Hello Summer

Life Lately & Life Soon

Hey friends!

Happiest of Junes to you, wherever you may be as you read this. I’m writing from my back patio in south Nashville on a mercifully overcast day (it’s been hot y’all and the A/C in my car just decided to leave for summer vacation). I was supposed to write this an hour ago (it’s hard to crack the whip when you’re your own boss) so I guess I’ll be skipping the time-block that says “stretch & do vocal warmups” today. Oh darn, my favorite part of the morning.

It’s been a busy and joy-filled month or so since I last checked in here. A few notable music updates are:

• Finishing the second half of the Resurrection Letters Tour with Andrew Peterson & Co. It was an absolute honor to play and sing in the “Psame Band,” and an even greater pleasure to get to know all of the awesome people in that camp.

• Completing a run of shows with my friends Caleb Christopher Edwards and Graham Jones. We laughed so much in the van, and I shed a minimum of six tears listening to both of these dudes as they shared incredible new songs at these shows. Thank you to all of you that made it to one of them!

• Traveling home to Arizona for my sister Zara’s wedding, and a surprise wedding song. Glory, my younger sister, and I wrote a song for the new couple (with the help of her three-year-old son Aslan) and performed it at their reception. “That Was a Scary Thing to Do” will be available on my Patreon soon, so if you’d like to hear it, along with a whole bunch of other unreleased songs, consider checking it out here :)

• Leading worship at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. with my good friend Michelle Raybourn. Michelle, an incredibly gifted singer and songwriter, was kind enough to have me join her last week to lead worship at the Sovereign’s Capital Conference at D.C.’s Museum of The Bible (funnily enough, also one of the stops on the Resurrection Letters Tour). I walked the entire National Mall for the second time in six weeks, and honestly I’m happy not walking again in 2025.

More importantly, I completed my multi-week journey through Middle Earth with Frodo, Sam and all the other hobbits and wizards and kings. And you’ll never believe this but I think Lord of The Rings is pretty great. Yeah, I said it. I don’t mean to cause any undue controversy, but hey - you’re here for an ice cold shot of the truth, and I’m gonna give it to ya, no matter how unpopular that makes me.

Speaking of ice cold, this week’s obsession is Antarctica. (It’ll probably be my happy place for the entire month, honestly, especially with the temperature rise up here in Tennessee.) I’m about halfway through Colin O’Brady’s The Impossible First - an autobiographical account of crossing Antarctica alone and unassisted in 2018. After that I’ll dive into Endurance, revisiting my Shackleton obsession that was first kindled as a seven-year-old, when my family watched one of many movies about his expedition.

Lately (I mean honestly always, but especially lately) I’ve been drawn to stories about danger, adventure, and perseverance in the face of terrible odds. Not sure if that means I’m about to face some epic challenge, or just that I’m kind of an average mid-late-twenties male, but either way I’m enjoying the ride. What should I add to the list?

In other news, I’ll be playing a show at Pleasant View First Baptist Church next month, so if you’re in the Nashville or Pleasant View area, I’d love to see you! More details TBA soon on my website & social media.

Finally, if you’ve read this far, I want you to be the first to know that I’ll be (Lord-willing) making a very special record very soon, in collaboration with some incredibly talented folks. I’ll be sharing more details in the near future, but I hope to raise funds for, and release, a collection of songs that I’m ridiculously excited to get out into the world. If you’re interested in being a part of that process, please shoot me a reply to this email to let me know.

That’s it for now! Wishing you blessings and a deeper knowledge of His love for you this summer. (A current scripture encouragement, some links & photos below :)

Johan

“For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:14-16 (New International Version)

LINKS TO MUSIC STUFF

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johanglidden/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/johanglidden

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/johanglidden

Snippets of the aforementioned adventures.