A Summary - Part 1 - Me

This will be a fun, happy and a sad post to write, but mostly the first two.

I am currently sitting at The Parcel Yard at King's Cross Station in London, UK, about to have a full English breakfast, minus the black pudding and the mushroom. It is 11-12 am, Sunday morning and I am going home. I can't wait to cuddle up in bed with my kitties and my Sweetie, and give my son a hug. I am missing them all like crazy.

This morning I said goodbye to my wonderful baby sister, one of my absolute favourite people in the world, whom I love so incredibly much and I don't know how long it will be until I get to see her again. It feels extra hard this time since we have seen each other so much over so many times over the last 5 months. But the upside is that we have had so much fun together and we have made so many wonderful memories we will remember with love for the rest of our lives. Thank you for everything, lil' sis! You are truly amazing, and my life is better because of you. I am a better person because of you!

This morning I also said goodbye to our room mates, the amazing H and E. I love both of you! You are both such amazing women and great friends and thank you for sharing this past month's joy and fun and rooms with me.

Yesterday, after a nice breakfast together, I said goodbye to some other people I have come to love and cherish; you know who you are, ladies - Thank you so much for being exactly who you are, for bringing diversity and more love into my life. Thank you for everything and I'll see you soon, somewhere in the world!

All these women are my sisters, and I have more of them - sisters, I mean, Fry sisters - and you know who you are - I am so glad I got to meet most of you during this tour. To those I didn't have the chance to see this time around, there's always next tour! I love all of you and you are all forever in my heart! Thank you for all the laughs!

These ladies, my Fry sisters in crime, are from all over Europe and we were all brought together by the mutual love for Home Free and their music, and thanks to this tour we also share the love for Jeffrey East and his music. Thank you to all of you for giving us this! For sharing so much love and joy with the world, so much that we can spread it with more people.

I started this tour when the guys of Home Free and Jeffrey East started theirs, in Oslo, Norway on August 30th, a little over 3 weeks ago. The guys went on to do 16 more shows in 11 more countries, and I was there for 5 more shows in 4 more countries; Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany and 2 shows here in the UK. Seated shows and standing shows have been a hot discussion during these past few weeks and I will write more about my different experiences with that in my next post. I've been on 7 flights, and a number of trains and buses to get to where I needed to go. I've stood outside in the rain and the cold, I've walked bear armed in the sunshine. I slept in bunk beds, double beds, sofa beds, in teeny tiny rooms and big rooms.

I've laughed and I've cried. I've danced and I sang. I've clapped and I've cheered. I've started a fan group for a new favourite artist. I've written 9 blog posts so far. I've had early mornings, and late nights. I have had nice food and just food. I've had coffee; some days later than wanted, some days too much and some too little. I have walked. A. LOT. I've seen new places and old places.

I have had an absolute blast from beginning to end! And I can't wait to do it all over again in the future.

To my readers; thank you! Thank you for reading, thank you for engaging in discussions, thank you for coming back and thank you for sharing. While I don't write FOR you, knowing that you are reading what I write inspires me. I write from my heart and I hope you will keep coming back for more.

To everyone I've met during these weeks; it was lovely meeting you all! If I missed you, I am so sorry, it's been crazy, it's been fun, and there's been a lot of people around! Next time, if you want to say hello, come and say hello!

Lastly, for this post, I want to say a big thank you to the man in my life, the love of my life, my Sweetie; you are the best, the most loving and amazing man I have ever known. Thank you for supporting me in my life dreams, for being my safe haven to come home to. Not just from these trips, but every day. I love you with all my heart and soul and I can't wait to be back in your arms tonight!

Thank you for reading, this is me signing out from London, UK. Keep your eyes open for part 2 of this summary, but until then remember to live life to the fullest. Smile and dance, and sing. And keep spreading the word to the world about Home Free and Jeffrey East!

Love/
Carina

Home Free and Jeffrey East in London, UK

Last night's show at Union Chapel, London, UK was the last show of the European part pf the Home Free Timeless World Tour and it was simply amazing, of course. What else could it be with these guys?!

Union Chapel is an active church, but it also serves as a concert hall and there is a bar connected to it that serves hot food and beverages of all kinds. You are however not allowed to bring hot food and alcoholic drinks into the chapel itself. The venue was really gorgeous with wooden pews and a high ceiling and balconies.

I didn't have VIP for this show, but we decided to go stand in line for good seats, as it was general admission, about 2 hours ahead of doors opening and I am glad we did because by the time the doors open the line was long. Very long. Very, very long. And it was cold, not as cold as in the rain in Birmingham, but it was cold. Let's just say I am to go back to warmer weather tomorrow. Monday I will go to the beach, to warm up from the outside and in.

This show was emotional because it was the last one for this tour, meaning we don't get to see the guys again in a long time, and because it was the last show the guys gave us all they had left to give. so it was bittersweet.

Jeffrey got everyone going, he is really good at that which I think has been a big reason why the energy has been so high on this tour. His songs are, as he says, very easy to sing-along to because the melodies in the choruses are very sing-along-friendly and catchy (I swear I have at least one of his songs playing in my head at all times these days), and he has a natural way of encouraging the crowd to engage. Jeffrey got us laughing, singing, clapping and he got us so quiet you could have heard a pin drop in the pews. It's unfortunate that his attempt to live stream the whole show fell through due to technical problems because it was good. Really good.

After his part of the show there was a break before Home Free came on and I saw Jeffrey at the merchandise table selling CDs, signing things and having his picture taken with fans. I expect you US Fries will pick things up over there. We will be waiting for his return to Europe, but you can have him for now. Make him feel loved back home too, will you!

