This Best Western Feels Too Much Like Home

Hope you liked the mini blogs today! :)

It's our last night in Rome, Georgia. We leave tomorrow night after our show and drive through the night to Maryland. Ahhhh... life on the road. :)

I realized today that we have played every campus possible in Rome. It's not that big of a town... but we have played 6 different college campuses in the Greater Rome, Ga area. It's like we are the official college country band of this town. :) After this week, we can all give great reviews of the local restaurants and laundromats!

We all spent the day taking it easy, catching up on work (I myself deleted over 3,000 unread emails! WOO HOO!!! THAT feels better), and hanging out. Days off are good. Especially when they are so few and far between.

Looking forward to playing my awesome new amp again tomorrow.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

La Guapa

I just played my first show with my NEW AMP today!!!! It was amazing.

I bought a Dr. Z, surf green Maz 18. She shall be known as La Guapa! (We've been quoting 3 Amigos all week... David's been doing the El Guapo dance... it just seems to fit!)

I really thought originally that I was gonna get an Orange Amp or one of the hand wired White Vox's... but nope! Dr. Z won out in the end. It was a no-brainer. Plus, this store exclusively has the surf green.... can't get it anywhere but Ft. Oglethorpe, GA at Humbucker Music!!!



As Kiwamu - one of my former guitar players - put it, my never ending search for the perfect tone has just begun!!! :)

La Guapa's first gig was very much a success at Ga Highlands College in Rome! It was our 2nd time at this campus... but this time we didn't get put in jail :) (The students put us in jail and people had to pay $10 to get the whole band out last year. Fortunately it was for a good cause, so someone ponied up the dough)
I had to dig WAY back in the archives for this one...


Thank you HIP for bringing us to campus and helping us out today!!!


I raced a few of the HIP girls in the inflatable obstacle course... got quite the battle scars to prove it, too!!! Miguel said I look like Ella - my whole arm is scraped from the velcro. It was worth it! I won that race! I didn't win the next one, though... she was undefeated... and I just barely came in second :)

And thank you John!!! John has always taken good care of us :)


We play at Ga highlands Campus in Cartersville on Friday night at 7pm. If you're around the area, come on out!!! It will be a great event with food, games, and of course we'll make sure the music is played :)

Coming to you from the Super Laundromat in Rome, GA...

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

We Rock the "G"

We rocked Georgia Northwestern Technical College so hard.... that we rocked the "G" off the wall. OOPS!


The Head of the Rome Campus came in after the show, asked "Did I miss the WHOLE thing?" And Brandy and Dione told him it was so crazy I smashed my fiddle and broke the "G" on the wall. I think as soon as he looked at me, he knew that wasn't true :)

Dione and Brandy... our awesome peeps the last couple of days!


Thanks for all the help David!


We had a lot of fun playing for 2 of GA Northwestern Tech's Campuses. And they even gave us CHOCOLATE BARS today!!! Woo hooo! (I'm a cheap date)

Looking forward to GA Highlands tomorrow!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Sleep Remoting, S Polytech State University, and CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKE!

I hope Miguel doesn't mind me posting this pic :)
David posted it on his blog with the following caption...
Miguel illustrating his dedication to his van DVD remote obligations:


Miguel has always been the best at operating the DVD player. He'll fall asleep, and wake up JUST to fast forward through the theme songs at the beginnings of episodes. :)


Today we got a do-over!!!! We played at South Polytech State University in Marietta, Georgia. We were supposed to play there last August... We were all set up and ready to take the stage. They had a HUGE production with major lights and staging, and multiple bands... and THEN the thunder and lightening came and washed away any chance of a show. :(

But they brought us back at the END of the year today (they only have two weeks of school left!) to play. And we ACTUALLY got to play!!! I was waiting backstage after David's set for him to introduce me... I looked down and saw a 4-leaf clover! Just like Mamma always does. She has a talent for looking down and finding them without even trying.

