Im sitting waiting for the next ferry to arrive to take us back to Vancouver from the Sunshine Coast. We had a perfect end to a tour last night. Although if you had asked me 24 hours ago if things were perfect, the answer would be very different. This second load of touring has been interesting to say the least. We all took three weeks off – Joel went to Columbia, Ivan went on another tour, Eric headed on a road trip, and I went on an incredible road-trip camping in the van through Waterton National Park, Glacier National Park, Moab National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, The Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park and ended up in San Fran for a few days, then Portland for a few day – the most incredible trip of my life to be honest! I had one show in that time at the amazing Womens Red Rock fest in Torrey, Utah – my second time back, and WOW!!! I loved it even more than last year. An incredible festival with a whole lotta great music, the most incredible backdrop for a stage, and beautiful people with a lot of support and love to give. I really enjoyed that weekend. I was also so lucky to be joined on stage by Vicki Thorn from The Waifs – she jumped up for a few songs on harmonica and it was so awesome to share the stage with an idol of mine. I was then joined on stage by the wonderful Crystal Bowersox (runner up American Idol) – who is such a talent!! So much fun had over those couple of days! Thanks Torrey!!

We all met up again on Friday 24th August in Vancouver. Eric couldn’t play bass for this part of the tour, so we had a new guy joining us – unfortunately this didn’t really work out, so we were down to a trio. On the way home from the first show, my trusty van that has taken me more than 20,000 kms died! Right there in the middle of the road. A few very kind guys stopped to help out – typical Canadians being so generous and lovely – and by 4am the van was towed! Which left us with a problem as we had a 10 hour drive the next morning for a show in Nelson. To cut a long story short, I ended up hiring a ridiculous car – like a half size limi – with a million buttons that practically drive the car for you. I’ve never driven such a fast car- but it got us where we needed to go!

Its been a good week touring as a trio. Highlights were playing Armstrong again to a fabulous crowd. Canmore proved to be a favourite once again – with such a beautiful crowd and three standing ovations which makes me feel so happy and lucky. We got to play a last minute house concert in Calgary which was such a special night. Playing as a trio has proved to be really great for all of us – it has made us more creative and more bold in our music. Joel has been ripping it up on the sax, and everyday I am more and more impressed with Ivan’s playing – what a drummer, and what a singer. The house concert was so special – a chance to tell stories and let the audience really get to know us more! Thanks Brian for having us in your home – and creating a great space for us to perform.

So, back to 24 hours ago. We headed off early in the morning, only to miss the ferry by 3 minutes, which instantly added two and a half hours to our trip. To say I was stressed was a mass understatement. We were planning on arriving in Powell River around 2pm so we could rehearse with our brand new bass player for the night – Mr Jon Edwards from Perth. I had contacted him a few days before (knowing her was playing at the fest as well) and he kindly agreed to learn our set. Well, after missing the ferry we realised we wouldn’t arrive to the festival grounds until 4.45pm and we were sound checking at 5pm!!! After what seemed like forever and two ferry rides later we arrived. What a beautiful scene – lake, trees, mountains and a whole bunch of gorgeous music lovers! Jon did such a fabulous job, and we all loved the set, so did the crowd it seemed, so again we were smiling! After having a dance and a wine or two and many donuts we headed to the after party at the cabin mansion. This cabin belongs to 80 year old Bob, who puts on a party every year for the musicians and organisers. His home was incredible. I felt like I was on a movie set – one of those beautiful wood cabins by the lake – perfect. We had one of the top chefs from teh area cook us all the most amazing feast ever. It was like a 5 star restaurant right there in Bob’s living room. So we ate and we jammed and we sang. Such a lovely way to end the tour. Surrounded by good people and great musicians and my band mates who I adore and respect hugely.

So, back to Vancouver today to pack up my things and tomorrow I will be on a flight heading home to start touring once again with my awesome Perth band. I have learned again how lucky I am. Driving along today we all spoke about this life we live, how incredible it is that we get to see what we see, that we get to meet who we meet and that we get to share our passion with amazing audiences. Thanks to everyone who has helped make this tour so special. And a huge thanks again to Julie and MIke for all that you are and all that you do! And of course, my boys – Joel, Ivan and Eric – you’re the best! x