So much sun, but so little summer - time. ☀️

Summer. The sun, the garden, the busiest time of a musician’s year. And hooray for that!

Since it’s mid June, I thought I should at least post a schedule. So take a gander at the upcoming shows below and hopefully I’ll see you at a few! There are Jeni Grouws solo shows, Avey Grouws Band shows, Jeni Grouws full band shows, songwriting showcases and special guests on guitar. I’ll be playing with over 20 different musicians this summer alone! Each date will be just a little different than the last, and as a musician, that feels exciting. I think you’ll feel that in the audience as well.

These dates will be up on my website soon, but I can’t lie, I’ve been overwhelmed. Aren’t we all?! But gosh, I do feel the strain of trying to keep up with multiple musical projects, from Jeni Grouws solo shows and full band shows, which, since they are new, require rehearsals and new songs, etc., to Avey Grouws Band. Not to mention my songwriting groups and trying to write new music while still doing the booking, the social media, the contracts, the tour managing, the payroll, the marketing, etc. for my solo project as well as for Avey Grouws Band. Add in trying to book and market The Music House Concert Series and get things set for other events that I produce, and I just keep getting behind. Some days I admit, it feels a little like I’m in my new summer swimsuit, flailing in the deep end of the pool with work boots on and stones tied to the laces. 😩🤿

But when I look at the harried days ahead, I am reminded of feeling that busy when I was working full time in radio and raising a family as well. And as I sit here feeling the weight of the work, and lately of the world, I’m reminded that I’m just one person. One person that is so very lucky to play with so many other talented musicians. To finally be able to live the life of a musician that, for years, I thought wasn’t a viable way to live. Every day, I get to wake up and choose my own adventure. Sure, I have an abundance of jobs that need to be accomplished in order for me to be successful. But I also have an abundance of joy. Joy in the process of creating art, of speaking a language on stages and in living rooms with other musicians that speak this same language of song. Joy in knowing that what I do is rewarding work. And joy in knowing that I’m lucky to have the work.

So while I sit here at almost midnight, trying to get my merchandise up on a store that I first need to create on a website that I manage (but have to google how to do everything as I go!) so that I can pay back the investment money and hopefully make a few extra dollars to go toward keeping this life of a musician moving forward, I remind myself to breathe. I’m one person. I’m doing the best I can. I’m lucky to have the work. And I’m lucky to be spending this summer with some of the finest musicians I know doing what we love. Making music.

Here’s to the sun, here’s to the work and here’s to putting on my floaties while I navigate the deep end. Happy Summer!☀️