a night to connect

the world we live in is loud. it is difficult to find space to think. it is difficult to create places where we crossover, dialogue, and consider beauty.

so, we are setting out to join with you and your community to create a night of songs, stories and questions.

we are looking to gather folks together for an intimate evening of music. this will have the feel of a listening room, a small group, and a good ‘ol time.

we’ll sing, tell tales, and give the chance for a Q&A.

this show is equally comfortable on a porch, at a brewery, in a fellowship hall, theatre, dorm, or in your buddy’s living room.

let’s dream something up together for your people.

The logistics

Can you summarize all of this?

We are looking for people/places to partner with - asking you to help give space and crowd. we will provide everything else for the show.

What will we provide…

~ sound system - we travel with our own portable sound system. if your space has a sound system, we can chat about plugging into that. all we need is 1-2 XLR inputs and 1-2 1/4” inputs. if not, we simply need an outlet.

~ food - we cover our own meals, so don’t feel like you need to arrange that!

~ promotional materials - we’ll chat about anything you might want / need to invite your people out

how this show will work…

as with a traditional concert, it will largely be us sharing our art and the stories behind it. but at each junction of the show (there are three mini-”movements”) there will be a chance for Q&A about the songs.

we target a ~1.5-2.0 hour length of show, depending on the length of Q&A interest, and if we are collaborating with another artist.

What we are asking you to provide…

~ space - it is an incredible gift of hospitality to simply provide a place for us to share this evening of music with you and your community

~ crowd - our hope is that we are bringing this music to new friends - to that end, we ask for your help with promoting, inviting, re-inviting, posting, etc. don’t worry about quantity - a room of 5 is just as a great as a room of 50!

explain the financials of this…

we are doing this because we want to bring evenings of encouragement and contemplation as a gift. thus, our financial goal is simple: we’d like to offset our travel and food as much as possible. if this can cover itself, that’d be amazing!

to that end, we can chat about what works for you and your community. some examples are:

~ ticketed show

~ one person/organization donates to cover the night

~ free show with a free-will offering

we can talk more specifics depending on where you are located.

Why we are doing this…

music creates connection, and we want that connection to be personal - so we have constructed a show that will allow people who come to connect with each other, the lyrics, and themselves. we believe that—when this connection is made—beauty can be (re)discovered, and our eyes can be opened to what we have not been seeing.

some variables…

from a personal perspective - we create as a family. we will be traveling as a family. we recently welcomed our second child into the world - thus, our working assumption is that these shows will be mostly (if not entirely) Graham performing.

our hope is that we will have a sitter with us to allow for Abby to perform as well, but we are working on establishing a family rhythm of traveling for music, and feel this is the most sustainable starting point for us.

Nothing missing now / Nothing broken / Say you are / When I know I’m not Make a scene to show you’ve seen my face / So many people searching for identity And crossing you off when you offer a taste / When did it become cool to be hopeless When did we find ourselves by being out of place Sometimes I roll my windows down / Let the galloping wind ride over my face Remember all those I’d forgotten / And close my eyes and pray Nothing missing now / Nothing broken / Heal me found / When I think that you forgot Nothing missing now / Nothing broken / Say you are / When I know I’m not I think it’s pretty cool celebrities are human / We can cut them a break, they don’t have to be God But when I’m lost in life, man, I use them / To drive the knife into all that I’m not Sometimes I search my name on the internet / Terrified of what I will or won’t find ‘Cause I’m twenty-five and there are no more trophies / Am I a monument, or am I a mist?

flow of the evening…

Part I . . . the dream

the show will open with songs of hope, longing, and vision.
questions we’ll pose for our gathering to consider:
~ where do our dreams for life come from?
~ what are some of the first things you remember as being good / beautiful?
~ what are some of the sources for hope and beauty that you see — in your life, others, or the world?
Part II . . . the tension

this is the vulnerable part of the show - we’ll share songs that wrestle with insecurities and hurts and hurdles - the grit that gets in the eye looking for beauty, tempting it to shut.
questions we’ll chew on together:
~ what are different definitions of “the good life” that you’ve heard? how do you define it?
~ what disrupts the dreams we held?
~ what is your current pace-of-life?
~ how have hurts and insecurities hamstrung our hope?
Part III . . . the hope

our time together will conclude with songs that pose questions about “what next” and offer a big-picture vision for how to reconcile beauty with the grip of life’s tensions.
questions we’ll round out with:
~ how do you define beauty? where do you see beauty in your life?
~ can beauty be recovered once lost / forgotten?
~ how might your definition of “success” shift in the light of what we considered?
~ what is the role of community / relationship in the “good life”?