The luck wasn't for the show, though. I know that much. :) My wireless mic went out a bunch during the first song. I couldn't tell if it was my monitors or my mic at first. But I figured it was my mic when Panther pushed his mic stand up to the front of the stage for me, and bent it down to my height! He was ON TOP OF IT! :) Turns out the mic had interference... which is something we hadn't had to deal with yet. But we got it worked out after the show. During the show... I used Panther's mic and he and David had to go all "Springsteen" for the rest of the show and share David's mic for all their background vocals. :)

The students took us to the Marietta Diner after the show. I have been dreaming about this Diner since last August. Justin and Miguel walked to it last year at 4 in the morning and raved about how awesome it was. (Plus it was on the Food Network as one of the top 10 Diners in the country.) We tried to go the next day, but it was so packed we couldn't park our trailer!!!
OH. But tonight? The students took us and it was amazing. I got my favorite - eggplant parm. And then. Oh then.

CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKE!!!!

I fell in love with Chocolate Chip Cheesecake in Boston at Mike's Pastries in the North End. But no one has it. Seriously. No one. Not even the Cheesecake Factory. They have every kind imaginable! But not chocolate chip. But tonight? HEAVEN.


The whole crew!!! BAND on one side of the table + S. Polytech CAB on the other = BEST TABLE IN THE DINER!


So glad today worked out with NO RAIN!!!!

Our awesome new Chinese friends!


Ian!


Thanks for the great pics, Ian!




I'm starting to get a tan on my face and arms from all this gorgeous sunshine! I love it!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Or A Big Ole City

Thanks for the prayers Farm Boy! Lord knows we appreciate em!

We drove through the night last night to get to Ga State University. We got here at 9:30 (our load in was at 10)... James was quite the champion driver!!! He drove the whole way here.

But even though we arrived 30 minutes early... we made it to the venue 30 minutes late. The students had a hard time explaining where we should go. It's not an easy thing to do, ESPECIALLY in a big city like Atlanta. Plus... the equation of one way streets + a 14 foot long trailer = CHAOS. But we eventually got to where we needed to be (Whew), and got all set up. We had a GREAT couple of guys running sound for us - Coi and Ben. They were so helpful in getting us up and running speedily! We didn't have enough time for David to open. And THANK GOODNESS Jessie drove down from Nashville to help me with my merchandise! I'm not sure I would have even had time to set it up had she not been here!!!

The way the event was set up - food, games, streets performers, and dj's... they wanted us to play a 30 minute set with a 30 minute break and then another 30 minute set. It is so funny how trying to program a 30 minute set is more difficult for me than programming a 90 minute set! :) I guess that's not really a "problem" per say. Plus I like a good challenge. The show worked out great. AND I got quite the sun tan in the process. :)

Parking in a big city is always a challenge. ESPECIALLY when you have an oversized vehicle and trailer. Our hotel doesn't have any way to accommodate us, so the school had to get creative on where to have us park! But they were so helpful. James and I were double parked... moving... then double parking again... as we were waiting on instructions where to go. After about 3 1/2 hours, though, it all got figured out. And YAY!!! The lobby had free food, beer, and wine in the lobby when we got back. Could there have been a better surprise than that? Don't think so. Just what we all needed!!!

Jessie and I even hit up the all night diner on the next block after Lost, which was an excellent choice. And then I have spent the last few hours finishing up some good ole tax work. Yes. I realize what day it is. Yes. My accountant LOVES how much I procrastinate. :)

And Yes. I can barely keep my eyes open. Goodnight!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Chee Was At The White House, Too!

What a small world it is.

We loaded in for our soundcheck at North Georgia College and State University today. We were working with the nicest and most awesome sound guys. TRUE Productions AV services. After we got all set up and soundchecked, Chee, the chief, came up to me and said "I just figured out where I know you from. You were at the White House Corespondent's Dinner a couple of years ago, right? I provided the sound for you there!"

NO WAY!!!! I couldn't believe it! I didn't actually meet him there. They needed some extra microphones that day, and he was the one they called. How cool is that? I really thought that was awesome.


The event was so much fun!!! They had inflatable... well.... everything! Inflatable boxing ring with oversized gloves and helmets, slides, obstacle courses, bungee races, and even a "stay on the surfboard" inflatable. Kind of like a mechanical bull... only you have to stand on a surfboard. It was pouring down rain outside. So they had to move the event inside. Everyone kept apologizing because the event has a much larger turn out when it is held outside. But I would have never known. The entire gym was packed the whole time.

