Making plans ... and thinking of those who can't

Here in Cornwall, Martin and I are gearing up for a busy year – that’s Martin in the photo below, removing the last of the old shelving from my future home recording studio, rehearsal space and office.

I debuted two newly-written songs during my autumn tours in the UK and USA, and have just finished another that I’ll be playing in public for the first time ever the day after tomorrow, at the first gig of my January warm-up tour – a short jaunt around the southern UK, starting with a hometown show at The Acorn Penzance, just over three miles from where I’m sitting.

I’m calling it a warm-up tour because the idea is that this relatively unchallenging outing will get me fighting fit for longer tours to follow over the coming ten months in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK and the USA. I’m also hoping that those three new songs (plus others that are still in the pipeline) will feature on a new album to be recorded in the above-mentioned new home studio.

I’ll be talking more about that in the next newsletter I send, but the main thing on my mind right now, as I sit here writing about all my long-term plans, is that so many others – including friends and fellow musicians – are unable to make plans even for next week, let alone next year, due to the fires that are continuing to burn in Southern California … and due to last fall’s floods in North Carolina and Florida, where individuals and communities are still struggling to rebuild.

For anyone who’d like to help, or who’s in need of help, here are some useful links: Sweet Relief (see images below from their Instagram post yesterday), MusiCares, the Entertainment Community Fund, Backline and the Guitar Center Music Foundation are all offering assistance to musicians impacted by the fires (and by floods and other disasters), while more wide-ranging relief efforts are being co-ordinated by charities including the American Red Cross and the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund.

I do hope that 2025 brings better things for all of us. As always, you’ll find details of all my upcoming gigs on the Tour page of my website, and you can also follow me on Bandsintown to get notifications about concerts near you. Please do tell your friends about any shows you think might interest them, and please do book in advance if you can. I’m very, very grateful for your support.

All the best,

Sarah