As I look back on 2012, I am reminded of many memorable playing experiences with New Sweden. One of these performances took place at the Jalopy Theatre in
Brooklyn, NY back in September. We are lucky enough to have an incredible
sketch of this performance created by New York artist and blogger Robin
Hoffman. You can check out her website Ukelele Chicken to see this captured moment and many
others!
2013 has really started out with a bang (or shall I say cymbal
crash). We had a great time shakin’ the stage at Mojo Main with Tim Meren and
Travel Songs. Thanks to the Flinging Times for a wonderful write up on the night! Beck’s Song-Reader project at the World Café in Philly was a
great way for us to collaborate with the ideas of another musician and express
our sounds through his words.You can check out spotlights of the night from one of our favorite Philly music blogs, The Swollen Fox, here! Taking the stage at Cafe Nola in Maryland was a chance to introduce New Sweden
to some new faces. It was a great night all around so when passing through Frederick, MD,
be sure to stop in! We're heading back this summer - keep an eye out, we should be announcing a date soon. Finally, I can’t
think of a better way to have ended January than sharing the stage with our
good friends, The Hold Up, while seeing our own James Dukenfield off for a month-long visit to China! We wish James a safe and happy trip and can't wait for him to return so we can get back to recording and working on new material. If that show was a precursor for what’s to come, I’d
say we are all going to have a great year. Be sure to continue to check out
these guys and girl; they’ve got some exciting shows coming up!
In other news, we are pleased to announce that we are in the
running to participate in the Hard Rock Rising Competition for 2013; a battle
of the bands, that could lead to some great opportunities for us in the future.
Once again, we need your help to get there! “A Poor Man’s Song,” is available
for download until February 11th on the Hard Rock Café Philadelphia’s facebook page. Each download counts as a vote, so please, download and share!
On that note, there's still time to vote for New Sweden as Delaware's Indie Band of the Year in the Tri State Indie Music Awards - you can also write us in as Groupie's Choice: Indie Band of the Year if you so desire, we won't complain. You can vote once in each category every 12 hours through midnight on 2/11/13! If you're interested in attending the show with us, please send us an email and we'll help you secure discounted tickets to the event!
So what are we going to do with ourselves during
the month of February? Aside from checking out some great local shows in Philly
and Wilmington to support our peers, the plan is to keep busy recording and
practicing! We’ll also be finalizing details for our
2-week venture to SXSW in mid-March. On our way to and from Austin, Texas we
will be performing in some great cities and are excited to leave a piece of New
Sweden throughout our travels. Dates and venues for the tour will be announced
soon!
Thanks all, for the continued support, artwork, and kind
words!
~Laura Beth Jewell