And then we have Home Free. The band that changed the way I listen to music, the band that added so much joy and love on top of my already love-filled and joyful life. The band that brings people from all over the world together. They gave it their all. They gave everything they had left to give us right now, there was no holding back. They beamed from beginning to end and the audience picked up on it. I saw old men getting so excited they couldn't wait to stand up and dance. I saw young kids dancing in the aisle. I saw people of all ages and both sexes laughing, singing, dancing, clapping their way through the show. I saw a whole church filled with love and joy coming together thanks to these guys.

Finally for today, I would like to thank the staff at Union Chapel for being amazingly friendly and helpful. Every single one of you was a part of making last night a night to remember, with love and gratitude. Thank you so much for adding joy to our lives!

Within the next few days I will write a summary, my thoughts and feelings about the whole tour, and what it's meant to me. I hope you come back here for that.

But, for now, I am going to rest for a while before it's time for our last dinner in London for this time. See you soon!

Love/
Carina

Home Free and Jeffrey East in Birmingham, UK

The second to last concert of the European leg of the Home Free Timeless World Tour took place last night at the O2 Institute in Birmingham, UK and I want to start with that part to get the only negative part of the show over and done with. The venue itself was beautiful, but the rudeness and lack of basic people skills of most of the staff left a lot to wish for and we left there with a bit of a cloud hanging over us, not just the cloud that had been pouring down with rain on us before the show, but a cloud within. This was after a show that was absolutely through the roof amazing.

While we were waiting for the doors to open for us with regular tickets it started to rain, and it was windy. I had an umbrella and was standing next to the wall and still got quite wet. Those in wheelchairs had their own little area where they were supposed to wait, I say supposed because nobody let them in there, so they were waiting at a corner which I'm sure was even more rainy and windy. I don't mind the security staff going through everyone's bags before entering, but I do mind that they went through the bags of the people in wheelchairs outside in the pouring rain before allowing them inside. Not OK.

Also not OK was the general way they spoke to people, for no reason whatsoever. With one or two exceptions they were rude, harsh and unnecessarily unpleasant. I do not care what experiences they have, if you want people to behave at their best you treat them with kindness and respect. Period. Shame on you, O2 Institute. Shame on you for putting a damper over an otherwise amazing evening.

Right, let's get to the fun stuff!! And boy, this was a fun concert. Leaving the staff's behavior behind this was one to remember. As the tradition now is there was a sing-along to Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver) leading up to Jeffrey East's entrance. 6 of us had put on caps or hats and ginger fake beards and he loved it! We had our picture taken with him after the show, by Chance, and it was a blast!

Jeffrey was amazing as always and the audience seemed to love him, as always. I really hope you get the chance to see him live in the States. Ask for it! Demand it! He is so worth it and worthy of it!

Jeffrey asked us to help him out with something for tonight's show in London; if you are there he wants us to sing-along to his song Roller Rink, a song that is a bonus track on Rascal Flatts latest album, as he wants to live stream his part of the show on his Instagram. So start playing it on repeat! You can find it on both Spotify and YouTube. I recommend listening to Jeffrey's own version as the Flatts has changed a word or two in their rendition.

After a break it was time for Home Free and if you have watched Jeffrey's Insta Story from last night you'll hear the noise from the crowd as they are about to enter the stage (and you'll see us in our hats and beards as well). It was loud! But hurry, it'll only be there for a few more hours.

After a few songs Tim urged those who wanted to stand up and dance to do so, he said something like; "sit if you want, but whatever you choose to do, please sing-along, we love it when you do that". And wow! The audience obeyed and WOW!, the guys absolutely loved it, and so did the audience!

Sometimes it was dancing time, sometimes it was quiet time, sometimes it was loud sing-along time. It was a fantastic mix of everything of the best. At one point during Castle of the Hill the audience sang so loud that we couldn't hear the guys. And it was amazing! It was glorious. Everybody had a fantastic time, it was a party where everyone was engaged. I looked around the room and there were huge smiles on all the faces I saw. Standing or seated, singing or not. Huge smiles. The response during the show was amazing. People were allowed to sit or stand, nobody complained, everybody had the time of their lives, or very likely very close to it, and it was absolutely perfect. Well done, guys, and well done crowd. It's also nice when the guys thank you for helping them out to get the crowd going, because they love it just as much as we do. At least. Probably even more. And we love it a lot.

The comments after the show were those of joy, love, amazement and satisfaction. Perfection!

I am hoping we can beat it tonight, so if you're coming to the show in London, please join in. The guys will very likely ask you to, so don't hesitate. Join the party! It is worth it!

If you are at the London show tonight, please come and find us before it starts and say hello, we'll be wearing name badges and we'd love to have a chat with you.

And tomorrow I'll tell you all about the last concert for this time. I hope I get to tell you they ended it with a bang. No, I am sure I will tell you we all ended it with a big bang of fun, love, joy, dancing, singing and laughing. All mixed up in a couple of amazing hours. Bring it on! We are so ready!

Love//
Carina

Home Free in Cologne, Germany

Well, not just Home Free, Jeffrey East as well of course, because to me this tour has become as much about him as it is about Home Free. I find myself singing his songs as much as I sing Home Free's songs, but I think you already know this. I think Jeffrey himself is starting to understand the fact that he has gained some true fans in a lot of us Euro Fries. .

As you know the last 2 shows I've been to were standing shows, but the show in Cologne yesterday was seated. The guys of Home Free has clearly shown us during this tour that they love it when we dance, sing and clap along to their songs and we sure have done that at those standing shows, so it would be interesting to see if we could get the energy going for a seated show.

