I had the recent joy of being a small part of this new Christmas song written and sung by Nathan Seagraves, along with several other extremely talented individuals from our Crossroads Worship Team. (I’m on keys and background vocals :). Kenny McWilliams @ Archer Avenue did a wonderful job pulling all the ideas together in this fun arrangement to prepare our hearts for the season!
About a month ago I had the joy and honor of being part of an online Vespers service put together by our local church body (Crossroads Church), with this song that I wrote back in April.
**A huge thanks to Aaron Russell who took this song to another level with his beautiful cello work; JD Richards, Nathan Seagraves, and Cory Plaugh who made this happen with their video, sound and mastering skills.**
I’m excited to share with you a new song that I hope you might enjoy and find encouraging. Many of you have hopefully heard Allen Jones' music, as we have done many concerts and worship ministry together over the years. This past month Allen was able to record one of his originals, and I had the joy of being asked to join him in the studio to add some vocals to his beautiful song about hope and eternity.
It's available on all streaming platforms and can also be downloaded from his website at www.allenjonesmusic.com. Additionally there's a lyric video you might enjoy on youtube which you can find here.
Thank you so much to everyone who came out Saturday night and made it such a special evening for us. And thank you to all these guys who helped make it happen! Allen Jones, Nathan Seagraves, Stephen Eason, Cory Plaugh, Hope Wright, Aaron Chenault
Join us for an evening of original music and songs of worship from singer/songwriter and worship-leader Megan Pifer, along with Allen Jones and Friends. This will be a night of remembering the faithfulness of God and looking forward with hope, through music from Megan's debut and sophomore albums, 'Lest we Forget' and 'Holding Out', intertwined with ancient songs of the Church.
@ Columbia Crossroads Church 2723 Ashland Rd, Columbia, South Carolina 29210
Doors open at 6:30pm, serving Loveland Coffee, with concert to begin at 7pm.
All welcome!!
It has been a month since the release of ‘Holding Out’, and I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, to each of you who have supported this project in anyway at all… Thank you for those of you who have invested in the album itself, as every penny goes towards being able to create and share more music in the future. Thank you for the kind words of encouragement and support, the texts and emails sharing how a song has impacted your own heart… This is absolutely what makes this work worth it… Thank you for welcoming the music into your home, your car, your devices... It will continue to be my prayer that these songs speak truth over our lives, and stir hearts to draw nearer to the One who offers us abundant life.
#allthethankyous
Pre-orders will ship out Monday morning! (So you might just get it before the digital release (iTunes/Amazon/etc) on May 3rd!).
Just want to say a huge thank you to Destiny of Destiny Wenzel Photography, for traipsing along with me through old woods in the frigid cold, and taking on the task of capturing the images that were in my head for this album - To be rooted deeply in the word of God, standing firm in who we are in Christ, that we might live in abundance and freedom! Destiny, thank you so much for sharing your gift!
And also a huge thank you to Matt Alsup of Red to Gray Creative, who squeezed me into his busy schedule, and crafted my thought process into the cover art… Matt, so thankful to have you a part of this project!
I know I’m old-school still doing hardcopies, but I was that girl who used to take the cassette tape insert and find a quiet corner to pour over the lyrics of every song in my favorite albums… I loved the artistry, the images, and the way that everything worked together to support the music that I was listening to…
If there’s any part of you that still enjoys the thrill of pulling the plastic off, opening it up, reading the lyrics and credits, and seeing some of the thought process behind the artist’s work, consider ordering a hardcopy - I would be thrilled to send one to you!
just a few pics from the last few months…
House concert in Chapin with the amazing and talented Allen Jones. Such a fun evening!
hawking our wares…
putting down vocals for a new tune…
grins from my youngest while we edit a track…
Reminding my heart of the truth that undergirds this new project. John 10:10 #abundantlife
Hey friends… I know I’ve been quiet on here lately, but I assure you I have not been idle… I have been writing and working away on a lot of new music over the last several months, and I’m excited to share that I’ll be going back into the studio this upcoming week to begin my next project… What I hope will be a 5 song EP. The stories that have been shared with me in response to “Lest We Forget” have been so encouraging, and I am hopeful that this next musical endeavor will continue to be an encouragement to those who listen… Can I humbly ask that you would join me over this next season in prayer - that these songs would be exactly what they need to be, and will continue to fuel a heart of worship in God’s people!
P.S. I also have a small house concert coming up the evening of September 30 in Chapin… Message me if you’d like some details!
I’m probably a little old-school when it comes to my creative process, but I love having a physical blueprint in front of me as I navigate my way through a project… excited about this small collection of new songs that are nearing completion... #thesoliditysessions #singersongwriter #staytuned
Thank you so much to all the beautiful faces who braved the temperature, the elements, and the traffic to spend the evening with Friday... thank you for listening, for singing with us and for sharing your stories with us afterwards... As I drove home in the pouring rain, my heart felt full and my soul fed... I hope yours did too...
