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SIMPLE + TRUE

by Grace Theisen

Simple + True EP available now on iTunes and Spotify.

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upcoming shows

 

 
 
 
Still reliving this dream of a night. Here's a few clips from Tuesday's show at @citywinerynsh thanks you the amazing @manuell_lagos and my mom. 😂 (Trust me. You will be able to tell the difference.) ❤️@songsagainstslavery @nathan.james.allen
Last night was a LITERAL dream come true. Y'all 3 months ago I actually didn't think I would make it on that stage post surgery. - I sat in City Winery a year ago listening to @pennyandsparrow and turned to Lo and said, "Dream Venue. We have to do an SAS show here." - And a year later, it happened. With a packed house and literal angels who shared the stage with me. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to think THIS is my job. - Matthew and Jessica are dream artists to work with. Generous, kind, humble and beyond talented. Which makes our show ten million times better. Nathan and Alex, my faithful team-thank you for your constant confidence in me and for being patient as I had many freak out moments. I love you. - Thank you to our dear sister of Thistle Farms, Gi Gi, who spoke such honest and real words about this issue. To my cofounder and best friend, Lo, who makes everyday of work that much better. SAS wouldn't run without you baby. - To our interns who went above and beyond not just yesterday but this entire crazy summer. To Katje who made my face glamorous and Oxana who took my hair to another level and for believing in our mission. ❤️ - Kate-the flowers were beyond gorgeous. City Winery-you were a DREAM venue to work with. To every volunteer and person who came... you are the reason SAS exists. It takes a community to raise a nonprofit and we wouldn't be here without you. - Just so dang grateful. That's all I can say. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
TODAY IS SHOW DAY. Last call for tickets. This is my first show in 8 months and it is at my dream venue @citywinerynsh. Not to mention some stellar people playing after me. Come on out people! Let's sell this out and raise thousands for @thistlefarms!
These two. I truly don't know where I would have been without them these last three months. - The night after my surgery, I was on so many pain med's and coming off heavy anesthesia that my body started to intensely slow down. Every 30 minutes, my heart monitor bells would go off and my nurse would come running in. My dad, who was sleeping on the couch next to me, would sternly say, "Grace. Wake up and breath. Starting breathing Grace." I could barely hear him because I felt like I was in a coma but I knew his voice and started to breath again. This happened throughout the entire night. - But that's my dad. He always gets me back on track again. Because I know and trust his voice. He is quiet but he is strong. He is gentle and kind but he is also fiercely loyal and loving to his people. I have never met a harder working person in my life. One who would rather spend his hard earned money on giving back to others than buying new things. He is someone who would rather spend weekends with his family watching a movie than going out with friends. - Almost every night after surgery for 3 months, he would walk in my room and say, "Want to read?" and then would proceed to read the Bible out loud to me as I laid in bed and fell asleep. He would always end with a prayer asking for complete healing and restoration. - My dad has taught me so much about my Heavenly Father. I know there are so many people who cannot say the same thing so please know I don't say these words to gloat. I say them because I realize that is a gift I don't take it lightly or for granted. - I am so proud to be your daughter, dad. You make it hard to ever want to get married because you surely set the bar so high in how you love and respect your daughters, sons, grandchildren and most importantly, our mom. ❤️
IT'S HERE GUYS. MY EP IS HERE. 😭 - This is truly my best, most honest music to date. This baby took everything out of me to get to you all. There were so many nights when I would crawl into my bed, after long days with SAS and even longer nights at the studio, where I would be so overwhelmed with pain that all I could do was just lay down and cry. But the time spent working on this project was the best gift because for a few hours a day, my mind would not be focused on pain but on something that brought me back to LIFE. And yet, I still wrestled with fears, insecurities and "Will people even like this? Will they like me?" through the entire process. - And then I underwent an unexpected major back surgery-one that threw a wrench into all tour or promotional plans. But you know what? I realized by the end of surgery, those plans didn't even matter to me anymore. I still wanted to release it on our planned day despite my 3 month hiatus. Surgery showed me what actually really mattered in life and it surely wasn't fame, popularly or getting onto iTunes "charts." - My producer said wise words to me one night at the studio when I was a mess of tears sharing with him how scared I was to walk back through surgery and how I didn't want to let this EP down-one that we had worked so HARD on it. I told him how I was terrified I would never have a chance at touring or do what I love most because of my pain. - He looked at me and said, "Grace. Making it in the music industry has nothing to do with "making it" and everything to do with the fact that YOU made it. You put sweat, tears, time and money into something you believed in and made it come alive. The moment it gets released into the world-that is the moment you have MADE it. Nothing more and nothing less." - And because of that my friends, this whole EP may have really just been the stepping stone I needed to be reminded that I do music because it gives me LIFE and JOY like nothing else in the world. - And thank YOU for encouraging me along the way. I am proud of this EP because I am alive, recovering and extremely GRATEFUL to have it finally out to remind myself, once again, pain does NOT have the final say. 🙌🏾