I didn't have VIP for this show, but some of my fellow Euro Fries did and they told me before the show started that the Guys had asked us to help them get the audience up on their feet - have them follow our lead - and who are we to disagree, right? There were 10 of us that have been traveling in different constellations to different shows and countries over Europe, meeting up before shows for dinners and some quality friends time, and we were seated on the first 2 rows on one side of stage with ail in the middle. When Take Me Home Country Roads started playing we picked up the sing along to it, as the traditions has become, and when Jeffrey came on at the end of the song we cheered him on. It was obvious from the beginning that we would have to work harder to get the audience going at this show than at the previous shows. My fellow concert goers felt reserved and we felt the looks in the back of our heads when we cheered, clapped, stood up and sang along to Jeffrey's songs. Who are those crazy and annoying people up front? While the audience certainly seemed to like Jeffrey and his music and jokes this crowd didn't show it as much as other audiences have during the shows I've been to previously this tour - reserved and held back was what the 10 of us taught they felt like. Having said that we did get support from a few other groups in the 400 people big crowd and at the end of Jeffrey's set he did get a lot of applause and cheers from all around the venue. Jeffrey is, after all, amazing at getting the crowd to like him and to sing along to his songs.

Then Home Free came on and we, the 10 of us and a few more, got up on our feet again to cheer them on. Just as we thought it did take some hard work to get the audience started, but with the encouragement from the band to follow our lead and dance and sing along more and more got up, and before the show ended most people were up dancing, singing and clapping and all the guys were beaming with joy.

Now, we didn't stand from beginning to end, for some songs we sat down - when it felt appropriate and the guys allowed us to. Yes, there were one or two occasions when we sat down and one of the guys questioned it, like for Adam's beat box solo; when the lights went out and the rest of the guys left stage we sat down, but as soon as Adam noticed it he asked us; "Why did you sit down?". When Adam speaks we listen. The rest of the audience followed our lead and got well into his number, cheering, hollering, clapping along, more than I've experienced at any of the other shows I've attended, and this was my lucky number 11.

I think this show was important because it was a seated show that turned into a mostly standing show, and because it did so the audience got more engaged, and an engaged audience creates better memories for both themselves and the artists.

Most people have experiences with memories being triggered by music. The reason those memories are triggered is because of the emotions connected to the music at the time the memory was created. When we add physical movement we also add muscle memory to the music and the emotion and it will make the memory even longer lasting. That is why being engaged by singing, clapping and dancing raise the energy and why it makes the standing concert a more memorable and more joyful event. This is how it gets deep into your heart and soul and into your bones. The adrenaline and the happy hormones produced when engaged both emotionally, physically, visually and auditory helps with saving the memory as well as creating it. This, I imagine, is what the band gets from the audience when they stand up during their shows rather than just sitting down in their seats. This is what you want to take with you from a concert.

I liked this show because the energy was higher than a full seated show, but my feet and body didn't get as tired as after a full standing show. It was, in a way, the best of two worlds combined. However, if I had to choose between a full seated or a full standing show I would without a doubt choose a full standing show. Memories, remember.

After the show I had the pleasure of having a chat with Jeffrey East again, there is a Facebook fan group for him in the makings and I will be interviewing him for the blog. I can not begin to tell you how much I like this guy, for his personality as well as for his musicianship and I am very excited to be able to give you a bit more of him soon, so stay tuned.

I also had the pleasure of meeting a fan of my blog after the show. Thank you, B, for telling me how much you like what I do here. It meant the world to me and your words made my already amazing day even more amazing.

When walking through the signing line I could sense the gratitude coming from the guys for the help with getting the crowd up on their feet. I also heard of other audience members thanking other Euro Fries from our little group for getting the energy up. Yes, both the guys and the crowd appreciate the energy, the greater memory that comes with engaging more fully.

If you ever wonder whether to do something, to go for something, that could make your heart jump of joy, that has the possibility to bring a smile to your and other people's faces, that has the possibility be full of love and joy stop wondering and just do it. Give it your best focus, pour your heart into it, love every moment of it - because those are the things that make you feel alive. Doing things like that is part of my everyday life, by choice and deliberation, and I truly believe it is what makes my life so amazing. These Home Free experiences with everything it involves, especially spending time with some of the most amazing people and friends I have made along the way, only adds great things to my daily life experiences, and it also creates all these amazing memories for my olden days. To me that is what life is all about. Have fun now, and enjoy the memory of it later.

So, don't let fear hold you back. Dare greatly. Step out of the normality and your comfort zone from time to time. Live. Love. Laugh. Smile. Sing and dance your way through life. Because you're worth it.

Love/
Carina

Home Free in Prague, Czech Rupblic

Yesterday the Home Free family hit the beautiful city of Prague in Czech Republic and as you know I was there. This was the second standing Home Free concert I have attended and just as in Stockholm, Sweden it rocked. Home Free rocked, Jeffrey East rocked, the crowd rocked!

While waiting for the show to start there was music playing and it seems as if it has become a tradition for this tour that the audience has a sing-along to John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads and the Prague audience didn't disappoint. We were simply just standing there in front of the stage, or wherever you were standing, singing along with all that we had. And it was awesome. The feeling of it was that of expectation, because those who have been to one of the previous shows, or if you have seen Jeffrey East's live stream of his act earlier this week, know that it's the last song before Jeffrey comes on. And we were ready. We were so ready!

Just as in Stockholm I was second line up front right in the middle of the stage, but the stage in Prague was smaller and lower so we were very close to first Jeffrey, then Home Free, and it gave the concert a feeling of intimacy. Well deserved intimacy in an artist - fan kind of way. Why well deserved you might ask? Because any crowd that is so engaged as this crowd was from beginning to end deserves it. It is important to remember though that the relationship is that between an artist/s and their fans. They give us their all and we give them our all. They give us their skills and we give our skills. They give us their music and we give our joy of enjoying their music. That's what it's all about.

