Hard Travelin': A Folksinger's Blog - Introduction

Welcome!

This is a travel blog of a mother/daughter team who live on the road 

I’m Nina Ricci, I’m a traveling folksinger and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. Well, actually my storage unit is in Nashville, and I grew up here, but we’re seldom in town except when the weather dictates a change of clothing or we're just passing through on our way from here to there. Nashville is where I call “home.” But, in actuality, anywhere I lay my head is where I call “home,” because I live “on the road.” 

Having spent 5 years grinding in the City of Nashville, my mother, Teresa, and I took a leap of faith. We moved out of our rental house in the songwriter’s armpit, East Nashville, and put all of our belongings in storage and began a life as nomads traveling in our gypsy wagon, a Toyota RAV4, performing where I have opportunity. God is our guide and we look to His Hand to show us the way. He has recently taken us to some far off places. 

We have occasion through our mode of life and my vocation to meet many people and spread goodwill in every place we go. It’s not a life of ease and I don't claim it is profitable, but it has been an enriching experience over the last 4-5 years, and we are never happier than when we are on the road.

I’m the musician, and Mom is all other things: fondly labeled, “Mom-a-ger.” She's a photographer, driver, cook, and just generally manages the operations of this outfit. 

Since I was 15, we had a Chihuahua dog named “Riley,” who instantly became a tour dog when we went on the road. He road with us on all our adventures, but old age and illness caught up with him last year, and we had to say “farewell.” It was the end of the road for him. Though it was a sad occasion for us, the timing was right, because new adventures where tour dogs couldn’t go were up ahead of us. 

As time permits, I will detail our past and current travels in this blog and on my YouTube channel in the form of video logs (vlogs.) I send out an occasional newsletter to “True Fans and New Fans” and invite you to subscribe to the mailing list via my website. I send a free song download to everyone who subscribes and will let folks know when I have a new blog posting, upcoming shows, and online performances. I have a growing fanbase on YouTube and Instagram, and have a newly started page on Facebook. If you care to receive more frequent postings about our travels, Instagram and Facebook are the best places to follow the day-to-day updates. 

I would be happy to receive the input from anyone reading these posts who has advice about travel, accommodations, or music business. Though we have a lot of experience, we haven’t become experts, yet, and it’s always useful to know more. I also invite anyone interested in supporting our efforts to send donations via Venmo: @NinafromNashville

Welcome aboard and I look forward to sharing our tales from the road with you!

                                                    Sincerely,

                                                    Nina Ricci