. I’ve been in the “pre-production” stages of making a new album for the past couple of months and am finally starting rehearsals and going into the studio this week. I’m so excited to be working with the producer and musicians that I am and can’t wait to get in there and start making music. I’ll make sure and keep you all updated with pictures, videos, and whatever I got. If you haven’t already, make sure you join my Facebook and twitter (@hayleyreardon) !!
for some reason, the few times I ever update this blog happen to be in an airport. Thought I’d let you all know that I’m headed to Nashville/Knoxville for the 2011 We R Indie music conference and to do some co-writing in music city. I’ll post all about it on my way home!! Happy summer(: PS.. I’ve started recording a new album and am beyond excited about it. I’ll post more deatils on that soon too.
The people that made my in-school performances in Michigan possible!
I’m sitting in the airport after an absolutely amazing week in Michigan and decided I should do a little posting.
After my songs went out to schools across the country as a part of Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention month, I received a lot of emails from students telling me how my song (“She’s Falling”) effected them and their experiences with bullying. One of the NICEST emails I got was from a girl named Caelan Dean, telling me about how her grandmother worked in schools in MI and was using PACER’s classroom toolkit when she discovered my music and passed it on to her granddaughter. She talked about how her grandma would really like to see if she could find a way to have me perform for her students in Michigan. I contacted Laura (her grandmother) to see if this was something she was serious about and she immediately got to work planning a whole in-school mini-tour for me.
When I finally got out to Michigan this week I had no idea what to expect. I’m a songwriter, not a bullying expert and because I’m so used to playing in coffeehouses, I really hadn’t had much experience playing for my peers. When I finally met Laura in our little highway motel on the morning of my first performance, I knew I was in good hands.
The second I was in front of the kids I didn’t need to think about what I was going to say, or which songs I was going to sing, I just knew. I’ve never been able to connect with an audience the way I did this week and I’ve truly never had so much fun performing. I spoke about finding myself in my music and being proud of what I have to say. I focused on believing in your voice and what you do, whether it’s art, music, sports, or even just standing up to a bully. And for the first time, I found the real message I want to communicate with my music and I wasn’t afraid of what people would say or think, I was proud of it and wanted to be as loud as I possibly could.
I have met the most amazing kids and teachers and learned so much about myself as an artist in this one week. So, thank you to everyone. To all of the students and staff that welcomed me into their schools, to my parents, for hopping on a plane to Michigan with me, and to Caelan Dean, her mother, Kym, and her grandmother Laura for putting this whole trip together. (All in the picture above)
AND, thank you to PACER’s National Center for Bullying Prevention. I believe in what you guys are doing so much and am so proud to be a part of it. The end of bullying begins with you. (:
Off to New Jersey!! Teaming up with NY Giants linebacker, Chase Blackburn, to talk about anti-bullying and “finding the courage” at the Dream Field sports complex in Sparta tomorrow!
FINALLY working on my winter newsletter, I know you don’t wanna miss it so make sure you sign up for my email list right here on the side bar of my website (: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
