To all my Humming House friends, fans, and family –

I’ll preface my entire message with a brief mention that in case you haven’t heard either from my recent blog post or the announcement on Humming House’s page, I decided to leave the band this spring. I have a little kiddo on the way in September, and it was the right decision for me and my family, albeit an incredibly difficult decision because I love the band, the music, and the people so much. You can read more about it here.

Here goes…

THANK YOU for everything. You made such a huge difference in my life over the last four years. You hosts who put up with us for one or several nights – you are saints. I was infinitely more comfortable in your house than in a hotel, and it was an added bonus if I got to snuggle your dogs and cats – it took the edge off of missing my own back home. You provided food, laundry facilities, a safe place to keep belongings, a bed or couch or floor, and I cannot tell you how much I loved getting to know all of you and meeting your families and seeing your homes. It was such an amazing experience to be welcomed into so many places all over the country, and I feel like I have an extended network of music-loving friends everywhere. It’s amazing. Your generosity is a gift to bands and you made my life on the road so much more pleasant and comfortable!

Thank you to everyone who ever spoke to me after a show about the performance, who shared a post on social media, who shared photos from our shows, who told friends about the music. All of you who brought little unexpected gifts to the green room, be it food, art you created, coffee, etc. When you brought your kids up to the merch table after the show for photos and to tell me they were dancing in the front or back the whole time. The Sixthman family for *everything.* All the promoters-turned-friends out there who made us feel at home in your town. All of my friends from childhood who are now spread out all over the country and came to shows, all of my extended family who showed up (and have always encouraged me to pursue music) – it was so fun to see you in the crowd. All of these moments are little memories that piled up over the years and created a cache of good times that kept the hardships of traveling at bay. It’s why I went on the road in the first place – I wanted to play music that made you move and made you happy, and when you told me after a show that we were successful it made me feel like I was doing something awesome and important.  You were there to remind me that making music is a worthwhile venture, and one of the most fun and fulfilling careers in the entire world.

One of my favorite gifts ever – the talented artist Marissa Troy drew my three doggos and put them on a mug and a tank top. Javi even carved the drawing into our jack-o-lantern last year. I use that mug and tank top all the time!! 

It’s an experience I know so few people get to have, and so many dream of having. Anyone who wants to pursue music as a career is already passionate about it. To be able to travel around the country (and world) and know that there’s a stage waiting at each destination where you get to live out that passion is thrilling. The most important part about showing up to those stages is that you’re showing up to put on a show for fans, and HH has the very best fans. I’m so envious of the HH guys as they continue this journey of reaching out and connecting with so many people out there and I know there are so many who are in for a treat when they hear the guys perform live for the first time. I wish I could design a huge farewell tour that took me to every town we’ve ever performed in so I could have one last show with everyone!

Which of course brings me back to where it all began – I owe the biggest thank you to the HH guys and our families for the last four years of musical happiness. Writing and arranging (and watching them arrange) was such a special part of the job for me. I’ll never forget hearing the guys play a song I wrote for the first time; they make magic happen with those musical minds. I’m not kidding, if you miss them play live you’re missing out. I know I already miss hearing them playing on stage next to me all the time. And believe me, touring is hard. I wouldn’t have wanted to tour with any other group of people. HH has some special personalities that really worked together on the road, and even on the really bad travel days of 12 hours on the road, bad weather, tire blowouts, etc., those guys were always able to find (or create) a silver lining. It’s incredibly hard to leave family and loved ones behind for days and weeks at a time, so it was helpful to have a road family who understood that. I love those guys and their amazing families. And the Humming Wives (including Javier) who put up with us being gone all the time – thank you for supporting the crazy life that is touring. The opportunities I’ve had over the last four years – from opening for Emmylou Harris to going on three music cruises to touring the southwest with Kacey Musgraves to designing our own headlining release tour (and more) – wouldn’t have been possible or enjoyable without support from families and spouses back home.

I hope I covered everything. I wanted to list off every single amazing experience and memory, but it’d be an absurdly long and indulgent post. I love Humming House and the music, the fans and the family, and I hope it continues on and on and I hope they keep making music that we can all enjoy. I was a fan before I was in the band, and I’m still a fan. I can’t wait for the new record to release and to see what happens with the guys next. Do me a favor and share my thanks with the HH fans you know who may not have seen this. By no means am I finished with music; I still plan to write, perform and release my songs in the future. You can keep in touch with me on this blog (you can subscribe or bookmark it), on my facebook page, my photography website, on social media. You all rock.

xoxo

Leslie