This was the 3d time seeing Jeffrey East and you all know I loved him from the get-go. It hasn't changed. At the first show in Oslo he didn't know what to expect and he was blown away by the response he got. In Stockholm he might have started to understand that we might actually really like him. Yesterday he knew, and it showed. The audience showed their love for him and he showed his love for us. One of Jeffrey's strong sides is to get the crowd to sing-along to his songs. He doesn't even have to ask us anymore, as he pointed out. Last night he played one of his songs he hadn't played before here in Europe, but we still knew it and could sing along to it. He loved it, and we loved giving it to him! I really hope those of you that are in the States get the chance to see him live, because he is already becoming the second music act I would travel Europe to see. I have already gone from going on a Home Free tour to going on a Home Free and Jeffrey East tour. So here's the opening act becoming just as important as the main act. Well done Home Free for picking Jeffrey East to support you on this tour, and in case any of you read this; you guys are a perfect fit! A match made in heaven. Thank you! And I'm looking forward to any type of collaboration between you, and I really hope that Tim was telling us the future last night when he said there will be a Jeffrey East song on the next Home Free album. Can't wait!

Being so up close to a stage as low as it was last night brings, as mentioned, a very intimate feeling, and it also gives the opportunity to read the guys' facial expressions and looks in their eyes. In Stockholm they were surprised and amazed by the response they got from the crowd, in Prague they expected it, but they were still amazed. The joy and love they showed when looking out over the audience was so visible you could almost touch it. This show was my 10th Home Free concert and to me it has been obvious for a long time that even though the set list might be the same for every show, the expression from the guys are slightly different for each of them. I believe that the reason for that is that they feed off the energy of the audience. I haven't been to a show in the States, but for this tour in Europe we give them our all. We sing every word, we clap along and we dance. We engage fully and completely from beginning to end and we feed the guys a whole lot of energy to give back to us. We give them all our heart and soul and we're all loving it! It's a win - win. Yes, our feet and our backs hurt afterwards and we might lose our voices, but I can't think of anything I would rather do in a concert than feeling all the love and joy and I have inside of coming out to be shared with everyone around me. This is why I travel all over Europe to see them. It makes me feel truly alive, it brings out the best feelings in me, it gives me inspiration to live my life to the fullest and it is making me amazing friends for life.

I understand that standing shows isn't for everyone, but I hope the rest of the world will get to experience them too if you choose to try it out. I can promise you that it is worth it for most people. Unless you are there only to hear beautiful harmonies. But if you're in it for the guys, then you are in for a treat, for sure.

What else can I say about last night's show? We surprised Adam by not shouting back 3, but doing the beat boxing part instead. That was fun! We waved flags from around the world during the encore Love Train, the bass literally moved back a step when Tim or Adam hit those lows and my chest rumbled more than ever before. It felt like an earth quake going on inside it! Amazing! Freaking amazing! It was hot, but not as hot as Stockholm.

I am currently 11 hours into a bus ride from Prague to Cologne, Germany for tomorrow's show. I'm looking forward to a day off from traveling tomorrow and a bit of a sleep-in before doing the touristy thing.

Look for my next post on Tuesday, where I will keep you updated on the the difference on going to a seated show after 2 standing shows.

Love/
Carina

Trip 2 - Prague and Cologne

And it's tour time again!!

I am at the airport, killing time waiting for my flight to Prague, Czech Republic this evening. The time is 4:45 AM and my flight leaves at 7:00 AM. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how excited I am.

So far Home Free and Jeffrey East seem to be enjoying this tour a lot. In show after show both they and the audience are singing, dancing and clapping for all they are worth, and I am positive tonight's show will keep adding to the list of shows that are mind-blowing, heart warming and joyful. 

I will be meeting up with a lot of friends in Prague, lovely people I've gotten to know through Home Free. My sister I've known her whole life, another friend I've known close to 30 years, some I've met several times before in several countries over the past 2,5 years since the first time Home Free came to Europe, some I've shared a room with before, some I've met once and some I will meet for the first time. We come from all over Europe; Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic and of course Spain (that's me). 

This show is a standing show, just as Stockholm was last week and just as Vienna was last night. I know Stockholm was epic, and I have heard that Vienna was even better so there is no doubt in my mind that Prague will be even more epic and better than those shows. I know all of us will do our best to make it so.

Tomorrow morning I will get on a bus, together with another Swede and 2 Finns, from Prague to Cologne, Germany for the show on Monday. I am looking forward to seeing the scenery along the way, and to get some rest. I've had a busy week and so far I've only slept 45 minutes tonight. I'm not a great plane sleeper, but I will do my best to get at least an hour of it on my 3 hour flight. 

Some of us are landing at more or less the same time so we'll kick everything off at the airport already. I see a lot of laughter and hugs in my near future. 

On the bus tomorrow I will write a blog to tell you all about tonight's show, and of course there will be one about the Cologne show on Tuesday. I'm so excited to write them! 

But now I will have my airport breakfast of champions - a banana, salt and vinegar crisps (chips for you US folks out there), black coffee and water - and watch a film. I've got another hour to kill before my gate is announced.

I wish you a fantastic day, I know mine will be. Have fun, love a lot, laugh much!

Love/

Carina

Home Free in Stockholm, Sweden

Before last night I was seriously wondering how a standing Home Free concert would pan out. I wonder no more. And I want more!

Last night Home Free became rock stars.

But before I tell you more about it I want to talk to you a bit more about Jeffrey East, Home Free's opening act for (almost) the entire tour. The only show he isn't opening for them is tonight's show in Denmark, I assume because it's a festival rather than a concert. 

I mentioned yesterday I had a chance to chat with him after the show in Oslo, and I had a chance to chat with him again last night in Stockholm. He is such a great guy and I'm really looking forward to seeing him 4 more times this tour. 

