Will you sit with me watch my garden grow?
Hi there buds, seedlings, and sprouts!!
Happy May! *insert Justin Timberlake 'It's Gonna Be May' gif* I hope this newsletter finds you itching more for adventure than from seasonal allergies.
The Gardener at the Gardens!!
I play my ultimate dream venue two and a half weeks from today!! The Spring Uncorked Wine Festival at the New York Botanic Garden is Sunday, May 22nd from 12-4pm, and my set kicks off the event from 12-1pm! Come through for wine sampling, wine science, activities, and of course good garden tunes.
You can purchase tickets to the event here (and be on the lookout on my socials for the chance to possible win a comp!!)
I had the honor of being a guest of the garden's at their Orchid Evening event this past month, which only made me all the more excited to perform there this month. Here's some photos from that night!
Mark Your Calendars:
You Matter: A Livestream Concert for Trans Youth and Their Families- Saturday, May 14th at 2pm EST. Eventbrite link here.
Spring Uncorked Wine Festival at the New York Botanic Garden- Sunday, May 22nd at 12pm EST.
Free Music Friday Livestream with the American Folk Art Museum- Friday, June 10th at 6pm EST. Eventbrite link here.
Porch Stomp Festival on Governor's Island- Saturday, June 18th, 11am-4pm EST (stage and set times TBA)
Make Music New York- Tuesday, June 21st (set times and locations TBA)
In the Business of Song
I'm so excited to be joining the TuneRiver family of artists as an expansion of my custom songwriting business! TuneRiver is a song site that allows for a template-style customization of a more fully produced song, and the site has been recently featured on BBC! Check out my profile here.
I continue to work on Fiverr as well!! This past week's orders included a theme song for an indie video game, a chorus for a rap song, lyrics for a bard song for a D&D home game, an acoustic cover of an Owl City song for a couple's first dance, and a lot of Mother's Day songs. I love getting to do what I do! It's so exciting to be a part of people's lives in this way through my art.
As always, you can purchase a custom song for a loved one (or any of my services) at my Fiverr profile here!
Finding a work-life balance when you freelance from home can be a challenge, but I'm starting to have a more secure grasp on it. I try to separate my work days into two writing days, two recording days, and one leftover day. On my writing days I love working at my local cafes (pic below from where I'm writing you now). Oh, and I take actual days off too now, which is also very good for the brain (who would've guessed??).
Chronically Offline
I am almost three quarters of the way through my digital detox as I write this! It's been very good for my brain. As my therapist noted the other week, a lot of it for me has been a return to the tactile- I've picked up my cross stitch project, I read physical books, I solve puzzles with pencil on paper, I listen to records on the record player, I fiddle with my instruments, I draw, I organize my room. It's nice, when asked at the end of the day what I got up to, to say concrete activities I busied myself with in my free time rather than trying to figure out where all my extra hours went when I was just scrolling endlessly.
I've also rekindled my love of learning (a more managed and satisfying way of information consumption than the endless scroll). I've been learning Japanese on Duolingo, and watching Crash Course World Mythology!
Some Art I've Been Enjoying
I'm currently reading both Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski and Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown, which are great in conversation with each other. Excellent prep material for Hot Person Summer!!
The podcast Wonderful is, as the name suggests, a celebration of all things wonderful in life, hosted by partners Rachel and Griffin McElroy (from My Brother My Brother and Me, which has also been particularly hilarious lately). It's a feel-good 20 minute exploration of life's great little things and definitely a wonderful highlight of my weeks.
Actual play ttrpg show Dimension 20's A Starstruck Odyssey comes to a close a week from now! This idiots-in-space season has been my favorite yet, and I'm excited to celebrate the finale with my roommates by making some themed food for our watch party.
POTUS opened on Broadway this past week, which my roommate Sam has been working on, and I got to attend opening night (pic below)! It's a hilarious, star-studded romp of a play and I highly recommend seeing it if you're in town over the summer.
Thank you for reading. I'm glad you're here <3
May flowers, may you flower,
Em
https://linktr.ee/emilymcnallysings