Hello you incredible, amazing, fantastic Backers, you!

It's been a little over 2 weeks since the end of the spring leg of the Wanderlust tour, and what a ride it's been!  Because of YOU wonderful Backers, I was able to go on my first-ever tour, and it was grand.  My cellist (Cynthia) and I traveled a total of over 5,000 miles, and I had a BLAST playing the shows and seeing friends (new & old) and even meeting a few of you Backers (yesss!!!). :)   It was a thoroughly successful tour because we accomplished my three main goals: 1.) Play awesome shows.  2) Make new friends and get the word out about "Wanderlust." 3.) Have an adventure.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS included:

• eating the most succulent oranges known to man in Florida
• spending a day at Disney World (our gracious hosts treated us to Park Hopper tickets -- a VERY pleasant and fun surprise!)
• playing various lovely venues (one of my faves was Coffee Underground in Greenville, SC...just a super cute place)
• driving in the mountains of South Carolina/North Carolina/Virginia
• hanging out with dear friends who hosted us on each tour stop
• playing for an elementary school (and the best part was when the kindergarteners started slow-clapping to "It Was Me")
• recording a radio interview in West Chester, PA (it will air soon...keep in touch on Facebook and I'll post about it when I know the exact air date!)
• playing a fantastic benefit concert and raising $350 for the Valley Against Sex Trafficking Coalition (a human rights organization in my hometown of Lehigh Valley, PA)

There are lots more highlights, but this update is already getting lengthy and there's so much more to tell you!

GOING PUBLIC
The publicity campaign (you know, the one that YOU awesomely funded?) with NYC-based Ariel Publicitylaunched about a month ago, and it's been amazing.  Thus far, I've been featured over 25 times in various music blogs in the US, England, the Netherlands, and Australia (and more to come)!  And one connection with a music blog in Suffolk, England, led to an opportunity for me to be chosen as Artist of the Month by Adnams Brewery in Southwold, England!  This is my favorite feature so far because it includes a short audio interview with the person from Adnams that chose me...I love it because you get to hear how the song "Wanderlust" resonated with her...which is probably the most encouraging thing a songwriter can hear. :) Check it out here.

BACK TO THE FUTURE
And so...now what?  Onward and upward! :)  I'm back in Dallas and working towards putting together a West Coast tour for late July/August.  (And if any of you Kickstarter backers have connections/suggestions for me to play on the West Coast, please let me know!)  I'm also in the process of submitting songs to music supervisors to hopefully one day get songs place in film/TV...fingers crossed!  Aaaand, on June 2nd I'll be playing a gig in Bethlehem, PA, at a charity festival with the band JARS OF CLAY and other artists!  HOLLA!!! :)

ONE LAST THING
BACKERS WHO PLEDGED $10 & UP: there are a few of you that haven't downloaded the digital copy of Wanderlust...I will be re-sending the WeTransfer email to you this week, so be on the lookout for it!

BACKERS WHO PLEDGED $20 & UP: there are a few of you that haven't downloaded the digital Extra tracks...I'll be re-sending that WeTransfer email as well this week.

ALL Y'ALL: pleasepleaseplease let me know if you're missing anything from your Kickstarter reward package...I want to make sure you get everything!

I know this update is practically a novel...so sorry about that!  But at the same time, it's pretty darn cool that all this stuff is happening.  [Insert happy sigh here.] :)  Your Kickstarter pledge is the gift that keeps on giving...so much is happening because of YOU! I love sharing all the little successes with you because heck, if it weren't for you guys, it wouldn't be happening in the first place!  So once again, thank you sooooo very much!

So until next time and with much love,

Kim

Hello you marvelous, incredible, super-amazing backers you!

It has been the craziest, busiest past few weeks of my life: making and sending out the Kickstarter rewards, planning and playing the release show, touring, about to launch the publicity campaign... and there's probably a lot more that I'm forgetting at the moment.  But, as busy as it's been, I've never been happier, and I have YOU to thank for making all this possible! :)

So remember when I updated you about how we cracked the iTunes charts at #92?  Well, it turns out that we peaked at #25!!!!!!!

Talk about going above and beyond!!  It blows my mind, especially considering that the publicity campaign hasn't even launched yet and there's absolutely no label support.  It's all been through word-of-mouth and social media.  And thank you, thank you, thank you for spreading the love. :)

The tour has been going well so far!  Right now, I'm in the Baltimore, MD area.  My cellist (Cynthia) and I have had a blast playing the east coast and meeting some amazing folks (including a few of you Kickstarter backers!).  Cynthia is also a professional photographer, and she's been posting pics from our tour on her blog: http://cynthiaschafer.wordpress.com/

Welp, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I've gotta run...but worry not, I'll be updating you all again soon! :) 

Much love,
Kim

So very excited, so very happy, so very grateful. :)  

Much, much love,

Kim

P.S. If you'd like to push us up the charts even further, feel free to share the iTunes link with your friends, your mailman (or mailwoman), your mom, your friends' mom, your friends' moms' mailpeople...;)  http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/kim-edwards/id319213322

Hello you wonderful, wonderful backers you!

It's a lovely, sunny day in Dallas, TX, and I'm currently packing for the tour (Cynthia [my cellist] and I leave TOMORROW!).  Actually, I'm waiting for my clothes to come out of the dryer, so I thought I'd take a moment and write to a few of the most awesome people in the world: YOU.

So....TOMORROW (3/27) is also the official release date of "WANDERLUST"!!  AHHHH!!! :D After a year+ of work, the album will finally be released and available on iTunes, Amazon.com, CDBaby.com, etc.  I can't thank you all enough for all your support, especially with the Kickstarter campaign.  Because of YOU...

• the album was professionally mastered (aka it sounds even more LEGIT!)
• the album has incredible photography/artwork by the amazing Bruce Kite (whom I HIGHLY recommend!  If you're looking for stellar design work, let me know and I'll connect you with him!)
• the album is in a beautiful DIGIPAK (instead of an easily-breakable, not-as-cool jewel case)
• we pressed 1,000 CDs!!!! (can you believe the original goal was 150 CDs?!)
• I hired my dream publicity firm (Ariel Publicity out of NYC) and we're about to launch a hard-core campaign for the album!
• I'm going on my first-ever TOUR!!!!!!  (<--- click for details!)

If I could hug and thank each and every one of you, I would.  You're making dreams come true for me, did you know that?  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

For the backers who pledged $20 and up, you should have received your rewards by now (or in the very near future).  Here are a few pics of the Kickstarter Reward Extravanganza:

The CDs came and there was MUCH rejoicing in the land!!

My friend Jen (and Kickstarter backer!) came over to help me put together the Ultimate Wanderlust Kits.

Lots and lots o' CDs to sign

No, this isn't from the Kickstarter Extravanganza, but it WAS from my CD release show in Cedar Hill, TX!  It was the first time I had ever played with a full band, and it was a BLAST!!!

Welp, clothes are dry, and I've got to finish packing for the tour!  More updates to come!!! :)

Much love,

Kim

Hello you sweet, adorable, lovable backers you!

Can you believe that in 2 WEEKS "Wanderlust" will finally be released?!?!  I am beyond excited about it.  Of course, YOU backers who pledged $10 and up will receive the digital files sometime over the next few days...so keep a lookout for a WeTransfer email which will contain all the mp3s!

Alllso, I will be sending out Kickstarter rewards very soon (including postcards from the tour for EVERYONE!!)...so if your mailing address changed in the last few months, please send me a message (or email me at kim@kimedwardsmusic.com) so I can make sure to get your stuff to you!

More updates soon! THIS IS CRUNCH TIME!!! :)

Kim