Last October I had the pleasure of flying to Utah to see some of my favorite bands play at Superbloom festival hosted by The National Parks. What made this even more special was the fact that I was able to travel with my friends Arbour Season as they were in the lineup. Little did I know that they had written a yet to be named song that they would debut that day that would be directed directly at me. But before we get there let’s go back to what led up to it. 

Back in March of 2020 when things started shutting down and there was uncertainty as to when we’d be able to gather in crowds again, bands started doing what they could to keep the music going. One evening I tuned into a livestream show that Dawson Hollow was on with two other bands. One of those bands ended up being Arbour Season. I don’t know how to explain it; but almost immediately when they started playing, I felt a connection to them as if we had been lifelong friends. Over the course of the next couple of months, I would regularly tune in to their frequent livestream shows as they were raising money to build out their bus home. My first live show during the pandemic was in June when they played an outdoor show in Lebanon Missouri. It was a first meeting in person and I was further blown away by their talent and genuineness as people. We started scheming then and there about meeting in Juneau Alaska during their September trip to do a show at my sister’s house. I followed their journey all summer on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and most importantly Patreon as they headed out in their newly built bus home. We met up in Juneau and it was so much fun hiking and hosting them for a house show. In January I traveled to hang out with them in Missouri where they were staying until their daughter Juneau was born. 

In April 2021, I finally was able to host them for a house show in Oklahoma after traveling near and far to see them play. After getting to host them, I followed them down to a tiny house festival in Arlington Texas to deliver something that they had mailed to the house but didn’t arrive until after they had left. Leaving Texas I was excited to know that I would be seeing them again in a few weeks when I traveled to Hurricane Utah to Vanfest. I had originally bought a ticket to see The National Parks and later learned that Shane and Emily would be there playing and showing off their bus. One of the coolest experiences of my life was getting to introduce them to The National Parks and hang out on the bus with them all. I met them again in July in Monument Colorado for more fun at the People’s Tiny Home Festival. 

From being introduced online in March of 2020 to July of 2021 I was able to hang out with them in Missouri, Alaska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Colorado. Which brings us back to October 2021. We woke up early and flew out of Oklahoma City to Salt Lake City and jumped in a car to drive back to Hurricane. I went on diaper run for them so they could run through their thoughts on the set one more time. I didn’t know that they were getting rid of me so they could put the finishing touches on the yet to be titled song. They kicked off the festival and played a couple of tunes familiar to me. Then they stopped to introduce the next song and I’m still not sure that I’ve recovered from them bragging about the friend that they wrote it about and calling me out by name. The song has been stuck in my head going on 6 months now. I’ve heard them play it a few times since then including on my birthday when I got to go hang out with them at Silver Dollar City. Now it is officially named “Utah,” and it is now available on any streaming platform. I support them, follow them, and show up for them because they are quality musicians and people. I brag on them as much as possible because I want them to succeed in everything that they do. It floors me and honestly humbles me that they took the time to honor me in such a way. I would share and stream “Utah” over and over again if it were just a random song about the state of Utah. Knowing that it is about our many adventures over the last two years obviously makes it that much more special. One more thing that is cool to me is that the cover art will be something that Emily created for it from a picture that I took on that first trip to Utah. 

Please take the time to listen to Utah everywhere it is streaming. It is a wonderful song and every stream helps Arbour Season out. You should also consider supporting them here on Patreon. They put out constant quality content. 

Click here to listen to Utah now

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6F7OOghXvvcFKLeryDPeDr?utm_source=generator

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