Tennessee: starting with a bang!

This last month's tour, though relatively short (about a month long), was filled with all sorts of ridiculous experiences in really awesome locations.

Here goes.

We kicked off the tour in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a general rule, first shows back are always a little bit more rough than you'd prefer. After a 6-week break, nobody's body is really ready for the physical stamina required to perform for 2 hours. But, this first show back was extra special. Chattanooga wasn't going to let us off easy--oh no, it had much more in store: an outdoor show, near the Chattanooga river (subtext: unbelievable humidity), with a temperature in the high 90's.

There was definitely a bright spot [pun ahead] to the show, however. Right at 9:00 PM, when we were about 2 songs away from the end of our set, the Riverbend Music Festival lit their fireworks extravaganza in the space behind our stage. Though we couldn't see the fireworks too well since they were behind us, we were all able to look around (if we weren't playing a solo down front) to check them out. I suppose it was quite poetic from the audience's standpoint--there must be nothing quite like a rigorous rendition of "Sing, Sing, Sing" complete with loud, banging fireworks in the shapes of hearts and smiley faces!

On the way back to the Nashville airport, our car detoured to the University of the South ("Sewanee"), where Sarah's sister Rebekah attends school. Since Sarah was familiar with the Hogwarts-like campus, she took us to a really awesome coffee shop and also gave us a small tour of the really beautiful chapel on campus. And after enjoying delicious food and coffee, Sarah took us to one of the lookout points on campus where you can view the whole valley. All in all, an incredibly relaxing afternoon.

En route to the Quidditch field.

Who knew Hogwarts was actually in Tennessee? Go figure.

Snack and lattes on the porch.

Looking out over the valley.