The show in Stockholm was a sold out standing room only concert of around 600 people in the audience. I was standing second line, smack in the middle with a fantastic view. Having seen Jeffrey the night before I knew it was going to be great. And boy was it! Jeffrey's voice remind me a bit of Ed Sheeran's, but smoother, softer and more country. His songs are memorable melodies with great lyrics, and his stage presence and interaction with the audience are exactly what they should be. He's there to have fun with you. And he was having fun last night! And so were we! If you haven't looked him up on YouTube or Spotify yet you should, even though he doesn't have much out there yet. Jeffrey East is a name you'll be hearing more of in the future. You might as well want to get used to it right now. There will be a separate post about him further on this month so keep an eye out for it! 

So Jeffrey rocked last night, the audience cheered him on, loved him and he had the sweetest smile on for his entire act. A great opening act for Home Free, not because he delivers great music but also because just as them he makes you laugh. So important. Laughing is such a big part of a concert experience. When you combine music, laughter and joy the memory stays alive forever. 

So, a standing Home Free show, what's it like? Judging by last night it is magical, it is rock, it is dancing and moving your butts, it is loud singing in front of the stage (and yes, you still hear the guys as much as you want to), it is being so close to the stage you can see the joy on their faces, the amazement and surprise in their eyes, the what the heck is going on here all over them from the beginning to the end. It is hollering and shouting and clapping, and it is the best thing I've ever experienced as far as concerts and fun in general goes. 

Last night was magical and if Oslo was the best I've ever seen them before, Stockholm kicked Oslo's bum to the moon and back. For real. Last night will be a night a lot of people will remember for a very long time. Not only us Crazy Euro Fries supporting the guys from in front of the stage, but for those further back as well from what I heard after the show, and I'm pretty sure the guys in Home Free had a dream come true last night. Because isn't being on stage in front of a crowd that is having as much fun as we were having last night every artists dream? Arms in the air, and engaged from top to bottom fans enjoying everything you deliver. That dream. That what we, the audience, gave them last nigh. That was what they inspired us to be last night.

We were having so much fun that I don't think any of us got anything on video, so I don't have anything for you to share today, but I'll see if I can get hold of something further on.

Rob, who's grandparents are Swedish, was loving it and he sang us a bed time song they used to sing to him when he was a kid, that he sings to his daughter now. No-one recognized it and I only understood a few words of, which brought down a lot of laughter, but I understood enough for me to be able to find it when I googled it so it wasn't as bad as we first thought.

Chance, who is a football (soccer to you in North America) fan and also a fan of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is a world known Swedish football (soccer) player, was wearing a t-shirt that said Zlatan and it brought down a lot of cheers when he showed it off. 

I was so close to the stage that I could see Adam's face muscles moving during his solo, that guy don't need to do face yoga, I tell you! He was on fire. There was a bit of moment there during is solo when the lights were turned off so Adam could change his jacket into the mirrored one, but he couldn't find it in the dark so eventually we heard him giggle in the darkness before the lights came back on and it found it.

Austin was shaking his head a lot during the show and I saw him exchange looks with the other guys on numerous occasions in disbelief of what was going on. Austin always feed off the energy of the crowd and last night was no exception and when he put his fist up in the air in a classic rock star position and a big smile on his face you know he's loving it! 

Tim's smile, well all the guys' smiles, during the show was that of someone being in complete awe. I almost thought his head would break into two halves because it was stretched so far from ear to ear. Several times I got the feeling that he was almost at a loss for words. Tim Foust - at a loss for words. Can you even begin to grasp that?

The energy of this show was stronger than I've ever experienced before, the guys and the audience were all on fire. On FIRE. 

What to say about the songs and the singing? The set list was a couple of songs less than in Oslo, but it didn't even matter. With the joy, fun and energy going on last night the guys obviously sounded fantastic as always, but with some extra spicing on top. Hot! Hot! Hot spicing! It was the spicing of feeling like rock stars. For a concert that could be the best ingredient you can add. 

Speaking of hot, it was hot.The room, I mean. We were as wet of sweat as if we had taken a shower with our clothes on right then and there, but we didn't even mind. Our feet were aching, our ears were ringing, but it just added to the fun and joy. Hot!

There is nothing I would want to change about last night, and I am challenging the rest of Europe to keep this up. I am challenging the world to step up and follow the lead. If you want to see Home Free in their truest element this is the type of concert you want to see.

With two sold-out shows in a row, two shows that were actually sold out within a couple of hours and moved to bigger venues, that have lifted the roof in different ways we sure have our job cut out for us for the rest of this tour. I'm excited about Prague, which I believe is another standing show, and I know there will be a lot of Euro Fries from all over Europe there to put a special touch to that show as well. 

But for me it's time for a week's rest. Today I'm having dinner with my family here in Sweden before going home to Spain tomorrow.  

Since I don't have a live video from last night I'm going to share the brilliance of Jeffrey East with you today. Go like him on his socials and enjoy! 

My next concert is in Prague on the 8th, 1 week from today, so on next Sunday I'll tell you all about it. Until then. Keep feeling alive, keep believing in love and keep listening to great music!

Love/

Carina

Join the Love Train

Hello there!

Welcome back, dear reader, and welcome back inspiration!

It's been a year since I last wrote something for this blog. Simply because I completely lost my inspiration for writing, but it's coming back to me now and what better way to celebrate my returned inspiration than with a blog post on my all-time favourite blog (ok, I'm partial, but I'm allowed to be) about my all-time favourite subject; Home Free and their return to Europe!!

Yes, they are (finally) coming back to us over here on this side of the pond! And what a glorious return it will be!

One of the reasons my inspiration was missing was because I found myself in what is commonly known, within the Home Fry community, as the Home Free Blues. It usually hits you after a Home Free show, and especially so if you don't know when you'll be seeing them again.