Ohio Avenue opened the show for us - they are an awesome rock band traveling the country, touring independently, just like us.
They also just got a new trailer :) Almost exactly the same as ours. We were all exchanging ideas the whole time. They actually played at KSU earlier in the day... we played KSU Day a couple years ago and we had the green pollen stuck in the crevices of our gear to prove it for over a year after the show!!!

I took lots of great pics, but I can't seem to get enough internet on this overnight drive in the car on the way to North Carolina to upload anymore pictures. But check the facebook page, and I will have them all up as soon as I can get to a strong enough signal! :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Happy Birthday To Me!!!! Berry College Style.

What a beautiful day!!!! In SO many ways!

It began with James wishing me Happy Birthday right at midnight :) And not long after, we drove by the bar where we know we will be going on James' and Zach's birthday!!! (They have the SAME birthday! Crazy!) And we are playing at the Georgia Fair again in October, and ALL the performers go to the same hotel bar to hang out and wind down after the day. :)

We arrived in Rome, Georgia this morning around 6am. We checked into a hotel, and they let us stay late until 1, which was amazing. I slept so hard for the first time in a long time! It was excellent. And then we got up and headed to Berry College for our show. When we walked into the dressing room, the student had these in there for my birthday!!!


They said they got me a birthday cake, but they were really embarrassed because the cake lady misspelled my name: "Natlie"
(What the kids didn't realize was that I don't really care WHAT was written on the cake. I would have been JUST as happy eating a misspelled birthday cake as a correctly spelled cake! Actually.... it's funnier misspelled!)

The weather was GORGEOUS!!! Along with the campus at Berry. Berry College has the largest Campus in the World - 26,000 beautiful acres. And they have an 8 to 1 deer to student population!! :) I was so excited to get to wear a short sleeve shirt! But as the sun went down... our audience keep migrating backwards to try to STAY in the sun. It was a pretty funny site - we were right next to a big building that was blocking the sun as it went down... and it was REALLY chilly when you were in the shade.



These sweet kiddos grew up in Alaska! So they like "Even Alaska".
Dawson and Kyndall


"Those Awesome Guys" That's what I called this group of guys. They opened for us, but they haven't exactly decided on a band name yet... but they were really good! So they are just "Those Awesome Guys" to me.


And here's the awesome students that put on this event! They REALLY took good care of us, and were just so sweet. They went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed. Just the best. We love you guys!


After the show, we loaded up and were gonna go to LongHorn Steakhouse... but there was such a long wait that we decided to just try the Mexican Restaurant across the parking lot. It was another excellent choice!! And they sang to me!!! Brought me free Sopapillas, and put the sombrero on me! David just sent me this picture:


SO YAY!!! Great birthday!!! I haven't even gotten to look at my facebook page, yet. But I have already gotten so many sweet messages, text messages, cards, and even an entire audience sang to me today! The guys pushed me out of the way right before we started the last song... I was really confused why they weren't letting me sing the vocal part... but it was because they told EVERYONE it was my birthday and had the entire audience sing to me. It was pretty awesome.

I am one happy and thankful girl. I feel so loved.
Thank you to EVERYONE for making today such a special one.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Saint Leo, Antarctica... I Mean... Florida

Life happens. Even when it isn't a major or BIG deal... sometimes the little things can keep you up at night when you need to be sleeping so you can get up and be at your best for whatever it is you do. And when singing is your job... keeping your voice healthy is a HUGE part of it.

Even though I barely slept a wink last night.... the power of Prayer along with positive thinking, and knowing my own body well... kept me singing today WAY better than I thought I would be. Isn't it amazing how that happens? I have had WAY more difficult vocal days after a FULL night of rest.

Go figure! I've been trying to practice being thankful for what I HAVE when I am tempted to focus on the things I don't have.

