July Tree-O Newsletter
Hey from the back of the van
🚐 🎶 I’m writing this from the back of the van on the way home from our MN tour.
It’s Leigh, btw. :)
We hit the road headed back for Nashville at 6AM this morning. 😳🥱 And after a bit of a catnap on the 1st leg and some lunch, I’m fueled up with an oat milk cold brew and feeling reflective. 🤔😊 It seemed like a great time to jump in and give you a little update.
We had an ABSOLUTE BLAST this week in Rochester, MN! This was our 3rd summer in a row coming up north to the land of 10,000 lakes and I think Bry and Locks would agree with me that it may have been the best one yet.
We met so many wonderful people at our shows, and we felt that Midwestern love and hospitality in a big way, don’tcha know. 😉
Look at that view...
A large portion of that credit goes to my mom and stepdad who put us up (and put up with us 😂) for 10 days at their beautiful home on the edge of the woods in Oronoco just outside the city. Check out the view from the back porch.
They made us feel so welcome the entire time and we are so beyond grateful. 🫶🏻 My mom loved on us endlessly with her incredible skills in the kitchen🧑🏻🍳, my stepdad Jim saved the day when we needed to do a small emergency repair on the van🔧, and we got plenty of QT with their kitties, Calli and Bear.
(Lockwood may or may not have tried to take Bear home in the van with us.😻)
Calli + Bear
We had some new adventures when we made the decision to bring some of our merch production in-house…
Adventures that resulted in me turning my folks' basement kitchen into our very own hand-poured candle assembly facility. 👋🏻🕯️ I even pulled the other 2 TREE-O members into the fun. You can check out this post and swipe through to see a little bit of the behind the scenes on that process.
As far as shows go, a few highlights include:
A Tuesday night a local watering-hole called Charley’s Eatery & Pub where the night ended with a full dance floor. 💃🕺🏻 (A first for us!)
Playing for several private events and organizations throughout the week where in addition to having a great time meeting and playing for the lovely people, we were fed better than we could have hoped for. (You know they way to our hearts! 💚🍽️😋) We even met “Elvis” who happily intro’d and passed the tip bucket for us at 1 of the events! 👑🎙️
We got to be the very first band/artist to ever bring live music to a killer little spot in the city called Tavern 22 and the patio was packed out ALL NIGHT LONG with folks clapping and singing along to every song they knew. That’s also where we met their amazing social media coordinator, Cassidy who was kind enough to capture many of the photos and videos you’ll see from the week on our socials. (Thank you, Cassidy! We love you to your roots! 🫶🏻)
Left: band with Cassidy. Right: Band with entire Tavern 22 Staff
If you’re ever in the area, stop by for some amazing food, drinks and games. (And who knows? Maybe even a little live music? 😉🎶)
The entire week culminated with us having the extreme honor of headlining Rochesterfest. (Our biggest gig yet!) 🎸🎹🪕
We had the BEST time playing for the Rochester crowd that included our very own (self-appointed) hype-men, “backup dancers” and we even had a talented little acrobat tumbling across the grass down front adding to the magic of the evening. 🤸🏼✨ We'll be posting more videos and pics from tour in the coming weeks, so be sure to keep an eye on our socials.
Sequoia South on stage at Rochesterfest
As we head back home to Music City with overflowing hearts, we are looking forward to some much needed R&R before we gear up for our most exciting adventure yet 🎶….
But more on that soon. 😉
On a personal note…. Last night on stage at Rochesterfest was the most thrilling way I could have cooked up to spend my birthday. 🥳🎉 My handsome husband, Kyle, even flew up for the show and the band/family festivities the night before where my mom made not 1, but 2 cakes for the occasion! 🎂🎂 Chocolate with her homemade buttercream frosting (like she always used to make for me as a little girl,) and my personal favorite; her CHEESECAKE. 🤤
They even surprised me with some fantastic fireworks to top off the celebration. 🧨🎇 Here we all are enjoying the beautiful evening together.
Happy birthday to meeeeeee
Bit blurry....but still love this shot of us
I’m so grateful to get to make music with these 2. And we are beyond grateful to you for coming along and supporting us in this journey.
Stay tuned… it’s about to get gooooooooooooooooood. 😏
Love you to your roots 🫶🏻,
Leigh + Sequoia South 🌲⬇️
