As our saying goes....
"Inspired by New Orleans, Born of the Great Lakes"
It means so many things to us. You'll be hearing more about it, over the next few months, as after almost six years, we are working towards putting a tangible representation of those thoughts and beliefs out into the world.
In short, we're putting a record together!
The album, Love Letter to New Orleans, is being shaped to share our take on how this music – the rhythms, culture and ideas – live within us, while we connect to playing the stories forward and living in the moment.
We feel our music is fed by the connection we feel when people are part of it, sharing your joy, emotion and energy with us. So,... it only made sense to record a live album, with people present, making up the gooey middle that makes all of this what it is. Love Letter to New Orleans will include original music of ours, and likely some of our funky renditions other tunes, too. We'll see!
Because y'all are such pollinators of joy, we've gotten in the habit of referring to all y'all, as the "G L Bees!" So, if you're a G L Bee and you'd like to be part of this experience and the preservation of history, all while being live, and grooving in the moment - we hope you'll join us for Love Letter to New Orleans - Green Frog House Shows in Grand Rapids, MI – September 19th and 20th.
Each ticket includes admission to the show, a code to redeem an advance download of the album, which is being released in February 2027, and a limited-edition G L Bee Medallion. Its harder than ever to fund an album these days, and these tickets are a key part of helping us make the record. (The shows are BYOB, so you're actually SAVING money by buying tickets...)
Special thanks to Green Frog's Seth Thompson and Jeff Hage for sharing their space and expertise with us and making this possible!
Some of you keen observers may have noticed that our show at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park was also called "Love Letter to New Orleans" and it was certainly that! That show began the trilogy of shows where we are recording to attempt to capture some of the magic, so we can release the album by Mardi Gras 2027. (It's early this year, btw!) Thanks so much to Ted & Co. at FMG for including us in their awesome Tuesday Evening Music Club.
As you'll see from the photos shared below by Kyle Bice (and one from Andrew) - we're rolling big for these shows with an expanded band with extra bidness.
They're special shows, and we look forward to experiencing them with you. There are also limited seats, so we encourage you to get 'em while they last!
Of course those aren't the only shows in September (or October!).
We're leading the Sounds of the Zoo Second Line from the Radisson to Bronson Park on Friday, September 25th and looking ahead to Chief Day and Goose Fest as well!
See y'all soon and keep pollinating joy!
GLB