Tomorrow...... 6/16/17 #simple+true - - - - - - #singersongwriter #newmusic #folkpop #nashville #tennessee #music #newep #letsdothis #backsurgerycantstopup #jmorris #thatsdarling #nathanjames #musiccity #songsagainstslavery #welovehashtags #hashtagsfordays #simple+true
Tomorrow...... 6/16/17 #simple+true - - - - - - #singersongwriter #newmusic #folkpop #nashville #tennessee #music #newep #letsdothis #backsurgerycantstopup #jmorris #thatsdarling #nathanjames #musiccity #songsagainstslavery #welovehashtags #hashtagsfordays #simple+true
Thank you @thehappyjoyofficial for writing about my pain, my music and our journey with SAS. Here is a little part from the blog. Link in profile to read more. :) - Who is Grace Theisen? "At my core, I would say that I am someone who is a deep feeler, has a curious mind and loves to make people feel known. I think intentionality is what brings me to life—whether in music, my job, conversations with others. It is the word I strive to apply to all aspects of me. I am surely not perfect at it (especially in the mornings… asks my roommates.. I am the world’s biggest morning grump. LOL). But at the end of the day, if I can be intentional with the things that I do and how I both care and love for others, then it has been a successful day in my book. - I work hard every day to fight for joy and find purpose in my pain. For me, Jesus is my best friend. He is the one I turn to first, both on the hard days and the great days. That wasn’t always the case. In fact, my battle with chronic back pain over the last five years has shown me my deep need for Him. - Through self-reflection, I realized that I can easily turn bitter, angry, and cynical towards myself and others. These last few years have taught me that Jesus is the greatest heart healer. He can handle all of my emotions at all times. When I choose to sit quiet and let Him in, I can be the person He always intended me to be: passionate, loving, caring, kind, humble, and intentional. - I am and have always been an old soul. I would much rather lay in bed, read a book, or take a bath instead of going out on a Friday night. In college, one of my dearest friends was a 89-year-old man named Bob. We actually called him “Happy Bob” because he was the happiest guy any of us had ever met. For three years, I gleaned so much wisdom from him on what life is all about: family, love, and hard work. He showed me that no matter the circumstance, there is always beauty that can be found. He passed away my senior year of college; but to this day, I hold all he taught me close to my heart. - Ok, I promise I am not a total old soul. What gets me out of the house on a weekday or weekend night? Swing dancing. It truly gives me LIFE."
At the airport waiting to head back to Nashville (!!!!!!!) & wanted to share a bit from the blog I posted today about all I learned through these last 3 months of recovery. 😭❤️ - " I drove away from Nashville, a few weeks before my surgery, with tears streaming down my face. My sweet friends had just left my house after coming over to prayer with me, all of our eyes red from crying. I climbed into my car, preparing myself for the journey home to Michigan, with these words running through my mind: "I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN, GOD. I DON'T WANT TO WALK THROUGH ANOTHER SURGERY." - But I knew I had no choice. I knew that this surgery, with this specific surgeon, was my only shot at true healing. I was scared of the outcome and scared I would come back to Nashville a different person. - After surgery, it truly did feel like hell. These months have been some of the hardest in my life. With pain, my heart and with God. Almost as if my five-year journey with pain was leading me up to enduring this surgery and the months that followed. I had already postponed my trip back to Nashville once because I realized I wasn't ready to do life at that pace again. I physically could not. I remember God whispering to me in my decision to wait: "Don't worry. When it is time for you to go back, I will make you ready." - And alas, here I am 3 months later, ready to head back to Nashville. My heart is overflowing with joy to see my people, hug (and meet) our new SAS team, and just do life again with my community. It is overflowing with gratitude by the fact that I MADE IT. I AM HERE. Thanks to Jesus, I am on the other side. A moment I truly thought would never come. Like literal tears of joy streaming down my face. - AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I AM DIFFERENT. I have changed. You truly cannot walk through a valley and come out the same person. There will be a LOT of layers stripped off you weren't ever intended to carry but there will also be SO MUCH MORE added on to take their place. Beautiful things that will gracefully slip in, as if they were always meant to be there. Things that take up far less space but hold so much more LIFE." (Link in bio for rest of blog.) NASHVILLE LET'S DO THIS.

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BIOGRAPHY

Finding beauty in pain, through creating art, in pursuit of redemption. 

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