And at tonight's show? I was thankful for a freezing, shivering, CHAMPION of an audience that FROZE THEIR TAILS off to watch our show! The setting was a gorgeous lake, the stage was under a majestic tree with moss hanging from it, and we were surrounded by a volley ball court and free yummy tacos! We played during sunset. It was so pretty!!! But the breeze... whew! Intense! We all REALLY thought that we'd be warm in Florida. Nope. Not yet!

The students said that last year it was hot, everyone was out playing volleyball and having a beach party. But this year, the crowd was huddled into 2 clumps... around the heaters that were brought out for everyone. They were all shaking and bouncing trying to keep warm. But they stayed until the last note! My fingers were bright red - I wasn't sure how in the world they were going to work... but they did! YAY!



Clay greatly regretted his decision to work out (and not bring a change of clothes) before the show! But even still... he stayed until the last note! (He was VERY close to the heater...


I am in the back of the van. We have to drive overnight to get to Mt. Berry, Georgia for our show tomorrow. I think I'm gonna nap now, so I can take a later shift of driving.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Our Favorite Boca Baristas and Gretchen Wilson Pics!

We went back to our awesome Starbucks in Boca Raton today before we headed out of town. Both of our Baristas that were there the other day were working again! We got to talk a little more after they had both found us on facebook. And this time, we all got pics together. Courtney (on the left) told me that she saw our posters all over campus today after she met us :)

Thanks Angie and Courtney for being such awesome Baristas!


And last night, my best friend, Sarah, posted her pics from the Gretchen Wilson show! She and her current/my former bass player, Amy, drove all the way down to Augusta to see our show. But that was the day of the freakish snow storm that hit the south. It almost prevented the show from happening... and the snow definitely prevented my girls from getting to the show in time. They arrived about 35 minutes after we finished our set. :( but we still had a great time!!! And Sarah got some fantastic pics! (Most of the time I was at the merch booth... but we still had our fun!)

Sarah, Amy and Me


Gretchen Wilson and Me!!!!


Signing one of HER shirts for a fan :)


Sarah expressing how we ALL felt about the snow in Augusta, Ga!!


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

TOUR DIARY #3 Parts 1 AND 2!!!!

New Flip cam means..... NEW TOUR DIARIES!!!! James may be somewhere else.... but he's been reliving Augusta all day in editing :) Enjoy!

Part 1:



Part 2:


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Opening For Gretchen Wilson!!

We dropped James off this morning at the Atlanta airport at around 4:30am, and then pressed onward towards home. It started snowing right as we hit Monteagle Mountain, and didn't stop until I got home. I know this all of this unexpected snow has caused many problems and frustrations for lots of people. I know it makes it difficult for this part of the country where we aren't prepared for it. But at the same time, there is something so magical about all of this beautiful snow gracing us over and over and over again in places where we don't normally get to enjoy it!

Even on that awful drive from Augusta to Ft. Benning where the roads were almost as bad as the ones in Texas (where we had to cancel a couple of weeks ago)... it was so beautiful and majestic and storybook-like that it feels like the Universe is telling us all to pay attention. These things are what we make of it. And yes, it can be a harsh reality. But it can also be a wonderful reminder of God's beauty. So I say a prayer tonight for all that have endured hardships and loss due to this crazy weather. And I also give thanks for being surrounded by so much beauty!!!

The Gretchen Wilson show was SOOOOOOOO much fun. It was a bit disappointing that we had to do it without monitors. I kept switching my earplug from my ear to my back jeans pocket... depending on which thing I needed to hear more - my voice (earplug IN) or my fiddle (earplug out). But ideal situations rarely happen. And I was so excited that very little could have disappointed me about the show. The room was packed and the snow did NOT keep people away.

I met Gretchen in the bathroom before the show and we talked for a while about the snow and the possibility of cancellations, and then she told me about their make-shift sleds they made last week in Tennessee. I could feel my heart beating harder than normal, and I told her how cool it was to be opening for her. After we finished talking, she walked out and told someone outside "I just met Natalie in the bathroom". It was so funny! Before I could even tell the guys I talked to her, she told someone ELSE that she met ME!!!! :) That was awesome.


