THE PAST TWO WEEKS HAVE BEEN SOOOOO BUSY! I can't believe it's already been A WEEK since Tumble Down. We just got internet so I will fill you in on the past two weeks now! We left Unbroken Train to head straight back to Burlington to move into our new house. We only had three days until the start of Tumble Down Weekend! I tried really hard to get as much packed as I could (since Ryan has a broken rib I had to do it ALL myself ugh), but I just couldn't get it done in time. The movers took everything they could but our apartment was still pretty full. We put the move on hold for the weekend and started off the right way with Robert Banks Trio and the Fiddlehead Relax and Dream beer release party at Skinny Pancake. The night was super fun - probably why the only photo I have is of the beer HAHA! - even though it rained and the festivities had to be moved inside. Madison Pruitt opened the show with a few songs from her new EP before Ryan, Zdenek and Brook jammed through the night.
The next day my dad arrived in town just in time for the Midnight North and Phil Lesh and the Terrapin Family Band show at the Waterfront Park. We met up with Ryan's dad as well and listened to the show while enjoying the beautiful scenery and sunset over Lake Champlain. At the end of the night we decided to head back to our new house to get ready for the highlight of the weekend: Tumble Down.
Ryan had to head into town early the next morning for rehearsal and soundcheck before the show so I let him borrow my car while my dad and I got some stuff done around the house. Well, ten minutes later I get a call - THE CAR BROKE DOWN! We now know that the transmission failed so that sucks. But we ended up driving him into town for the show and driving all the way back home so we could get ready. It was definitely a long morning but it was all so worth it when we arrived back in Burlington for the night. We got to see Matisyahu (Mihali sat in with him for "One Day" which was amazing!) and the big surprise of the night - BERNIE SANDERS announcing Twiddle and giving an inspirational speech to the crowd! It definitely set the tone of positive energy and love for the weekend, even though we only got to see a little bit of Twiddle before the heavy rains, thunder and lightning came and cancelled the festival for the night. Thankfully we had the Kitchen Dwellers after party at Club Metronome and the Mihali and Frends after party at Higher Ground to finish off the night!
The next day was an early day because every band I love was on the lineup and everything was pushed back to accommodate for an EXTRA set of Twiddle after the last night's rain delay. We woke up SUPER early even though I really didn't want to HAHA! First band of the day was RIPE which was so much fun! Check out the video below of a little snippet of their show.
We also hung around to check out the GEM set with Grahame Lesh, Elliott Peck, and Mihali (their cover of Ace of Base's "The Sign" was incredible!) followed by Pigeons Playing Ping Pong until it started to rain AGAIN. My dad was especially bummed because he had been waiting all weekend to see PPPP :(. Luckily, the rain cleared up and we got to see a little bit of Brandon "Taz" Niederauer's set - man that kid can play!
Three sets of Twiddle followed and they were absolutely incredible as usual! It's always so much fun to see everyone dancing and singing along to the music. I caught a video of "When it Rains it Pours" from the stage behind Ryan and it brought me to tears to see the happiness on everyone's faces! It truly makes being a tour wife so rewarding!
After Tumble Down we went back to "normal life" aka renovating our new house and Ryan heading back out on tour for another few days. My mom and I got so much done at the house while he has been gone and I can't wait to show you all of the renovation photos over the next few months!
Do you guys have any renovation tips or tricks? Or good websites you use for decor? I'd love to hear since this will be our lives for the next few months!!!
xoxo. Alexandra
PS: Quick story about my interaction with Bernie Sanders - I luckily got to meet him before he went out to introduce the band and I told him how I wrote him in even though he didn't want us to do that but I just had to follow my heart because he inspired me so much. I said that I knew he would be the one to change the world and he touched my head and said "NO YOU WILL CHANGE THE WORLD!" It was such a beautiful moment that I will NEVER FORGET!
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