And a big thank you to Chapin Fellowship Bible Church for the invitation and for hosting us, David Wegener who went above and beyond to make everything 'work', and to Julie Jones and Justin Wayne Pifer who lovingly sacrificed so we could practice and prepare. Allen Jones and I couldn't be more grateful!
That moment, when you realize just how deeply ingrained something is in you… At a practice yesterday afternoon, working through music for the Christmas concert next Friday, (December 8, 7 PM @ Chapin Fellowship), when Allen Jones says, "do you realize we've been doing this song for 15 years?" Whaaat??? yeah, he hands me a set list from 2002… (notice my maiden name??) that's almost half my life ago... don't ask me why on earth he still has a set list from 2002 in his music binder, but here we are, 2017, collaborating still to bring something to the church and the community this Christmas… And to see these churches listed on this paper who came together in '02, leaders, individuals, pastors who have poured into me, challenged me, and encouraged me out of my comfort zone... who influenced my love for music and my heart for worship and are still a part of my village today... and Allen - honored to still be serving alongside you - even all these years later...
Local friends and family, Allen Jones and myself have teamed up again this year and would love to invite you to a musical celebration of the Christmas season - an evening of originals, timeless classics and fun favorites (Allen's angsty tune about holiday shopping at the mall, anyone??). This will be a more stripped down and intimate concert than years past and we'd be honored to have you join us!
**December 8th, 7pm, @ Chapin Fellowship Bible Church**
One of the key images that was in my mind as I was writing for 'Lest We Forget', was that of a brick wall… or, more specifically, a broken and crumbling brick wall… An image where we spread our mortar, and lay our bricks, carefully placing them side-by-side and one on top of the other, arranging them in a way that reflects our hopes and expectations for that wall... And such is life... we hope, we plan... And then, the wall crumbles... maybe we misplace a brick or two, or maybe it gets hit by an unexpected blow… bricks fall loose and our wall doesn't look the way we intended it to... and yet even amidst the crumbling debris, there is One who takes that brokenness, and shattered expectations and re-builds it into something beautiful and life giving... my hope is that these songs reflect the color and beauty that can shine through the broken… And even as we come to the eve of the release of this album, I do so with a deep breath and open hands to ‘release’ this brick and mortar for whatever the Master Builder intends for it to be.
As I shared these images with my dear friend Leigh Rutledge Essig of Leigh Essig Photography - South Carolina Photographer,she knew exactly where we needed to go to capture the pictures that were in my head... she also knew first hand what these fallen bricks were in my own life and I knew I could trust her with the vulnerability of capturing that story from behind a camera lens. Leigh, you have walked with me through some of my darkest days and I'm so thankful for the incredible gift you have for photography and reflecting light and beauty - not just as a photographer, but as a friend.
Just want to give a shout out to Cory Plaugh, of Plaugh's House Recording Studio - the mastermind behind turning a raw collection of songs into something I am genuinely excited about sharing… I walked into the studio for the first time just a couple of years ago, and thought, is this really happening…? I had hoped and dreamed for years that one day I would be able to put some music down professionally - just a small town, country farm girl from the other side of the world, who only had a few hundred dollars to rub together at the time, and I was as nervous and insecure as the next artist… Cory graciously welcomed all of my thoughts and ideas, and pulled together something that somehow melded all of my own heart and hopes for this project, alongside his genius and skill. Over the numerous studio sessions that followed towards this endeavor, we had countless conversations about music, creating, art and the like, and one thing that has always stood out to me since day one, is the way that he manages to appreciate and validate every expression and genre of music and creativity that comes through his studio doors... never did a negative word slip from his lips about another artist or musician, and that spoke volumes to me of him as a producer/engineer, and even more so as a person... Cory, I cannot thank you enough for the life that you have brought to this project. It has been a privilege to work alongside you, and I will be forever indebted to you for the genius and generosity you poured into this album (actually, I think I still owe you $20, so I'll try to get that to you sometime soon!).
Finally done and dusted... debut album 'Lest We Forget' has been fully submitted for production and distribution... set to be released mid October...
Out in Chapin yesterday morning, to join Allen Jones on a re-working of this beautiful hymn from the 1800's... praying these words were somehow an encouragement to a body greatly hurting from the recent news of VC Summer... #hidinginthee
It is always an honor to be invited out to Chapin Presbyterian, and it is hands down one of the most beautiful sanctuaries I've had the privilege to sing in - the acoustics are haunting. It is one of those places where I can close my eyes, listen to choir singing and deeply feel my soul being fed. Excited to go back this Sunday (August 6th) to share some songs, and to serve their body in musical worship.
Well friends... this may not look like much just yet, but I just returned home from Plaugh's House Recording Studio with the final master of my debut album/EP - 'Lest We Forget' (from Deut 4:4,9) ... a few final details to get it ready for distribution but this two year project is finally in the homestretch! Beyond excited and thankful to be so close... #lestweforget #staytuned
