Get the new Haley and Michaels EP here ... https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/haley-michaels/id609857311
To
read the background before jumping in below … here’s the link to the other
posts
and now I give you part 3 of this journey
A Royal Welcome
She
couldn’t believe she was standing at the baggage claim in Heathrow Airport, it
seemed literally foreign to her as going out of the country before today meant
Canada. Looking around she wanted to grab the nearest person and say “We are
going to play our music for the QUEEN!” but was determined to keep her cool and
resisted the urge. She did want everyone to stop moving so she could live in
this moment and capture it so she’d always remember it as Ryan walked over to
her.
“You
can stop looking, they lost your bag. They are tracking it and said when they
find it they will send it to the hotel, but it was definitely not on the plane.
I guess it got left behind after the last plane change. I’m so sorry Shannon!”
She
looked up at Ryan “Do you realize where we are? Do you realize what we are
about to do?” She took his hand and the
clink of her ring made her pause again, “Do you realize this is our first trip
as a married couple?” She wanted to make a list of all the first happening in
her life because they were all coming so fast she was afraid she’d forget them
all. First time I’ve lost my luggage on a trip, she thought, first trip with my
husband, first time I’ve called Ryan my husband, first time in London, first
gig ‘across the pond,’ it was all starting to make her head spin when Ryan
leaned down and grounded her with a single kiss.
Nearly
a year ago this journey started with an email from Prince Harry which they were
all pretty sure was a joke. He was inviting them to perform at a benefit
concert for their Royal Foundation. They couldn’t believe that the Prince had
heard their music, which hadn’t been released yet overseas. After several additional
e-mails it was clear that the group and their managers weren’t taking the
request seriously until they received one with a European phone number simply
asking them to call for a discussion about the benefit.
After
checking the time in London Shannon, Ryan, and Mark, their manager, dialed the
phone. The last thing they wanted was to wake up and infuriate the Prince, or
more likely his “people” by calling at an insanely late or early hour, if by
some chance this was real. They listened as the phone dialed fully expecting
some pub or radio station to answer, pulling a prank. The way they saw it this
could be good publicity for an up and coming act and definitely a story to tell
on stage or in their next interview. They
each sat there thinking, what if this is real, but not wanting to voice it out
loud and appear to be foolish later. Shannon was praying for no answer so they
could leave a voice mail and the journey could continue. Until there was definite sign that this was a
prank a small part of her could live in the ‘the Prince of England likes our
music’ bubble.
After
the third ring a quiet voice answered, “Hello” not expecting an answer Mark
stumbled, “um…yes, this is Haley and Michaels we were told to call this number
to talk about a possible benefit show.”
“Oh…yes”
a very surprised voice answered, “One moment.” Then there is a thud on the
phone. Mark gave a nod to the band as if to say told ya. After a few moments in
which Mark would have hung up, if Shannon had let him, the voice returned to
the phone, “sorry about that, hard to talk business with a sleeping toddler in
your lap.” Shannon playfully slapped Ryan on the arm and mouthed, ‘That’s
Harry!’
“I’m
so glad you guys called, I could tell from the e-mail exchanges we weren’t all
on the same page. I’ve asked someone to get Kate so we can really discuss the
benefit and convince you guys to join us since she’s the co-chair. As you know
from my initial e-mail, the benefit would be for The Royal Foundation and will
help fund a lot of the projects we have in the coming year. The hope would be
that this would turn into a yearly benefit which would serve several purposes for
us, to promote the foundation, showcase some of the kids we are helping, the
work the foundation does, and fund projects for the coming year. It would also
give the artists a platform unlike no other.”
The
three of them sat there dumbfounded until Ryan blurted out, “Is this real?”
The
Prince laughed, “Ha ! Yes very much so. Kate just walked in, I have Haley and
Michaels on the phone to talk about the benefit.”
“Hey
guys! So glad to finally get to talk to you! We LOVE your EP, even George sings
‘we’re gonna light it’ as he walks down the hallway, well as well as a toddler
can sing it! Um… speaking of which where is my child?”
