In your video for “In Awe” from the unplugged series, you talk about the fears and insecurities of preparing a musical performance. All musicians struggle with this. What are some of the fears you’ve been able to overcome, how did you do that, and how do you feel now?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsbP83nDa6U

To be honest, these insecurities are something I still deal with off and on. At the time of writing “In Awe” I convinced myself to believe in the talents and gifting that I’d been giving. I also realized that if I held back or didn’t face my fears, I’d deprived the world of my unique gifting. So on an ongoing basis, I have to renew my mind to the idea that each show is an opportunity to share my God-given talents and no one else has them. One particular insecurity of mine has always been my guitar playing. I found singing to be much easier and natural than guitar playing. It was so much of a fear it became a handicap of mine. I wouldn’t book shows unless I had a guitarist to accompany me, and it became a handicap because it limited the amount of shows I could do and it also limited my ability to grow as an instrumentalist and musician. So I overcame that fear by taking on a monthly restaurant gig playing two hour solo sets that seemed nearly impossible. Eventually I mastered that gig, it felt comfortable and it encouraged me to book more solo gigs.

The mind is a battlefield so I’ve learned that prepping for musical performances is just as much a mental task as it is a physical task. You have to remind yourself who you are, why you are unique, and what you’re purposed to do on this Earth.

Will you doing any TN Touring,  soon?

Yes, I’ll be doing a mini-tour in the TN (Knoxville area) this fall. I’ve yet to play in that region and I’m really excited about the variety of shows we’ve booked. Everything from radio to coffee shops to competitions. I think everyone can find at least one show that interests them, and I’m excited to play them. I thrive off variety!