The show itself was awesome. The crowd was electric, and they were so gracious! I know most of them were there to see her, but they sure did make me feel the love! And we put on a great show for them. I couldn't hear my fiddle at all and at one point I looked down and saw that my E string was a D#. Not cool... but I tuned quickly and that was really the hardest part of the show. I did start getting out of breath during a few songs because my adrenaline was pumping so hard and I was putting so much into it, that my body couldn't keep up. :) That's the way it should be! It's such a high!!!
Lots of pictures have shown up on facebook... I just grabbed these two quickly... Thank you Melanie Carver for posting!



My best friend, Sarah, drove all the way down + a surprise guest to come to the show. They got stuck in traffic in Chattanooga and Atlanta, AND it snowed so hard they had to go 45 most of the way. They got there about 30 minutes after my set ended. :( After all that. But we got to hang out the rest of the night... I hated they couldn't see the show, but it was amazing to have them there. The surprise guest was my former bass player and wonderful friend Amy Sporleder!!!! Amy is now playing in Sarah's band. I still can't believe they made the long trip down there!


There are pics of Gretchen and me somewhere, but I didn't get any on my camera. I will acquire them soon, I am sure. But this is us at the merch table. Gretchen and her merch guy were both VERY gracious and let me continue selling my cd's and t-shirts throughout the night. Even when she was in the booth signing.
Here we both are signing stuff - I think this was one of the times where the audience member wanted me and her to both sign a Gretchen t-shirt:


At one point, she poured a BIG shot of Jack Daniels for herself, her merch guy, and then handed me one. When Gretchen Wilson hands you a shot, you take it. And I did. :)

A few people had her sign my shirts and cd's which was so funny to me :) Awesome, and funny. And then Sarah had me sign her Peace Love Fiddle Tee and then got in line and had Gretchen sign the other side. I liked that. :)


So the night was amazing. I have some incredible fans in Augusta and surrounding areas that showed up. We've played there at the Country Club twice before, we used to play at a bar called Coyote's, and we played at Fort Gordon last year in May. There were people from ALL of the aforementioned places. Michelle, who made a blanket during my Fort Gordon show and had me sign it last year, brought me roses AND made me a scarf which was so beautiful!!! It was just so great to have some real fan support at the show. And I can't wait to play in Augusta again! I love it there!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Forbes Top 10 Impoverished Cities

Yesterday we played in Albany, GA. Forbes published an article of the 10 most impoverished cities in America. And Albany was on the list. I heard people talking about it at our show at Darton, and then when I turned the TV on in the hotel, they were reporting on it.

Apparently they had a bunch of plants close down around the same time. So the unemployment rate is ridiculously high there. We've played in 3 of the 4 southern cities on the list -Albany, Ga; Macon, GA and Rocky Mount, NC. They found the data from using a 2008 census, which shows the poverty levels based on yearly income. Plus, they factored in per capita incomes for a region, the number of food stamp recipients, and the percentage of people under 65 receiving public healthcare.

You would have never known it, though to be in the town. It was a beautiful place. And we actually stayed in an award winning Quatlity Inn that was so cute and quaint. People joked with us about making sure our vehicle was locked up... and actually when we were heading back from Cracker Barrel, I saw 6 police cars racing in a line to somewhere.... which wasn't very comforting. But it really seems like a wonderful place, so hopefully the people of Albany can get back on their feet soon. I just found it interesting and thought I would share.

You can read the Forbes article here.

~natalie

Darton College

It feels like days ago that we played our show at Darton College! We played from 11-12:30 for their Sustainability Day event. :) I kept expecting Greenzo from 30 Rock to walk in.

This morning when we left Cochrane at about 6:30am, we were all freezing - and could see our breath. And then this afternoon when we got to the hotel, I laid out for 20 minutes at the pool because it was so hot. Go figure!

Today was a strange day. I really felt awful after I got back. I think sometimes when we have an early show, my body isn't ready for all that. No matter how awake or sleepy I am, how sick or healthy, I try to give the same energy for the show. But after some afternoon rest, and some chicken and dumplings at Cracker Barrel, I feel a LOT better. :) Plus we get to have a good night's rest tonight, and a whole day to drive to Mississippi. But I am going to be triple washing my hands and be EXTRA cautious in the next few days. (Mamma is glad to hear that, I KNOW!) I hope everyone out there is staying healthy, too!