“He’s on the couch he had just fallen asleep when they called. So guys we are thinking May 2016 for this benefit, we haven’t finalized exact dates yet but we are thinking a 2 or 3 day festival featuring music, a sports tournament around the music festival, and arts and crafts. Three or four jam packed days of activities and events all showcasing what the Royal Foundation has to offer.”
“He’s on the couch he had just fallen asleep when they called. So guys we are thinking May 2016 for this benefit, we haven’t finalized exact dates yet but we are thinking a 2 or 3 day festival featuring music, a sports tournament around the music festival, and arts and crafts. Three or four jam packed days of activities and events all showcasing what the Royal Foundation has to offer.”
Kate
breaks in, “The theory is to put an emphasis on the kids being helped by the
foundation, showcasing their art, showcasing their talents and showing why
supporting this foundation is supporting these kids and why the two are
important. We feel like putting an emphasis on the positives that the
foundation gives to these kids then more will get involved and we can do more
for these kids. We feel like the musical aspect of a festival will bring more
people to the table so we can show them how truly amazing these kids are when given
the proper chances. So the bottom line is … are you guys interested in joining
the benefit?”
Before
thinking Shannon says, “Why us?” then she panics, “I mean it’s a fantastic
opportunity and we’d love to, I’m just … our music isn’t being played over
there …. So yeah why us?”
“Bloody
Hell did you not tell them the story” Kate says towards Harry. “Last time Will
and I were in the states we heard 500 miles on the radio. I fell in love with
it so Will bought your EP for me. I immediately fell in love with the entire thing
and sent it to Harry. He fell in love with We’ll Always Have Mexico and we
agreed you guys should be at the benefit if only because we’d love to hear more
of what you guys can do.”
Dumbfounded
Shannon and Ryan just sat there, Mark jumped in, “of course we’d love to be a
part of this, and we apologize for not writing back but in all honesty we
thought it was a prank. I’m glad Shannon convinced us to give you guys a call
to find out for sure. We’ll definitely be more responsive now. Can I ask who
are some of the other artist? I assume it’s a mixture of artist and genres.”
Harry
was glad they were on the phone, “um…to be honest …. You guys are the first
group we’ve contacted about his benefit. However yes, a mixture of artist and
genres is what we are going for, but we also want it to make sense, meaning you
guys won’t be the only country group with a bunch of alternative
bands. We want to bring as many people to the festival and a mixture of talent
should do just that. We are also hoping that the artist will hook up with some
of the musically inclined kids that will also be a part of the festival and talk
with them about the business and process of what they do. A mixture of
established artist, armatures and up and coming acts will really allow for a
learning experience like no other.”
The
next few months were a blur of activity as Haley and Michael’s continued to
support their EP, work on their album, plan a wedding, and prepare for the festival. Soon they
were suggesting bands they knew to the foundation and talking about schedules,
plane tickets, and arrival times. They had really gotten to know Harry and Kate
over the last year and couldn’t wait to see them in person and not over a
computer screen. Shannon never wanted to leave this airport because they would
be that much closer to this fairytale being over. She was jolted back to reality and out of
Ryan’s embrace by a now familiar voice.
“Pathetic
you’d think they’d wait until they got to the room, I mean there are kids
here!” Harry said under his ball cap and sunglasses as he gestured around the
airport.
“Oh,
leave them alone this is after all their honeymoon, congratulations you guys! I
hope you don’t mind but we decided to make this welcome on our own.” Kate said
from under a similar ball cap as she grabbed Shannon’s arm and pulled her
towards the doors, “Now let’s get going there’s so much to do!” Shannon looked
back to see Ryan shaking hands with Harry as Kate started talking about all
that was to come over the next week or so, it was truly going to be the trip of
a lifetime and she couldn’t wait to get started even if she’d have to wear the
same jeans for a few days.
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so anyway there you have it ... what do you guys think? have you guys checked out Haley and Michaels, if not you really should, they are fantastic ! What's your favorite track on the EP?
-Marcy
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