Hello friends,

I wanted to start this newsletter to keep track of what I've been up to over this period of living in Nashville. I have a tendency to think that I am failing as a human being if I am not achieving something tangible or measurable all the time, so I'd like this to be a reflection on things that might not be all productive or life changing, but are stories from my time here.

Since my arrival on Monday I've been staying with a lovely couple and their two pets. I'm always blown away by the generosity that people have offered me in my life, and this is no exception.

Blondie who likes to sleep snuggled under blankets and Kasseri who loves attention but pretends not to and made me earn my strokes.

After arriving late Monday evening, I was lucky to be invited to not one but three gigs on Wednesday evening. In my Uber on the way there, myself and the driver decided on the invention of the Sky Train that would get rid of all the cars and run like a rollercoaster over Nashville. The first gig was Grace Bowers, a young guitar player, the second Bats and Elizabeth moen, then finally to the jam night at the flamingo.

Whilst I was waiting for my uber, a girl walked past me on the phone. "It's okay, I'm just hurt." She said, as if she was embarrassed that the actions of someone else had caused her pain. How funny is that that we are embarrassed to admit that we are hurting.

I have my VPN on on Friday evening to hear my new single as it comes out in England. It's one of my favourite things I've ever released, and I really hope people love it. It's so strange the midnight hitting at 6pm where I am, but in a way it's nice I get an early night with the excitement over. I decide I deserve a nice day tomorrow.

I get myself a coffee and a doughnut from 12 South, a busy, quite touristy road nearby where I'm staying, and sit in the Portland Brew working on music admin. Without a guitar I feel quite disconnected from writing, and my life starts to feel like admin after admin.

But that evening I borrow a guitar from a friend and it feels freeing to be able to write again. I haven't written anything I deem to be good enough to share on here yet, but I will in time I am sure.

At the weekend, I was invited to a Superbowl party, which was of course Taylor Swift's boyfriend's big gig. I think the Superbowl, whilst being so focussed on consumerism - ad placements were $7 million, and tickets were minimum $8k - also brings a lot of people together. 1 in 3 American's watch the Superbowl, and that's a lot more than watch the Premier League Final!

But again, I am so grateful for the generosity I have been shown.

This weeks favourites:

1. Portland Brew

2. Sunflower Vegan Cafe

3. Five Daughters Bakery

Apologies for the rambles, 1 week down, 7 to go.

Hannah xx