NOTES FROM FANS: a category which fans can write in about loving their favorite musical artists.
Greta Van Fleet. Where and how do I even begin? It all started in late 2017/early 2018 when my boyfriend showed me a song called "Highway Tune" by a band called Greta Van Fleet. I loved it. A few months later, my sister and I decided to watch the music video for "Highway Tune" and we were in shock to know that the members were actually around our ages. I of course listen to all kinds of music where members are all kinds of ages and whatnot, but there’s something special about when members of your favorite band, or a band you really like, are close to your age. You see them doing something, creating something for not only themselves, but also other people. And for me, it’s kind of inspiring to see artists that are my age (and specifically with Greta Van Fleet, they’re from the Midwest and I am as well) watching them grow, seeing them do what they love and knowing that I’m that age and I can do what I love as well.
Back on track, my sister and I started watching more of their acoustic performances, live performances, interviews, etc. together, started listening to them on our own more. Then we found out they were actually playing our favorite venue which is The Pageant in St. Louis, MO, a venue that holds about two thousand. I was trying not to go to many concerts (lol) and by the time I was interested in getting tickets since I started to like them more, it of course was sold out. I then decided to check StubHub just to see if any tickets were available and they were. I grabbed them as quickly as I could (and I didn’t even have a job at this point) and texted my sister she owed me however much her ticket was because we were going to see them, just a few weeks prior. That show was my first front-row show ever at twenty-two years old, seeing Greta Van Fleet in all of their glory, having Jake Kiszka look down at me and try to throw me a guitar pick, the crowd’s energy level was high. That show changed my entire life.
Fast forward to May 2019, Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia. Hearing "Age Of Man" live. Hearing "Black Flag Exposition" (now known as "The Weight Of Dreams") in a theater. Drinking wine in what was called “Official Platinum Seating” in the fifth row with my sister, who I’ve gotten closer with bonding over Greta Van Fleet. The sounds were amazing. The energy was turned up. And maybe, just maybe, although I was five rows back, Jake Kiszka attempted to throw me a pick again, this time caught on camera.
Fast forward again to 2020. The world in quarantine. Infected with something called “COVID-19”. People out of work. Travel bans. Social distancing. Masks. Hand sanitizer. No concerts. Life as we know it had changed. It wasn’t the same. With taking a leave from a job and then to return with only working a few hours a week, I needed something to fill the void. And I suppose that was watching Greta Van Fleet performances and interviews on YoutTube was what did it. Exploring. In September, the band released a four-part series of their performance at Red Rocks Ampitheater in Colorado on YouTube (that is free of charge by the way) to set up what was next for them.
The day The Battle At Garden’s Gate was released was one I will remember forever. My mom, sister and I made plans to go get coffee, go to our favorite park which was surrounded by beautiful flowers and revel in the glory that the new album brought us. Then, my mother got a call. That call was that my great-grandma, who was ninety-nine and someone I was very close with, had passed. Not totally unexpected, but still hurt. It was as if it was meant to happen that way though. Surrounded by beautiful flowers, listening to beautiful music, having a great day, as she would have wanted. We decided to go to our favorite record store, Vintage Vinyl, just for fun to see if they had the album there. We ended up finding signed CDs. Maybe that was a gift from above.
I had waited two years to get a GVF tattoo (which I realize isn’t that long, but as we all know 2020 felt like ten) and I was so torn on what I wanted. “The more you love the more you know” from “Age Of Man,” “Star shines in her eyes” from “Flower Power,” “Love doesn’t fade away” from “The New Day.” But when “Heat Above” was released, I knew it would be those lyrics. “Rising with the heat above” would be good, but that wasn’t really me. So I went along with “Ascending to the stars as one” with stars surrounding the quote felt more like me.
"The experiences I’ve had, the people I’ve met, the music I’ve listened to, the artists I’ve discovered, the even greater bond I’ve developed with my sister, is all because of them."
The past year has been hard is such an understatement, but Greta Van Fleet has really been one of my lights pulling me through the darkness and I’ve never felt that way about any other band or music before. The experiences I’ve had, the people I’ve met, the music I’ve listened to, the artists I’ve discovered, the even greater bond I’ve developed with my sister, is all because of them. And for that, I am eternally grateful.
Photos shot and edited by the author.
Catch Greta Van Fleet on tour this summer here.
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