Show in Harrisonburg 11/7, a merch special, and some thoughts about connecting with the real world 🙂
Hello, friends. It’s been a looong time since our last note, and it might be the first note for many of you, who kindly wrote down your email address at a show to stay in touch with us, maybe even a few years ago.
We have had a quieter year this year when it comes to JT shows. It’s been a full year in many other ways, and we are grateful for everything that’s filled our time, but we do miss seeing you all and sharing music together! We have one Harrisonburg show left on the books this calendar year (tomorrow, November 7!), and then here’s hoping we can make many more music-centered gatherings happen in 2026 🙂
Thanks to everyone who has come out to a show this year and listened to our music in your daily life. It truly means the whole world to be connected to one another through the sharing of art and time.
— Valerie
How are you feeling? If you were to take a slow, deep breath in—and a slow, deep breath out, what emotions would settle at the top of your chest where you can feel them?
I feel tired, like my energy is scattered and therefore harder to harness… a little frazzled at the synapses. Wanting to make sense of the million bits of information jetting around in my periphery. Wanting also to feel my feet on the ground, settle into any activity that will draw me closer to the Earth herself.
I also feel hopeful—a kind of supercharged kinetic energy that’s so full of potential I just don’t know which foot to put in front of the other first.
So I’m working on relishing in the feeling of one step at a time with no worries about footwork. Ever-aware of the multiplying presence of textureless digital things, I feel more motivated than ever to dig my heels into real things—not entirely out of obstinacy, but out of a deep desire to stay connected enough to contribute to the flourishing and continuation of this beautiful world.
In practice for me recently, this has manifested in
learning new fiddle tunes on the mandolin (I just picked up Flowers of Edinburgh!)
playing Gin Rummy with Taylor and keeping score on a notepad
hot herbal tea, enjoying every sip
walking by the river
every few visits, I bring my camera. intentional photo walks are a great way to find grounding in the physical world
when I go on river walks with my friend, we bring trash grabbers and trash bags and pick up litter as we go along. I honestly find picking up trash SO fun (😆 — not surprising if you’ve heard The Next Place You Look; I do love looking for stuff) and highly recommend it as a pastime that is not only fun but makes our shared environments healthier and more beautiful 🙂
I bet the grip strength I’ve gained from grabbing trash will feed into my mandolin practice. ~ see, everything’s connected ~
playing tennis at the park
~ more grip strength! ~
sketching, drawing, and writing
daily Morning Pages
I recommend this practice to anyone. for me in this season of life, it has helped me perceive and articulate my own sense of direction, and listen closely to what I might otherwise overlook just below the surface
reading books. I am almost done with Anna Karenina (it’s a tome) and loving it so much. if you’ve read it, please let me know so we can talk about it 🙂
attending local open mic nights and shows. this has already been such a fruitful way to make fresh connections and just relish in the company of other people in the middle of the week. it’s always inspiring to hear others share what they’ve been working on and thinking about.
What’s connecting you to the real world recently? I’d love to hear about it. Most of the items on my current list were inspired by friends. We all have so much to offer each other. We have each other, and we need each other, and we are going to lift each other up in the midst of any future that comes to pass. I feel motivated to make it a beautiful one, with any bits of energy I can find and fuse together within the context of community.
Juniper Tree Updates
Friday, November 7 in Harrisonburg, VA
We are so delighted to be playing an intimate, listening-room style show with our dear friend Ebony Nicole TOMORROW, November 7 in downtown Harrisonburg. Make us the last stop on your First Fridays rounds (Emily Lively Guinn’s show This Time, This Year at Sage Bird Ciderworks being your penultimate) — we’d absolutely love to share a warm cozy night of music with you.
At Liberty Mercantile, hosted by Rhythm & Vinyl.
Doors 6:30, music 7:00 | we play first! and Taylor will be joining Ebony Nicole and Perry Blosser for the final set of music!
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Friday, January 16 in Richmond, VA
We are so excited to return to Richmond Music Hall to kick off 2026, this time with Colorado bluegrass band The Cody Sisters. We are going to make this a special one, more details to come! For now, mark your calendar and snag tickets! <3
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Us, you know
Our very own Taylor made and released his very own album this year, and it’s a thing of beauty. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or haven’t listened in a few days, give it a spin <3
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Bandcamp Merch refresh (+ free print!)
Just in time for Bandcamp Friday, we added our Saturn Frog tees to the Bandcamp page! Bandcamp waives their fees on the first Friday of every month, so if you make a purchase tomorrow, November 7th, 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the production of our next studio album.
UPDATE: there is no Bandcamp Friday this month! The next one will be December 5th. If you’re not sure check isitbandcampfriday.com
~ All Bandcamp purchases made for the remainder of 2025 will come with a free mini linocut print by Valerie! ~
Thanks for reading this far!
Take good care, and I hope we get to see you soon!
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