I have another REALLY bad internet connection. Ughh. One day I'll get to upload all these cute pics! At least to facebook :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Barney Fife and Gomer Pyle Danced With Me On Stage Tonight!

It's closing time at the fair :( We had so much fun this week. It was FINALLY a beautiful day out at the Georgia National Fairgrounds. It was still chilly, but it was a million times better today because the sun was out! :)

We made so many great new friends this week. Our friend and dressing room mate, Carrie McQueen, is a fabulous stilt walker and juggler. And her precious puppy, Gypsy (because she was on the road with Carrie 2 weeks after she got her!) was such a sweet puppy. She kept us entertained! And she LOVED James. When he took a little break on the floor... she decided to do the same :)


And LEON!!! Leon Jacobs, the NICEST man in show business. He and I would alternate playing shows on the Georgia National Stage. He plays keys and is just fantastic! And THEN he would run sound during our shows. Everyone constantly had such great things to say about our sound. As one guy said... "Leon goes from song to song. Most sound guys go from sandwich to sandwich" :) I love that! But he was VERY attentive and did an amazing job.
We LOVE Leon. And Chris loves him a LOT. As you can see.


Chris actually got up and did the Tina Turner dance during Leon's last set :) We were all doing just about anything to keep warm. But I have a sneaking suspicion that Chris would have done it anyway ;)-

In the last show of the night, Leon got up to play a song with us, Barney Fife AND Gomer Pyle got up on stage and sang and danced with us!!! I will NEVER forget that!

We had some awesome people out at the show, too! These kids gave me the bear I'm holding!!! They won it and then gave it to me :) So he sat on my amp for all of my shows.


Lucy came to the show yesterday, and then came back again today! She used to play the violin. She was in Germany and had a violin teacher from Holland :) She told me to ask Barney if St. Pete gave him his bullet back when he got to the Pearly Gates. :)


And these guys were AWESOME! They came to a couple shows tonight and wanted their hoodies signed :)



Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

A Prayer of Thanks

There's nothing like playing for a ginormous, packed club! We played at The Country Club in Augusta Georgia tonight, and it was a BLAST!!! We had people dancing, singing along and giving us energy all night. The guys at the Country Club really do it right. They have a really fun stage, great lights, great sound system - it's an awesome venue.
Thanks to everyone who came out from our previous shows in Augusta - and especially all the soldiers from Ft. Gordon!!! God Bless our Troops!
Plus we made lots of new friends tonight, too :)

I'm so happy that the last 3 days have all been really amazing shows. We needed it. It's been a tough week personally for everyone. Especially for our grandparents. Miguel's grandpa passed away yesterday. His grandma passed away just a couple of months ago. They were both diagnosed with cancer at the same time a while ago. But thank the good Lord they aren't in pain anymore. But it is so hard to be on the road and not be able to get to Chile for him to be with his family. He's been trying to make it work, but it's just not gonna be possible. But his mom may get to come up here soon instead, which would be incredible.
We've had some more bad news about grandparents, but we don't know enough yet for me to feel comfortable to talk about it.

More than anything this week has been such a good reminder for us to be thankful of all we DO have. We've all been faced with circumstances that make us stop and think. I am so thankful for the time I've already had with the ones I love... and the time still remaining. We've created such a close family here on the road. I am so thankful that I get to travel with people that I truly love. It would make times like this a lot harder if we weren't already so close with each other. Tonight, I will be saying a prayer of Thanks for every moment I get to spend with my friends and family. I love you ALL. You know who you are.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Dalton Rockin'

I now have a new association with Dalton, GA other than carpets!!! :)

We played at Dalton State University and were supposed to be their first concert in front of their new bell tower, which is beautiful. But the dark clouds were hovering above, and with our luck lately, we all decided not to take any chances. We set up at the indoor location, which was pretty awesome, too!

I even had my own personal cheerleader in the front row! Diego!