Back in May 2017 when I last saw them live, here in Spain, they told us they would be back in September of this year so I knew that much, but they also told us we'd get more information about it in September 2017. Obviously the Home Free Blues hit before September, it actually hit pretty much a year ago to be exact, but it didn't help when September came and went without a word about the tour. Early this year we were told we'd get more info come early February, but February also came and went without any more information. My Home Free Blues got deeper and deeper, so bad that listening to their music didn't even help. Now, don't get me wrong - I was still happy and content with my life as it was, the Home Fee Blues (let's call it HFB) didn't change that - but I wanted to start planning my travels, book hotels and flights, and start dreaming more detailed about the shows I would attend.

And then finally, at the end of May 2018, more than a year after finding out they are coming back in September 2018, they hit us with the announcement of a bigger tour than we could ever have imagined; 12 countries, 17 shows in 23 days! Wooaaawww! (Doing my happy dance every time I think about it!)

As a Patron of theirs I was sent the information in the middle of the night, but I was getting up to catch a flight to Sweden so I saw it only minutes after it was posted on Patreon. Let's just say my trip was not only filled with the joy and love of seeing family and friends, but it was also filled of planning which shows to attend and who should buy tickets to which shows. Yes, shows. You didn't think I would only do one show, did you?

The timing of the release of the tickets was perfect too, as I came home in the middle of the night before and I had the day off from work. Perfection!

Anyway, I am now a proud owner of tickets for 6 shows in 5 countries, 2 I've never been to before. The first 2 shows, 2 in the middle and the last 2 shows. 3 trips. The Euro Fry Family is a tight community and I'll be going to 5 of the shows with my sister H, and our two friends H and E. We've all been to Home Free shows together in the past. We will also meet up with a bunch of other Euro Fries, some that we are very close to, some that we have met once or several times before and some that we are yet to meet.

Hotels are booked, flights are next to sort out and whatever else we need to book will follow and I couldn't be more excited!!

Home Free timely released a new video in the days after ticket release and it couldn't be more perfect. It's their rendition of O'Jays "Love Train". I would be surprised if you have never heard this song before.

This version is so full of love and joy and the video reflects the message perfectly. They have already been doing this song in their live shows for a while and they asked fans all over the world to send them videos of them dancing to it. They then used those videos for their video (and I see some familiar Euro Fry faces in it), mixed in with sequences of them singing and dancing, styled as in a 70's sitcom.

Here's why this song and video is timely; the lyrics of the song encourages "people around the world" to "join hands" and "start a love train" or "join the love train". And to me that is exactly what their fans are doing all around the world. I already know I will be seeing people from at least 10 different countries at the shows I'm attending and we're all coming together because of these amazing guys and their music. We have already joined the Love Train that Home Free has started!

Now, before you watch the video below there's a couple of more things I would like to tell you; I am planning on doing a Home Free Euro Tour series here on the blog, where I will write about my experiences of the different shows. Traditionally the Home Free shows are seated shows, meaning the audience sit during the shows, but a couple of the shows I'm attending, including the one in my home country Sweden, will be standing room only. I know the guys pick up a lot of their energy on stage from the audience so it will be very interesting to see and experience the differences between a show with a standing audience and a seated audience. So stay tuned for those posts.

Now, almost lastly, if you didn't get your ticket yet you really should because they are selling out one show after the other (actually several shows already sold out and was moved to bigger venues with more tickets released), so don't wait any longer! Here's the link to their website and the tour schedule.

And, finally, here's the video! Watch it, re-watch it, share it, spread the love, start a love train, join a love train, sing with us and dance, dance, dance!

Much Love//
Carina

The Euro Fry Family

Yesterday I came home from yet another Home Free travel. This was my third one and they just keep getting better and better although it's hard to believe that it's even possible. It isn't just the Guys of Home Free, as a whole and individually, that keeps improving - everything is!

This trip made my 6th and 7th time seeing them and my 3d and 4th VIP meeting them. I can honestly say that I am already excited for the next time. The pure love and joy I feel in their presence is quite stunningly mind-blowing when I start thinking about it. It how they make us feel that keeps us coming back for more.

My first stop on this trip was Utrecht in the Netherlands and my second stop was Girona, Spain, but in this first blog post about my trip I won't get into any details or stories about either of the shows or the VIPs. This post is dedicated to my extended family, to the Euro Fry Family as we call ourselves.

Back at the end of 2015, after the very first European show was announced I decided to start a special group for the Fries going to that show, and the later added shows, on that very first tour in this part of the world. I felt we needed a place where we could get to know each other better, a place where we could plan and discuss things like when we would arrive, which hotels we would be staying at and what clothes to wear without interruption from other Fries, and without posts about it getting lost in all the other posts. After that first tour we decided to keep the group for those that had been there and for future shows. We decided to keep it dedicated to only Europeans or to others going to any Euro shows. We felt we wanted and needed a place to ourselves to grow our own culture here in Europe.

We became a family even before we met that very first time. As you might have read in previous posts I wouldn't have been able to go to those first 2 shows, Birmingham and London 2016, if it hadn't been for a couple of amazing Fries making sure I got tickets and even picking me and my partner in crime, my sister Helena, up at the airport and driving us 3 hours to Birmingham.

Today our Euro Fry Family has grown to almost 200 members, and we expect it to keep growing.

This family is filled with so much love and joy it is almost difficult even for me to understand it, and I'm all about that love! This past weekend I have met Fries from all over Europe; Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, Poland and probably more I can't think about right now. Please let me know in the comments if I met you and you're from a country I missed. I am used to multiple nationalities hanging out together since I live in a tourist area and have friends from all over, but this was still quite amazing.

I have gotten and given so many hugs and I have laughed until I cried more times than I ever have in such a short period of times. I have shared hostel and hotel rooms with people from a total of 4 different countries. I shared a flight with 4 other Fries from one show to another. I shared some of the best memories I will ever have with these people and I am so incredibly grateful and happy to have them all in my life. We slept little, talked a lot, laughed more, sang loud and loved from the depths of our hearts.

