[Exclusive] Alela Diane :: Travelblog #1

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Alela Diane is about to embark on her first proper tour around the UK [you can catch her at Cambridge (09/09), Bristol (10/09), Cardiff (11/09), Exeter (13/09), Birmingham (16/09) & London Shepherd’s Bush Empire (17/09)] and whilst she’s here, she’s going to blog about her travels…

I’ve been tying up all the loose ends as best as I can before I leave this time. Packing bags, visiting friends, and signing all sorts of crazy papers that mean I’ll own a house. It’s so nice here in Portland. A perfect day today, that says ‘it’s coming on fall’- with a gentle breeze of delicate temperature & hints of plant life hunkering down & getting ready for hibernation. After the surreal jaunt across the blue & over the clouds tomorrow, I’ll be on the highways of yonder, for the month of September.

I’ve been in and out of Portland during the brief ‘break’ from touring that August was supposed to be… But, it turns out New York City called, and I went there to feel all that is not still. After I was home for 3 days or so, I went down to my hometown of Nevada City, California for a week. It was a lovely time spent with family & friends – in the pines, and near the final waters of summer. I visited the cabin that I lived in a few years back, a structure of logs built on my friend and fellow songstress, Mariee Sioux’s family land. That cabin is where I wrote many of the songs for To Be Still… tucked into its low ceilings & drinking my tea. Mariee’s folks, my mom, my love & my nearly-in-laws, shared a homegrown meal from the garden, amongst the flowers.

It has been goodbye and farewell all year long, and so, leaving tomorrow – quite honestly – feels too soon.
But, it’s time to sing again, and it’s time to share the songs- for now, and for the music.

Leaving is bittersweet for someone who loves home as much as I- especially now- when the constant movement of the past year is still circling in my spirit & bones… The keys for a beautiful old farmhouse will be available to Tom & me in a matter of days, but we won’t have the chance to step inside the door or light a fire in the woodstove- until we’ve got 7,000 miles under our boots.