CAB who booked us to play!

As always, there's tons more pictures up on facebook!

And I have already been sent an article from the school's newspaper about today's show!!! So COOL! (And timely :) )

DSC students enjoy Stovall's music during "Week of Welcome"

Rachel Brown

Natalie Stovall hadn’t been to Dalton before Thursday, but she drew a packed student center when she performed during lunch at Dalton State College.

The violinist-singer-songwriter from Nashville was invited as part of the “Week of Welcome” events the school’s Campus Activities Board organized for the first week of fall classes.

Stovall performed on the Grand Ole Opry as a member of the Opryland Kids Club when she was 12, graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has performed on the Oprah Winfrey Show and at the White House for George W. Bush.

Stovall said she began playing violin at age 4, auditioned for and was accepted to the Opryland Kids Club when she was 10, and has been performing in various venues ever since. She said she used to “obsess over Michael Jackson” growing up and has always been drawn to the energy of live performances.

“I guess my goal now is to be on the Grand Ole Opry again but with one of my original songs,” she said.

The 27-year-old’s band members are drummer James Bavendam of Seattle, guitarist Miguel Cancino of Santiago, Chile, and bass guitar and vocalist Tim Denbo of Indianapolis. Stovall and her band perform at colleges, clubs, performing arts centers and military bases among other venues.

Charles McKay, a student event volunteer, said he was pleased with the turnout. Organizers first learned of Stovall at a recent convention of the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities in Atlanta, he said.

Amber Hollifield, a second-year history major from Dalton, compared Stovall to pop country star Miranda Lambert and said she believes Stovall has what it takes to make a big name for herself.

“I like this kind of music,” Hollifield said. “She’s really good.”

Sophomore drafting and design major Alex Mendez said he hadn’t made plans to attend the concert, but Stovall’s energetic music and good looks made him decide to stick around for an autograph after the show.

“I got a hug from her, she signed my CD, and I was real happy,” he said.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.

~natalie

Vagabond Shmagabond

I don't know if it is like this with everyone else, but the more things I HAVE to do... the more things get done. It's like getting things accomplished inspires me to get EVEN MORE accomplished. (Even though I still have about a million things I am backed up on right now, but still.)

It's felt really good to be home for a couple of days. It has been non-stop action around here, but that's true with everybody, isn't it? It sure has been nice to sleep in my own bed. I haven't done THAT in over 2 months now. That about floored me when I realized how long it had been. I don't even comprehend. I'm such a gypsy! :) It's been about half and half lately with hotels. Some of them have incredibly comfy beds... but about half are pretty pitiful.... Not that it matters. We hardly ever stay in the same place twice!

Heading down to Georgia for the Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival tomorrow. Pretty stoked about that one.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.

Stovall Rd.

First of all...

We went to Liza's Kitchen earlier today and the ENTIRE band (including Ella and Jenn) can't stop talking about how amazing our food was! I'm saving my left overs for lunch tomorrow :) Randy Peterson, our good friend from Beach TV here in PCB told us all about Liza's. He couldn't believe we'd never been since we play down here all the time! So today, we went. And OH MY LORD it did NOT disappoint! If you're ever in Panama City, you HAVE to stop by. It's on Thomas Drive just a ways down from Spinnaker. :) (All of our directions down here consist of relativity to Spinnaker). Plus, Liza's Kitchen commented on my blog earlier today which automatically makes them the coolest place ever in my book!!! :)

The show was great tonight! The thing I love about Spinnaker? It was a Thursday night and the place did not get PACKED until our 3rd and 4th sets which were at 12:40-1:30am and 2-2:50am! :)

So much of my family is down here on vacation and they are all taking turns coming to the shows this weekend:

Mamma and Daddy




My big brother Joe, sporting the original "Country Rocks Natalie Stovall & Green Line South" t-shirt.


His sister-in-law Andrea (who was also my sister's roommate in college)...


My sister, Stephanie, and her husband, Tony:


And this guy lives on Stovall road in Lagrange, Georgia!!


Can't wait to do it again the next 3 nights. :) PCB is awesome. And hot.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie