Love for 2023, Dreams for 2024

Parker Woodland photo by David Brendan Hall, Nov. 30, 2023, Mohawk, Austin, TX

Dear Parker Woodland friends and family,

Hi, it's Erin, and it's 6:26am on New Year's Eve here in Bastrop, Texas. I woke up with so much on my heart and mind. Do you ever have trouble sleeping? It used to happen to me a lot in the first year of the pandemic, when I would wake up at 3am and sit by my window reading the hefty "Songwriters on Songwriting" books that were my favorite companions then. 

I used to half-joke that I woke up in the middle of the night so my bad thoughts could have my full attention. Songwriting helped me channel grief and uncertainty into something positive and meaningful.

These days, if I wake up too early, it's often because my heart is broken by something going on in the world, or my brain is overwhelmed by my to-do list. Or both.

It has been more than two months since I led a Ceasefire Action Hour with my organization, the Texas UU Justice Ministry, and people are still dying and starving in Gaza. The devastation is more than I can put into words here. I am thankful for all the artists and activists using their platforms to seek peace and save lives. At its best, art is a vessel for liberation. 

I write to you today, before sunrise on Dec. 31, 2023, because when things are hard or painful, the direction I know to turn is toward connection and community. 

In Parker Woodland, we talk about creating a shared, emotional experience through our music. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support of that experience this year. You are a big part of what makes our art possible. Today and Tuesday we will go back for what we expect to be our final studio sessions before we begin mixing the (yet untitled) album.

It's 10 songs that this band has put our heart and soul into — about freedom, courage, grief, fear, love. And it has been a true labor of love for me -- for us -- one which we cannot wait to share with you. (Still, in an age where where so much is “content” - rushed and disposable - we are trying to take the time that lasting art requires. So I also thank you for your patience.)

Guitarist Andrew Solin, drummer Keri Cinquina and I are looking forward to having a band dinner next week, to celebrate 2023. Parker Woodland has big goals for 2024 and beyond, but first we feel it is important to honor what we've experienced together -- and with so many of you -- this year.

A snapshot of Parker Woodland's 2023:

• SXSW: the live debut of our new band lineup and new songs at South By Satellite fest at The Parlor.

• KUTX Rock the Park: playing to a huge crowd on a gorgeous April night (finally! after two previous rain-outs in the fall).

• Launching this Patreon to connect with you and the new merch site thanks to your feedback about new colors and designs! <3

• "True Love Will Find You in the End" joyous single release and b-day party at Chess Club! 

• Events galore this fall: Oktoberfest at Meanwhile Brewing; Peacefest w/ Urban Heat, Jon Dee Graham, and more; Pollenator Fest at EAST Austin Studio Tour; KUTX's The Breakfast Boogie at Far Out Lounge; 16th Annual Flak Holiday Record Swap at Hole in the Wall.  

• Sharing favorite stages like Mohawk, Hotel Vegas, and the ABGB with friends and bands we love like the Living Pins, Sheverb, Sabrina Ellis, The Belle Sounds, Luna Luna, and more.

• The feeling of being seen and understood by your community, including via KUTX "Song of the Day", the "Austin Music Minute" and the Austin Chronicle Live Music Gallery (alongside Black Pumas, Queens of the Stone Age, and more), and giving back as part of the SIMS Foundation and Girls Rock Austin.

• The inspiration and creative support of working on our album with longtime friends -- producer Brent Baldwin and engineer Matt Parmenter of Ice Cream Factory Studios. Truly a dream team.

That's a lot. We are truly thankful. 

And at the heart of it all is making music together. There is nothing better.

If you're still with me, I will leave you with a snippet of lyrics to our forthcoming song, "Even Though Your Heart is Breaking" (which is running through my mind this morning as the sun now rises) and a brief but heartfelt wish for 2024…

"Even though your heart is breaking 

cast a wish up to the sky 

and even when your voice is shaking 

there's a dream to keep alive"

I wish peace for you and for this world on fire, that we may all live our dreams in truth and courage in 2024. 

Parker Woodland loves you and we will see you soon!

Happy new year,

Erin