Well, we have another amazing tour of Europe under our belts, a short and fabulous trip to Montreal and back (on ViaRail), another short, adventurous trip to Yarmouth and back, and we’ve just returned from the Road to Stanfest Songwriters Camp and the Stan Rogers Festival. Whew! Let us sit down a moment and catch our breath! Once again, we are overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of all the incredible people we met along the way. They remind us that this is why we do what we do. Nothing beats seeing smiles on peoples’ faces because of something we shared. Our hearts are full.
There are so many great stories we can share, it’s hard to know where to begin. Hmm. Let’s start with “Will It Feel Like Home”. Robert wrote a beautiful song about refugees inspired by a man we met in Germany on our tour in 2015. He is from Iraq, an engineer, and his wife a dentist and they have two children. Her dental practice was bombed a year or two previous, and shortly after, their house was also destroyed. They fled to Turkey, then eventually made their way to Germany. Their story left an impression on Robert, and when we returned home, and the Paris attacks happened shortly after and one thing after another happened in this crazy world, Robert felt inspired to write this beautiful song. We never thought we’d see that man again, but as fate would have it, he remained in Germany in the town we had first met him. We had the great honour to perform this song for him, when we performed once again with the Millima Mabonde Choir, and cement a new friendship. He was only one of many people we have come to admire and call friend, both at home and abroad. You can’t buy that kind of experience.
Millima Mabonde – Review, Nordwalde – click to enlarge
Throughout our European tour, and our forays into nearer Canadian locations, we stayed in many different people’s homes, and every one of them were so accommodating and spoiled us with beautiful home-made dishes, treats of chocolate and cakes, playing tour guides in their home towns showing us the sights, along with great beer, wine and excellent conversation.
venue ‘de Drommedaris’, Einkhuizen, NE, 1604
We also played in many different and unique venues, from farm houses to churches, towers to empty spaces between old buildings, pubs to living rooms. On the few days we had time off in Europe, we splurged and went to see the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (Cailin was in heaven!), stopped in at the Rock & Pop Museum in Grunau (courtesy of the Millima Mabonde Choir!), saw a bit of Mannheim, Heidleburg, Aachen, Munster and a whole lot of the Autobahn travelling from gig to gig. Man, some of those Lambourginis go fast! During our days off at home, of course, we had more domestic things to do to occupy our time, like mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, and all those things that come with owning a house.
Burg Eltz, Germany
Road food certainly left an impression on us, some great, some not so great – a musician’s life. We ate a ton of bratwurst and brotchen (rolls) and chocolate, drank great beer while in Europe, and tried our best to eat salad and vegetables whenever they appeared. Getting back into our old habits of eating healthy is proving to be a bit difficult.
What’s Ahead?
After over 22 gigs around the Maritimes this summer (see below), including the Yarmouth Coal Shed Festival and the Tay Creek Festival north of Fredericton, we’ll be boarding ViaRail once more in September to play on the train from Halifax to Vancouver and back in the fall. We are currently filling in dates for our BC and Alberta Tour, and we’ll be on the road again for 6 to 7 weeks. If you have a living room that can accommodate 25 to 50 people, or know of a venue that welcomes singer/songwriters, please let us know!
So, life is pretty good right now! We are selling our house so we can do more of what we love, which is connecting with people around the world. If you know of anyone who would like to buy a fantastic house across the street from a golf course in Nova Scotia, point them our way!
And believe it or not, we are already booking gigs in Germany for next May 2018! How cool is that! Campbell + Green are now booking a year in advance. Holy smokes! Better get recording that new album…
Maritime dates:
Anyway, we are already booking gigs in Germany for next May 2018! How cool is that! Campbell + Green are now booking a year in advance. Holy smokes! Better get recording that new album…
Maritime summer gigs:
- July 17 | PEI Ferry Music on Deck | 1 & 2:45pm
- July 20 & 21 | Halifax Airport | 11am
- July 29 | Tay Creek Festival | 7pm
- July 31 | Tall Ships, Alderney Landing | 10am
- Aug 05 | Private Concert, St. Margaret’s Bay
- Aug 06 | Private Concert, Halifax
- Aug 16 | Tunes at Noon, Grand Parade | 12pm
- Aug 17 & 18 | Halifax Airport | 11am
- Aug 21 | PEI Ferry Music on Deck | 1 & 2:45pm
- Aug 26 | Coal Shed Festival Mainstage | 7pm
- Aug 26 | Coal Shed Festival Songstage | 9pm
- Aug 29 | PEI Ferry Music on Deck | 1 & 2:45pm
- Sept 02 | Hummingbird Lane Fest | 7pm
- Sept 10 | VIA Rail Artists on Board to BC
In Closing
We want to remind everyone, that no matter how old you are, it’s never too late to start doing what you love. Cailin is taking on a few more guitar and vocal students and there is still room in her choir for those ladies who love to sing and have fun. If you think you’re too old… tell that to Cailin’s 85 year old guitar student! He’s having a great time learning guitar for the first time. Robert and Cailin are in their 50s and 60s and have decided that life is too short doing what you don’t love, so they are selling their house, minimizing, and doing all they can to better their songwriting and performance, and touring as much of the world as they can while they can because there is no price or substitute for the experiences their music takes them to. Don’t wait another minute! Get out there and start doing what you love. It’s worth it!