As sad as I am to see it go, summer is packing its bags. While it went extremely fast for me, I squeezed a lot in. I listened to tons of great music, attended several amazing concerts, and got to write for the Current, something I’d never even considered to be a possibility before this year.
I kicked off my vacation with a Shawn Colvin performance at the MN Zoo. “Sunny Came Home” has been one of my favorite songs since forever, and it was just as perfect as I remembered it.
In mid-june, my family took a trip to the Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina, Kansas. The River Fest has been a family tradition for years, and is a great place to hear undiscovered talent. This year’s favorite was Jakubi, a funky group from Australia. A week after seeing them in Kansas, I ran into these guys in Minnesota while they performed at Oake on the Water. They’ve only got a handful of songs for now, but I’m hoping to hear more from them soon. Listen to “Holiday” below!
A week after returning from Kansas, I was off to another music fest, Gentlemen of the Road. This one was in Waverly, Iowa, and organized by Mumford & Sons. While I was not a fan of hiking through unkempt corn fields and muddy event grounds, the bands were amazing. Dawes, Jenny Lewis, My Morning Jacket, and of course Mumford & Sons, were phenomenal. I’ve loved M & S since junior high, and their performance blew my mind.
I spent a month in Florida for an internship, and while I didn’t see any live shows there, I was able to curate a bumpin’ summer playlist, embedded below. I also got a tattoo.
Summer 2015 did not disappoint! What were your favorite albums/songs/concerts this year?
