JustynAdventure: New York Afternoon

If I could sum up the last couple days in one word, it would have to be... Exhausting. But it was good kind of exhausting, a great kind actually. My voice is tired, my muscles fatigued, my feet hurt, but I would do this gig again in a heartbeat. I've been to a lot of different places, and I've got to say that  New York is one of my favorite places to be. It's so different from California. The scenes are different, the smells are different, it has a completely different vibe, and in the words of one of my favorite people, it has a different kind of intensity. (Thanks BFD!) That's probably why I'm tired. I'm totally not used to it. I love California, don't get me wrong, my personality definitely reflects the lax persona of Cali, but there's something enticing about that East Coast intensity that I want to hold on to.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to perform with my vocal jazz group Singcopation at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem NY. We were asked to be headliners for the Swedish a cappella group The Real Group at the Harlem Jazz Festival. I don't even know how to describe the feeling of standing on the stage where so many great musicians stood and where so many incredible performances took place. It was surreal. I mean, this was the stage where Ella Fitzgerald's journey started, and we got to sing there! C'mon! It's crazy and I can't get over it, I won't. 
I am just so amazed, and so grateful. God has really blessed me with multiple opportunities to do what I love and travel around the world. My prayer for a long time has been for Him to let me see, hear and know beautiful things, and to find His beauty reflected in those things. This is a prayer that God has answered over and over again through various people and places and definitely through music. Thank you Lord! I can't wait for what's next. 












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