And we owe it all to 5 Guys that share their time and talents with us with joy and love. I know we are all already eagerly waiting to hear about the next time Home Free will come to see us - maybe even more so we get a chance to see each other than to see them. And we will all do whatever we can to see them again.

To my Euro Fry Family - you know who you are - I love you, you are amazing and I am so grateful I get to share this unbelievable experience with y'all. Thank you for being a part of this crazy life!

I loved being at Home Free's first show in Spain, just as I loved being at their first show in Europe last year, and I have so many things to tell you about that experience, after I told you all about the Utrecht show, in an upcoming post.

I didn't film any of the songs myself, but I found this video of Don't It Feel Good from Girona on YouTube. For those who don't know this is a Home Free original written by their bass singer Tim Foust. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Watching a video will never even begin to prepare you for what it's like to be there in person, but it will give you an idea of it.

So, Don't It Feel Good to be a part of this Euro Fry Family, my lovelies?

Love//
Carina

Blue Looks Good On the Sky

We have waited for months for something new from Home Free. We haven't seen a new video since December when they released White Christmas. We haven't heard any new music since October when they released How Great Thou Art. But, finally, finally, finally, we could stop waiting earlier this week. 

Personally, I feel it was worth the wait, although I don't really want to wait for that long ever again. 

What they gave us is fresh and exciting and I can't wait to hear and see what else they have in store for us. 

Keith Urban's Blue Ain't Your Color is a bluesy country ballad that reached the top spot on several music charts around the world, including the US Hot Country Song (Billboard) chart where it spent 12 weeks as Nr 1. It is a great song that sticks in your memory, but I still get kind of bored with it halfway through. That's something I never get with Home Free's songs - they have a way of keeping them interesting all the way through.

So how did Home Free do covering this Grammy nominated song? I am not surprised, but as always pleased, to say that they knocked yet another one out of the park. They stayed close to the original, but still managed to give it a fresh and different twist. 

Bass singer Tim Foust and beatboxer Adam Rupp lay the - as always - solid foundation for Tenor Rob Lundquist who takes the lead. With his clear and unbelievably smooth voice Rob adds some soul to the mix of blues and country. Add the impeccable doo-wop harmonies, Austin Brown's high pitch oh-oh and Adam Chance's baritone to the second part of the song and the Motown feel was complete. 

Yes, this is a soulful, bluesy, country song with a touch of old school Motown a la Temptations or Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. And it works. It works incredibly well. Home Free's producer and arranger Darren Rust did it again! 

The Motown feel could have stopped there, but I am so happy that it didn't. The band decided to bring it to the video as well and in it we will see the five Guys standing in a straight line with microphone stands in front of them doing some slick and smooth classical Motown style dance moves choreographed by Kristin Denehy! And I am so happy I could cry. Honestly and for real! I mean, I love the old Motown feeling because it has heart and soul. I love Home Free because they have heart and soul. Bring the two together and I am in heaven - and blue really do looks good on the sky! And on the Guys of Home Free! There are so many things I love about this cover and video I could go on for ages, but I won't. I need to let you check it out for yourselves! 

But before you do - on another Home Free note; they are coming to Europe next month for 2 shows in Austria, 1 in Denmark, 1 in the Netherlands and 1 in Spain - I will be at the last 2 of them. Woohooo!! For more information and tickets check out their website. Oh, and the show in the Netherlands sold out in a matter of minutes! How cool is that!!

Also, they are working on a full European Tour for September of 2018 - to be announced in September later this year. I can not wait!!!! 

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday and I promise you that if you watch this video you will enjoy it even more - or start enjoying if you weren't already. 

Home Free Talk-along

For those of you that have been to a live show with Home Free - you already know what an amazing experience that is, but for those of you that have yet to see this amazing group perform live - what the heck are you waiting for?? Seriously, you will not have a better time at any live show, ever. Or at a live comedy act. These Guys are just so talented, with such amazing voices, serious charm, good looks and they top it all off with an amazing sense of humour that at times will make your cheeks hurt because you are laughing so much.

I have so many impressions and stories to tell from the three UK shows that I just attended, but I am still sorting them out in my head, trying to understand what the heck I got myself into on August 16, 2014 when I clicked to watch the first video with them that I came across. All I can say is that it made my life better in a lot of different ways, and I know we are many that say the same thing. Home Free certainly brings people together and their music help people heal from all sorts of different things. And I love every minute of it. I really miss my Euro Fry Family. I can't wait to see them all again. Oh, and I obviously can't wait to see Home Free again. One thing I've learned to be true is that every show with them is different from the last one you saw, even if that last one was only a few hours earlier. Every show is a unique experience. That's why we keep going to as many shows as we possibly can, they all stand on their own.

Anyway, I have a little treat for you all today, At the 4pm show in London, at the London A Cappella Festival, we, the audience, kind of blew the Guys away when we all sang/talked along with Tim to Champagne Taste (On a Beer Budget), a song that Tim wrote. Everything in this clip is so great; Austin's reaction, Tim's smile and even laughter, the audience and of course the back-up dancers - all of it was such great fun. It is surely one of my fondest memories from all the shows I went to. 

Luckily one of the Euro Fries caught this gem on film so I can re-watch it over and over again. Just see for yourself, and send a big thank you to zollykod for sharing it with us all. Thank you so much, C!

And this is what Tim said after the song ended, big thanks to my sister Helena for sharing it with us. It's my holler you can hear, btw. hehehe

A big thank to both ladies who uploaded these two clips to YouTube just so I could share this moment with you! You are both amazing!

