#juno fleck

Touring with little Juno was a daunting prospect come late summer and the first dates in the northeast but now it's two months later and hard to believe all the places we've been and how well it's all gone. From Juno's first appearance with the Del McCoury band at U of F Gainesville, FL to his first night on the 17 person banjo bus tour starting at Stone Mountain Arts in Brownfield, ME to Lawrence, KS and most everywhere else east of the Mississippi, little Juno has covered some serious ground before even his 6 month mark. Thanks to everyone at the shows and on Facebook and Twitter that gave constant encouragement to our little traveling clan. And big thanks from Bela and I to Richard Battaglia, our sound man and tour manager, and especially our Juno angel caretakers my mom, Jamina and Ali - we simply couldn't do it without the extra hands-on love and care.

Not sure if we know how to stay still, but Juno and I are gonna give it a shot. We're gonna be Nashville bound thru the holidays, until Wu Fei flies into Beijing and Kai drives over from Nashville and The WU-FORCE gets writing, rehearsing and recording. Wu Fei is a phenomenal guzheng player (21 string zither) and composer from Beijing that lived in the US for 10 years, I'm a girl from the midwest that plays old-time banjo and has been going back and forth to China for 16 years- When Fei and I met in CO in 2005 it was instant sisterhood. From NY to Nashville to Beijing, we've been spending as much time with one another as we can.  Kai Welch and I went to China to play City of Refuge and at the end of the Silk Road Tour met up with Fei and had a few undeniably stimulating nights jamming and talking about all things China and US. 

If you want to see and hear the early demos of Wu-Force, created in a nursery school in Beijing, checkout our new tumblr page set up by SueAnn. We're all VERY excited for Globalfest in early January and our two University shows at WKU and Embry Riddle in early Feb. Nashville friends, keep an ear out for some pop up warm up shows around town in early Jan. 

Backstage at Harvard's Saunder's Theatre. Juno went on his first college tour… he's seriously considering Harvard if he can get a good scholarship package.

                                       I wasn't sure about bus travel with little Juno, especially with 14 other people on the banjo bus, but it worked out real good. The hum of the bus was like the biggest, baddest white noise machine around! We just snuggled up every night in the bunk after the show and he slept soundly til morning. 

                                  Papa Fleck, Uncle Tony and Uncle Richie explaining to Juno that he WILL be a banjo player when he grows up.

                                               Uncle Casey playing Juno's bedtime serenade backstage on the Banjo Tour. 

*Casey posted a different banjo joke photo every other day from the road on the banjo tour 

                                               Thanks to the "Dicks of Middletown, OH" for putting us up right when I got sick… and thanks especially to Paula for all the delicious meals, Papa Dick for the continual oozing of good vibes and Jamie and Ali for making the trek from Nashville to be with us.

14-week-old-Road-Warrior-Juno brought whole new meaning, intensity and joy to life on the road. I woke up every morning to his playful cooing and nursed him thru the days.

With the help of Bela, my mom and road manager, Richard Battaglia, we kept Juno engaged and cared for as best we could in our moving caravan. He climbed around the mystical rock garden at Opus 40 in Woodstock. He got to wear his Locally Grown onesie as we listened to Richie Stearns & Rosie Newton at his first ever festival.   We always seemed to find a little spot in the shade at rest stops for him to lay, look at the sunlight dappling through the trees, and kick his legs and make his little fists  - "fist bump juno!" And he got to see the Atlantic for the first time on Cape Cod where I dangled his little feet in the water.

Thanks for all the good folks in Fall River, Truro, Hector, Portsmouth and Woodstock for making Juno's first tour a joy. We hope we get to see you all again next year when Juno will be climbing all over your chairs and peeping barely decipherable words.

Next up is the Wheatland Festival in Remus, MI this weekend! 

