NewAlbum! StudioRehab! FamExpansion! Oh my!

Before we jump into this, we want to be honest and tell you that we feel somewhat self conscious asking for help again. We understand and sincerely acknowledge that this is a very difficult time for so many people, but we've been encouraged to share what's going on with us and trust each of you to only get involved if you can and feel led to do so. We are humbled and grateful for the ways you've been with us and helped us in the past and we invite you into this current chapter soberly and with gratitude. One of the most fulfilling parts of quarantine was finding a quaran-team through you all and our "Lunchtime with Lowland Hum" daily check-ins (noon ET on Instagram), and we’re excited to bring those back for the duration of this campaign!

The reasons for this fundraiser are threefold:  

1) New Album
We have a new batch of songs that we need help releasing. All of the songs were written and recorded during quarantine. This is the first group of original LH songs we've recorded in our converted barn studio. We poured all we had into them (and we had a lot more than usual to give, as this was the first time we weren't writing and recording in the limited space between tours and travels). These songs have come out of our first season of extended home-time since we started this whole thing as Lowland Hum and we feel they are a really different family of songs. We can't wait to share them with you! Each and every one of you who donates will receive a digital download of the new album before it is released.

2) Studio Rehab 
We are in a difficult spot with a damaged recording studio after a tornado visited our neighborhood back in August and State Farm repeatedly denied our claim for bogus reasons. We have done all we can to get State Farm to behave like good neighbors and they have chosen to continue to deny our claim, even after we paid the deductible (which many of you helped us cover through a different Go Fund Me...THANK YOU!). There is no guarantee that we'll ever be able to get State Farm to reverse their decision, and in the meantime they have left us with a seriously hefty invoice from the tree company that removed the tree from the roof of the studio before they denied our claim.  We then need to hire a company to repair the damaged roof, replace the insulation and restore the drywall inside the studio. We are eager to get things back in working order and we are hoping to resolve this drawn out saga with your help.

 3) Family Expansion
We are expecting our first child (due the week of Christmas)––!!! We weren't sure if we would ever be able to grow our family, but we certainly never imagined it happening in a year when we've been unable to tour (and, since the studio was damaged, we are now unable to record). As self-employed musicians, it’s nearly impossible to turn our business “off,” which is why we’re asking for your help taking a brief maternity and paternity leave to rest, heal, and spend time caring for our new family member.

So,

...each one of these three reasons brings with it great expense. We've been having a lot of conversations about what to do and, as we mentioned above, a handful of friends have suggested that we share our situation with all of you, that we ask for help and see what happens. Again, please know that we are continually humbled by the way so many of you have had our backs in countless ways over the last nine years. This year, more than any before, we have felt your incredible support when things came to a screeching halt due to covid-19. We come to you at the end of, quite possibly the bleakest and most trying year in memory. But, it's also been a year of forced innovation, unexpected connection and staggering heroism. A year where people have leaned into one another, found new ways to move toward each other and expanded the definitions of community, friendship and family. So, while we know that there are so many needs that are more important than ours, at the end of the day, we decided to take our friends' advice and ask...Will you consider helping us?

Here's how the money breaks down in broad strokes:
Album costs --> $21650
Repair costs --> $11750
Maternity/Paternity Leave -->$3000*
Total=$36400
*We don't know what the right number is here because we've never done this before...But, we selected $3k because it would allow us to take about a month mostly away from the business side of LH operations.

If you have any interest in seeing a more detailed, itemized budget, please reach out and we'd be happy to share more details.

One last thing:
There are many risks involved in creating and releasing music right now, especially with the inability to tour. We understand that Covid-19 has created difficulties for all of us in countless ways. As we've said before, we also recognize that you, our supporters, are taking a risk by investing in unreleased music, and we do not take that for granted. We are extremely grateful for this community of quiet music lovers and want you to know that we threw every ounce of energy and focus into this new record of songs. With the studio being a few hundred feet from our house and with all the cancellations, we were able to give more uninterrupted time to this record than any before it. We can not wait to share it. In addition, we are thankful for our friends who encouraged us to ask for help with this insurance debacle and our coming child. While it is always vulnerable to ask for help, we hope that the new music and the knowledge that you are helping us get our studio up and running and prepare for the expansion of our family is a gift to you and that we are all increasingly aware of how connected with are, even when in quarantine.