Emily Keener

Philly last month, New York City this month…, anyone need me to head over to L.A. next month?  Anyway, how did I get to NYC? Well, it all started with winning a songwriting contest for an amazing organization called Constituting America. And you can read up on this awesome organization and info for next year’s contest at: www.constitutingamerica.org.

To my utter surprise and gratitude, (after taking an amazing trip to Philadelphia in September) I was privileged and honored to be invited to play on the Huckabee show on October 15. How cool is that?! Not only was I able to meet the Governor, but also got the opportunity to perform my winning song on stage with him. Not to mention the free trip to New York City, including a luxurious hotel, and a trip that I’ll never forget. (Plus, I WAS ON TV!!!)

So that’s how I got to New York in the first place, but I’ll bet ya’ll are just dying to know what happens when a country girl like me hits the Big Apple…

As soon as I stepped out of the airport, I admit, I wasn’t really amazed or anything, considering the idea I had made up in my head.  (Which was more along the lines of: I step outside, take a deeeeep breath of fresh air, with the birds singing, and everything sparkling and glowing all happy like…. Silly little country girl, she’s obviously never been to New York City.) Actually, I was in Queens, (which I didn’t really know right then) so it was a little bit of a drive to our hotel in Manhattan. But as soon as I saw the skyline of the city, it took my breath away. I was like ‘umm this is a lot bigger than Cleveland…’. Driving through NYC to our hotel we saw So. Many. People. And our driver told us “You guys lucky, this not crowded at all, there’s hardly any people out today. It’s a Jewish holiday. Traffic very good”  Uhhh… Okay.

Of course it was raining, which was a bummer, but after checking in to our hotel, we decided to try and see some of the sights if we could. Which led us to discover how, ummm… interesting it is to try to walk around the already packed streets with an umbrella and not injure anybody. I’d have to say the most amazing thing I saw that day was Time Square. It was awesome! I didn’t know you could put that much cool stuff in that one little area without it bursting.

I woke up the next morning in my comfy bed and realized: ‘Woah. I’m gonna be on TV today.’ It was a little freaky. Once we were all ready, we went down to meet the car they sent to pick us up, and were on our way. We walked in the door of Fox News Studios, and waited for somebody to take us to the studio. With butterflies in my stomach, I waited until it was time to rehearse, and then was led into the studio. As soon as I walked in, I stopped in complete awe at all the cameras and lights that were going to be pointed at my face in less than an hour. Immediately, I thought to myself: ‘Wait! What if I sneeze during the show? What if I trip over my guitar cable?! What if… What happens when… What do I do if I… ya know… Argggg!!!” But I kept walking. After being introduced to the Governor, who is very nice and made me feel very comfortable on stage, we started rehearsing. The whole band seemed to know exactly what I wanted and they just nailed it. I was so happy :)

The rest of the day included more adventures in New York City land, including restaurant trips, adorable pictures, museum visits, sightseeing expeditions, subway rides (in which you have as much space as the width of my computer screen) and memories I will never forget.

Even though I was nervous before the show, (how couldn’t  I be?) all of it disappeared when I got my guitar in my hands. Right where it belongs and put my heart into the music. Right where it will always stay.

Thanks NYC…I’ll be back soon!

You can check out the rest of my NYC pics on Facebook!

Cathy Gillespie, Me, Janine Turner

So, I know it’s a little late to be telling everybody about the trip, but I guess it’s better late than never!

I bet most of you are wondering, “How the heck did she get a free trip to Philly?”, so I should probably start at the very beginning.

It all started with us (me and my mommy) hearing about a wonderful organization called Constituting America, that is all about teaching Americans more about our Constitution, so we can learn more about the principals this country was founded on. Which led to my mom finding out about a contest that they have for kids, with a whole bunch of different categories to enter. This contest is called the “We the People 9*17 Contest” with categories like: Best Poem, Best Speech, Best Song, etc.  and it’s an amazing opportunity for kids anywhere from kindergarten to college age to showcase their talent and express “What the Constitution Means to Me”. The awesome prizes for winning one of the categories was:  A trip to the historic city of Philadelphia, cash prizes, national exposure, and for me, the best weekend of my entire life. Continue reading »

Emily played at the Summer Rhythm Festival this weekend, which is held at the Common Ground in Oberlin. It was an incredibly beautiful setting and there were so many fun and friendly people.

She had a little buddy hanging out with her while she was singing…Mr. Caterpillar, who would occasionally get a little groove on.

She’s pretty sure he enjoyed the show.

She’s also pretty sure that the pressure of having a such a serious critic so up close and personal was the reason she forgot how to play one of her own songs… (“Well, this is awkward!” ~Emily)

All in all, the caterpillar was a good audience, as was the rest of the crowd!

You can see more pictures at Emily’s Facebook fan page Facebook.com/EmilyKeenerMusic

Here’s a clip of Emily singing “I’m Fine”, the title track of her new EP I’m Fine

Emily wrote an incredibly moving song for the Westlake Relay For Life. It was so new that it wasn’t able to be included on her new CD, I’m Fine. We’ve just finished recording it and she’s making it available on her ReverbNation page as a free download. Be sure to share with your friends!

Lyrics:

“Strong” by Emily Keener, June 8, 2011

Yeah, the world keeps on spinning
When your life seems to stop
It’s a hard way of living
And it tends to change your thoughts

On the world as a whole
As you’re swimming to dry land
How can you stay in control
Of something you don’t understand?

The waves look much deeper when you’re underneath them
So try to look up instead.
The sun looks much brighter when viewed from the dark side
When the darkness is in your head.
So look toward the light
And be strong for the fight.

They say the sun will be rising
But when it’s light finally shine?
We hope that night is dying
And that day will bring us time.

And Someone up there knows
When we’ll reach the dawn.
As the strength and faith grows
We’ll doubt it ever was gone.

The waves look much deeper when you’re underneath them
So try to look up instead.
The sun looks much brighter when viewed from the dark side
When the darkness is in your head.
So look toward the light
And be strong for the fight.

At the dawning of each sunrise
To when day turns into night
Each second is precious in your eyes
And you’re closer to winning the fight

Each hug says “I love you”
Each kiss strength to try
There are so many things left to do
And each day the blessing of time.

The waves look much deeper when you’re underneath them
So try to look up instead.
The sun looks much brighter when viewed from the dark side
When the darkness is in your head.
So look toward the light
And be strong for the fight.