Thank You, Danielle

A little over a year ago, I got a call from someone I know working with a singer, asking me if I was “available next Wednesday for an acoustic show.” The singer was fresh off of season four of NBC’s “The Voice”—in fact she was THE WINNER of season 4! I hadn’t been out touring on the road for some time, but I felt adventurous enough to say, “Yes I could do that!” I flew out to meet up with Danielle and the rest of her traveling crew the day of the show. We briefly ran through the songs before the performance, and had a great time together. Danielle is nice, fun, sometimes reserved, and what really impressed me about her that first day was how great a singer she actually is. I saw how well-deserved that TV show victory was.

The one acoustic show turned into two acoustic shows for me..and then became three..then two full-band shows (with bass player) were added. And then a few weeks later I learned Danielle was to be the opening act on the Brad Paisley tour that Fall—and then again in the Spring. We were invited onto the Hunter Hayes tour in the late Spring, and then we played the fair and festival circuit in the Summer, followed by the Scotty McCreery tour this past Fall.

I’ve enjoyed some great times with Danielle, her family, the band, management and crew these past 12+ months. I’ve had a blast spending those weekends traveling the country and playing music in front of crowds again. When I first got a drum set, my 13-year-old self fantasized about playing drums on stage in an arena in front of thousands of applauding fans. That little part of my heart (and ego) still exists today, and gets a little tickled when I get to experience that for real.

Thanks for a great year, Danielle!