Liv Lombardi has a voice that you just can’t forget once you’ve heard it.  She’s one of my favorite singer/songwriters in New Jersey and I’m lucky to call her a friend.  She is touring her way to New Mexico to record a new album and has agreed to write a tour diary for us. Liv is funding the new record with an IndieGoGo campaign so please help her with a donation.

She’s traveling with Matthew Smith of Hodera who is playing solo sets on this tour. We first met Matthew through a show that Liv put on several years ago so if you know about Hodera from us, it’s also because of Liv.

Here’s Liv’s second tour diary entry:

DAY 3 & 4: Chicago, IL

Chicago is a city I keep going back to and never want to leave. To say Matt and I had the best time over the past two days, would not be doing justice to explain our wonder. This city! I got to spend time with two of my closest friends & introduce them to Matt. We played music out on the porch, shared songs for hours, danced to live blues all night…Man, the love that swelled up in me throughout our visit& because of the people that I hold so close to my heart–these two days have been medicine. Truly.

We had spent a long night before driving from Columbus. We got a few hours of restless sleep at a hotel in Indianapolis and when we arrived in Chicago I was ornery and exhausted. After a nap, some coffee and a belly full of BBQ, I felt renewed.

Since our arrival was also a day off, we spent that evening checking out couple of sets at Kingston Mines, which is one of the oldest & most well known spots to see blues. The acts we saw were great, but nothing compared to what we discovered right across the street at B.L.U.E.S. This spot was a true hole in the wall, the divey-est of dive bars. Just my kind of place & Wednesday nights are their open jam. We sat down and listened to some life long Chicago blues musicians play. Some jamming together for the first time, some had been playing together for what seemed like a lifetime. Regardless of the combination, their sound was fire!

The next day we walked down to the beach and let the sun kiss our skin all afternoon. We swam in the lake and laughed more than I have in a while. The evening was well spent playing for a group of lovely folks in our host’s apartment. Now, we are onto the next show a few hours south in Urbana, IL. The sun’s out and I am all smiles! Feeling full from a few days well spent and curious (always) about what is next…

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