Happy New Year Hivers! A resolution for next year!

Happy New Year Troublemakers! The lesson learned in 2023 was that of “Respect Thyself”. Our 10th full year together was a unique one. We re-learned a lot about who The Trouble Notes are and what kind of spirit we want to have for many years to come. Most importantly, we end this year with a new kind of Self-Respect that in some ways we had always been lacking. We have always truly carried ourselves with modesty, afraid of becoming ego-driven artists who are hold themselves above their peers and fans, often the very people who have fueled their success. The danger is that when you are always afraid of your own ego, you often do not respect and appreciate all that you have achieved and what it has meant to so many who have been affected by it. After having many in depth conversations with many of you this year, we have realized that we needed to have more respect for what we have achieved in the past, so that we can understand how to improve it in the future. We will always choose to remain humble, but we also see what The Trouble Notes has been, not only for us, but for thousands of others. We have a duty to protect that and continue what is not only a way of making music, but a way of life for us.

When we look back at what we achieved this year, the list is mind-blowing! Joining us for much of the year were Carola, Julz and Tal. For much of the year we were a big family, sharing our passions and talents together on and off of the stage! We learned a lot from each other and you will hear/see more of them in the future as we develop! We supported Coppelius on their “Abwärts” Tour of Germany. Their respect of us as artists and musicians, was a sign of the maturity and experience of our group. We toured the UK in March with Peter from “Good Habits” on drums and accordion. He was a great addition to our team for that month, matching our energy with enthusiasm and general positive excitement. Peter is nearly a decade younger than we are, and it was touching that he wanted to learn from us and incorporate our mentality and energy in his own performances with “Good Habits” throughout their summer tours. We performed our first “Break the Folk” show in Hellerau with The Saxonz. We traveled through the Austrian Alps down to the Appenine Mountains together, hosting workshops for schools, performing in the streets and ultimately together on Stage at the world famous Teatro Regio di Parma. That was perhaps the most magnificent theater in which we have ever performed! We performed again at Glastonbury Festival and Castlefest, where we were treated to some of the most enthusiastic crowds for which we have ever performed. We traveled back to Ireland for the first time in 10 years, performing at Crotty’s Lake. We spent a beautiful time together in Galway with our friend Sharon Shannon, and forged a relationship with Gary Monroe, the host of Galway Folk Festival (wink wink 2024). We once again had special performances in our beloved Alsace, energy packed shows for audiences that we grow closer to each year. We played in Brandenburg with Jethro Tull, a legendary group who inspired our careers. AND we made it back across the Atlantic for our first North American tour in years – showing us just how far we have come as musicians since our last time on the east coast in 2018. America was the perfect highlight of a year that gifted us incredible experiences and meaningful life lessons.

We enter this new year in a very positive place, filled with excitement about what lies ahead. Liberty Awaits is a special album that we released this year and we view it as a stepping stone for a lot of new songs and tunes. We will experiment a lot in the next months, from a position of self-understanding of who The Trouble Notes are. So, dear Troublemaker, we wish you a most fruitful new year! May we journey on in Self-Respect. Beautiful melodies and rhythms will accompany powerful stories. Thanks for traveling with us here and see you in 2024!