I’m just waking up. Got to bed around 4 this morning. It wasn’t the wild, rock ‘n roll, kind of night that you’d guess. Instead, it was old and new friends, gathered in the back booth of a diner, telling our stories over plates of eggs, hash browns and quesadillas. I didn’t get enough sleep, that’s for sure. But I still feel like I’m buzzing from last night’s music and conversation.

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So many times, when I perform, I try to come up with the “right” set list, play the songs the “right” way, do everything as “right” as I can. But, last night, I just let go and played. I played the songs like I was still so inside of them. I let go of trying to do the “right” thing, and, instead, just felt my way through.

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It has a lot to do with Heather Combs. I sat in the audience on Thursday night and listened to her stories, to her songs, and was moved. So much of the time, when you’re on the road, you hear a lot of music that you’d rather not hear, songs that don’t move you. And then, in those really rare moments, you’ll hear something that will stop you dead in your tracks. And they take you on a journey. That’s how I felt.

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She came to my gig last night and played a few songs with me, and I asked her to do some of her own. And I had conflicting emotions in that moment. Part of me wished that I could just sit there all night and just listen and feel. Part of me wanted to get to my keyboard and play because I felt so inspired. It’s a beautiful conflict.

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So, as I’m wiping the sleep from my eyes, and getting ready to go to San Rafael to play another show, I’m going to take this feeling with me…and feel grateful for the things and people that remind me how good it feels to simply feel…