Levi Weaver's PledgeMusic campaign reached its goal

I wrote about his campaign yesterday, when it was at 92% of the goal.  As of this writing, he's at 101%!  I'm very happy for him.  I know from email and a comment and a conversation that at least some of you who read this blog helped him reach this goal, so I want to give you my thanks.

Thank you, all.

Last call for supporting Levi Weaver's new album

Levi Weaver is a musician whose work I quite enjoy.  As I wrote in an earlier blog post, he's running a PledgeMusic campaign to finance his new album, Your Ghost Keeps Finding Me. You can read more about the campaign and support it here. 

As of this writing, he's 92% of the way to his goal. 

For a fun sample of him performing a Death Cab song, as well as an amazing live ending, check out this video, which I've posted once before.



Let's put Levi's campaign over the top so we can all enjoy his new album.

Consider supporting Levi Weaver

Levi Weaver is a musician who lives in Nashville.  I've written about him on a few occasions, most recently this piece with a very cool video in it.  He's not really a friend, though he spent the night here when we hosted a house show, and I doubt he'd recognize me.  I just like his music, and I like that he keeps on working at his art no matter what. 

Now, he's made a new album, Your Ghost Keeps Finding Me.  He says it's his best yet, a common claim but one that, in this case, I believe.  He's running a PledgeMusic project to try to raise enough money to bring it out.  (PledgeMusic is somewhat like KickStarter and other crowdfunding vehicles.)  I pledged $125 to help make the album happen and to get the associated cool merch.  You can pledge as little as $15 to get a CD. 

He doesn't know I'm writing this; as I said, I doubt he remembers me.  I get no payment for doing this.  I just believe in supporting artists whose work touches us.  I appreciate it greatly every single time someone buys one of my books, and I'm sure Levi feels the same way about his music. 

Give a listen to his music, or check out the video link I gave above, and then consider helping him along.  You'll get cool stuff, and we'll all get a new album I want to hear. 

Watch this

It's a video from Levi Weaver, whose music I quite like and whom you should support.  It's a cover of a Death Cab for Cutie song, whose music I quite like and whom you should support.  It's a chance to spot Sarah and Ben.  It's an ending you don't expect. 

It's beautiful.  It's worth the seven minutes and sixteen seconds it will cost you.



As Richard Curtis wrote and Hugh Grant delivered, "Love actually is all around."

Enjoy.

The concert at our house

Last night, as I've mentioned in a few previous posts, we held at our home a house show featuring Levi Weaver, a fine Nashville musician. Opening for Levi was The Camaraderie, which in its current incarnation is Ben and Sarah. The crowd wasn't as big as we had hoped, but it was still more than two dozen people, which isn't bad.

The show itself was delightful. I know I'm prejudiced, because my daughter is one of the performers, but I thoroughly enjoyed the music these fine folks made for us.

Ben and Sarah opened with a set that included a few numbers I hadn't heard before. As you can see in this iPhone photo--I have to apologize for its poor quality--they were literally playing in front of some bookcases and next to our dog crates (out of the frame on Sarah's right; the dogs were on a sleepover).  Each time I see them perform, they get better.  If you get a chance to catch them, take it.

As always, click on an image to see a larger version of it.

After a bit of a set change and some setup, Levi came onto the stage.

He played for about an hour with songs in a variety of styles, but almost all personal and heartfelt. My favorite by far was "Dark Clay." I would have happily done all the work behind tonight's show for that one song.

Definitely check out Levi's music.  You'll be glad you did.

After the show, many folks bought merch--as they should!--and we put out a ton of desserts:  rich, dark brownies; tart and sweet lemon bars; yummy, chewy cookies; silky and whipped-cream-covered key lime pie; and, of course, six different flavors of ice cream from The Parlour.  

After the show, as Levi was tearing down his gear, we talked about some of those things that always trouble artists of all types:  the quality of your work vs. the fame and/or success it brings you, how those noises in your head only hurt you, how all that really matters in the end is the work.

I'm truly glad we held this show, and I thank Levi, Ben, and Sarah for singing for us.  I wish you all could have been there.

What's going on Wednesday night at my place

In case you've forgotten, this Wednesday night, June 6, a nifty concert will be taking place in my house.

As always, click on the picture to see a neat, higher-res version.

The Camaraderie is, as I've mentioned, Ben's performing group, which right now comprises him and Sarah.  Levi Weaver is a cool Nashville musician whose work I quite enjoy.  I've seen both acts perform, and I'm confident you'll have a fun evening.  Suggested donation, which goes to the musicians, is ten bucks or whatever you can manage; come to the show even if you can't afford to pay.

As an added bonus, you'll get free dessert after the show!

You can't beat a show this good and free dessert on a Wednesday night.  If you're interested in coming, just email leviinraleigh@gmail.com to reserve a spot.  I hope to see lots of folks there!

Want to hear live music at my house on June 6?

Yeah, you read that right:  we're hosting a small concert of sorts, a house show, on June 6.

It's a first for us, but it looks like it'll be fun.

The opening act is The Camaraderie, which is Ben and Sarah.  I am, of course, biased, but I can honestly say that they play good music that I thoroughly enjoy.  I'd enjoy their music even if I didn't know them. 

The main act is Levi Weaver, a Nashville singer/songwriter. I saw him once before and quite enjoyed his performance; you can read more about that show here.  After buying all his CDs and signing up for his mailing list, I learned that he was looking for a venue in Raleigh on June 6.  We offered to host him.

We all read all the time about the music industry going through drastic changes, about artists finding alternative ways to support themselves.  Well, now you can witness one of those options firsthand, have a great time listening to live music, and visit with the musicians (and me, if you'd like) afterward. 

We've set up a Facebook page where you can read more about it.  We're asking for a donation of "$10 or pay what you can." We'll be selling soft drinks and bottles of water for a buck a pop, with any profits going to the acts.

As if all of that wasn't enough to tempt you, after the show, at no charge we'll be providing dessert for all who are there.  We'll have homebaked goods and possibly even some local-made ice cream.

If you'd like to come, email leviinraleigh@gmail.com, and tell us how many of you there will be.  We'll get back to you with the address. 

I hope we can fill the house, help Levi make a little money (as the donation should make clear, no one's getting rich from this), and all have a grand time.  I'm positive the last will happen; the first two are up to you.

Levi Weaver

A while back, I landed from a trip and headed straight to a coffee shop to watch Ben, Sarah's boyfriend, perform as the opener for a Nashville musician he knows, Levi Weaver. I'd never heard of Weaver, so I went to listen to Ben--who was very good. I stayed, though, because I was there, the crowd was small, and live music is a good thing.

I'm very glad I did.

I enjoyed Weaver's music a lot. After the show, I bought all his CDs and a t-shirt; I wanted to support his tour.

I also signed up for his newsletter. Today, it brought me notice of this video, which I found lovely and more than a bit haunting.



As of this writing, 303 people have viewed this video. Levi is an artist out there working, doing his best, and this song and video are quite good. As far as I'm concerned, he deserves a vastly bigger audience. Of course, we don't get to pick our audience sizes (if we did, every one of my books would stay atop the New York Times bestseller list until the next one came out), but I think he's worth your time. For whatever that's worth.