Some of you might know that I had plans to go the US to see them next month, but I had to cancel those plans. I'm ok with not seeing Home Free because I just saw them three times and I will see them in 3 months again, in Spain (although, I could never get enough of seeing them live.) and maybe somewhere else too. Oh, did I forget to mention that they are looking to do a short Euro tour in May? Well, THEY ARE!! It's not been confirmed but straight from their mouths is that they are looking at Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands for May when they are over for the Spain gig. As I said it's not 100 percent certain yet, which is why they haven't announced it properly yet, but they are close to being there. I hope I can make it to at least one of those shows, but I will at least have Spain. I am already excited about it and our plans are starting to come together. Bring it on!!

Back to the fact that I will not be going to see them in the US - this leaves me with tickets to two shows. I have a regular ticket for Aurora, IL on March 24 and a VIP for Terre Haute, IN on March 25. Keep your eyes on this space for more information on how to get your hands on one of them. The Aurora, IL ticket will be Fried Forward and the Terre Haute, IN will be sold. That is all I am saying at the moment. Stayed tuned!

I will also say that I am sad that I don't get to see my US Frie(nd)s as soon as I was hoping to, but I will go there at some point in the future. A Christmas show in the US is on my bucket list, after all. 

Love//
Carina

Home Free In Europe x 2

Happy New Year, and hey, I'm back!!

I took an unplanned and unexpected break from blogging, actually from almost all kind of writing, after my last post in April. I had a lot of things going on in my life that needed my focus and attention, and it has taken some time to find the inspiration and true will and love for writing again. It happens, even though I know I feel much happier when I do write.

Anyway, I am great, I still love my life - that never changed - and I still love writing. So, here I am again. Yayy! Welcome back me!!

So, what's this about Home Free coming to Europe? Well, they are coming to Europe. Soon. But before I get deeper into that I should mention that they have been back here once since I last saw them. They were headliners for the 2nd Annual Country Festival in the Austrian alps back in September, and needless to say they were a hit and they absolutely loved it. I hope they will be back this year, but time will tell. Also, they are actually scheduled to come to Europe TWICE during the first half of this year.

First off, they are coming back to the UK (and Ireland) in a few weeks time. They are doing a total of 5 shows starting with Dublin, Ireland on January 24 followed by Cardiff, Wales on the 25th, Birmingham, England on the 26th and they are finishing the tour up with 2 shorter shows at the London A Cappella Festival at Kings Place in London, UK on the 28th. The London shows have been sold out for a long time (it didn't take long before they were), but I believe there might still be tickets available for the other shows. So if you are anywhere near or have the possibility to travel you should go grab one! It is well worth the money, I promise. To buy tickets for their shows just go to their website.

I am flying to London on the 22nd to meet up my sister and our fried E for a week of fun. We have a lot planned and are not only going to the Birmingham show, but also have VIP tickets for the first London show and regular tickets for the second one later that same day. Yup, we are going to the same show twice in one day. (Call us fanatics or groupies or whatever, we don't care.) To say that we are excited is an understatement. We are very eager to not only see and meet Home Free again, but to meet up with our "old" Home Fry friends as well as getting to meet "new" ones. There is going to be a whole lot of laughter, hugs, love and music that week.

We are not only going to do Home Free related things, though. We are also going to go sightseeing, have afternoon tea, visit the Harry Potter Studios and see the musical Kinky Boots. So much fun is planned!! I can't wait!! The best part is that I get to do it all with my little sister! I love her so much, she is the very best!

On the 29th we will fly to Sweden and I will spend a few days visiting with family and friends, and I am mostly looking forward to hug my mum. I haven't seen her since May 2015. She doesn't know I'm coming so I hope she'll be happy to see me. Hahaha

But, didn't I say that Home Free are scheduled to come to Europe TWICE in the first half of this year? Yes, yes, I sure did! The details about the second time has not been publicly shared yet, but

THEY ARE COMNG TO SPAIN!!!!

Wooohooooo!!! All I can say about it now is that they are coming to an area around Barcelona on a Saturday in May - and I have a VIP ticket for it!! Of course.

Go support them on Patreon for more information and a chance to buy tickets.

Actually, this one is extra exciting for me because in the information they shared to the Patrons, on Patreon, they mentioned me personally, by name, as someone they knew would be excited to visit with them in Spain! For Real!! There I was, on the first day of the year, snuggled up on the sofa with the best man in the world when I got the email and I saw Spain and then my name - and I kind of freaked out a bit. And then their manager Luke shared a link to the information in the official Patreon group on Facebook and he tagged me. I didn't even finish reading all the information so at first I missed that VIP tickets were already on sale. I'm glad someone mentioned it to me only minutes later so I could get one for me and my sister. I am still a bit in shock and disbelief about it all. It is kind of surreal that my all-time favourite band would mention me.

Do I need to say that I love it? Big time! What an amazing start to the year!

Oh, wait! I'm not done with Home Free related Euro shows yet! Chris Rupp, the founder and former baritone of the group is scheduled to do a solo tour in Northern Europe during the second half of March. He hasn't released all the details yet, but he will be doing 4 shows in Germany, 2 in Sweden, 1 in the Netherlands. 1 outside of London and 1 in Dublin. He hasn't even toured the USA yet. We get him first! How cool is that! Stay tuned for more information! Or better yet;

Go support Chris on his Patreon page to get a heads-up.

Wow! That is a lot!

I'd like to end this post with one of my all-time favourite Home Free songs. Their cover on Thomas Rhett's "Die A Happy Man". I love it for several reasons; it showcases Home Free's newest member Adam Chance's voice so well - it's such a smooth voice with a whisky rasp filled with a lot of emotions, Also, the love shown between Tim and his lady is so sweet and uplifting. They married last week and are currently on their honeymoon. I hope they will keep looking at each other with such love for the rest of their lives. Congratulations to them!

Have a nice weekend!
Love//
Carina