LEAF: Lake Eden Arts Fest in Black Mountain, NC 

Huge thanks to everyone at Lake Eden Arts LoveFest for a mystical last weekend of music before motherhood! And special thanks to Billy Jack Sinkovic and all the folks that make LEAF go for taking good care of this super preggers lady. There couldn't have been a warmer audience for my first solo performance than a packed and smiling Eden Hall. Thanks to Ben Sollee for laying down some cello for my 8-month-momma-big-belly clogging close to the set. Sunday morning wrapped up with a set of City of Refuge music with Kai Welch and Jamie Dick. And thanks to dear friends Riley Baugus, Dirk Powell, Mary Lucey & Billy Cardine, Ben Sollee and Jordan Ellis for jamming with us.

Click here for a pile of photos from LEAF

AFTERQUAKE: Quake Relief Mixtape 

Watching the devastation of the Oklahoma twister this past week on TV, I'm thinking about the intense road to recovery ahead for the people and the region. To give a donation that will help provide immediate resources to people in need of food and water, donate here. 

  The Oklahoma tornado is reminding me of my time in Sichuan 5 years ago after the devastating 2008 earthquakes shook Sichuan province in China, killing close to 90,000 people and displacing over 5 million. In an effort to try to do something helpful and healing, Dave Liang of the electronic group The Shanghai Restoration Project and I went to Sichuan and created AFTERQUAKE, an awareness album incorporating the voices and sounds of those who had been affected. The project was produced in cooperation with Sichuan Quake Relief (SQR), a local relief organization that continues to help earthquake survivors rebuild their lives. May 12, 2013 marks the five year anniversary of the quake. 

  On April 20, 2013, another earthquake hit Sichuan and displaced another 200,000 people.  SQR is working hard to create temporary housing and help the disabled in this new area. 

  Dave and I teamed up with Noisetrade.com to release a special mixtape featuring songs from Afterquake.  The songs are free to download but any and all donations will go to Sichuan Quake Relief to help the ongoing relief efforts. Please listen, please share! 

  Click here or on the image below to listen to "Quake Relief Mixtape"

      Sala: music video from Afterquake

      And... exciting news...Welcome Juno Fleck!

  May 19, 11:17pm little Juno Fleck was born 5 lbs 10oz! 3 weeks early, I didn't see it coming… here's the story:

  I headed out for a walk at the Nature Reserve close to my house in Nashville. Somewhere deep into the woods, crossing over a bridge, water flowing heavy in the brook from a big storm the night before, sun spotting through on a little island carved out in the middle about 20 ft from the bridge, I suddenly locked eyes with a faun nestled in the middle of the island. Wet and shiny black nose, fuzzy dots and big round brown eyes, and wambam, I felt my first contraction. My midwife told me to go to the hospital and check if my water broke, but I was turned away as a case of false labor.  I was relieved to hear it because Bela had one more show in San Fransisco and would be back the next day with three weeks to spare before the due date. So I headed back home but the contractions kept coming every 3 minutes (timed by my mom, dad, and dearest friend visiting from NJ). ABout 5 hours into contractions we decided it probably wasn't false labor and at this point there was no way for Bela to get home, in fact it was time for him to hit the stage in SF. So we agreed that he would bring his phone onto the stage and I would listen to the show and he'd let the audience know that I was in labor. I remember 3 times when Bela asked the crowd to cheer me on and I gripped the phone thru the contractions and listened to the distorted crowd cheers through the little speaker! We headed back to the hospital after 7 hours of labor and up to the birthing room, into the tub, two pushes and Juno Fleck was born while Bela and Zakir Hussain were playing Happy Birthday on stage to finish the show on the other side of the country. 

  Juno seems to be a relaxed and centered little dude probably due to the fact that he had to endure all that clogging and banjo playing in the womb! Of course I'm pretty sure he is the cutest baby eVeR. We're taking leave this summer to stare at Juno continuously. First dates back out will be a family affair, our first "trio" shows. Bela and I are excited to develop our music together even more throughout the summer and hope to see you on the road in the fall… with little Juno.