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The isolating effects of a global pandemic can be haunting. For singer-songwriter and bandleader, Justin Trawick, writing “Back of the Line” was born out of necessity and self- preservation. The world was collectively feeling the sensation of individually being marooned on 8 billion tiny islands, and for Trawick, the feeling was all too real.
“The planet had suddenly been put on pause. All of our plans for the future were replaced with a big question mark. As an artist, I’ve always found inspiration to write in the littlest of things, but the coronavirus quarantine created a vacuum of creativity that I’d never felt before. It wasn’t until the third month of the pandemic when I sat down and wrote “Back of the Line,” a song about the feeling of being lost, being alone, being afraid, and being hopeful. I honestly think it’s one of the first times I’ve ever really written a song for me. I needed it.”
That’s not to say Trawick wasn’t doing any work in those first three months. On March 12th, 2020, Trawick voluntarily canceled his scheduled public show in DC for that evening, something that venues still weren’t doing themselves yet. Instead, he and his girlfriend, Lauren LeMunyan, posted on social media that they would be performing on Facebook Live later that evening at 8pm.
“I was sitting on my couch at 11am on March 12th, 2020 wondering what I was going to do. I had just canceled my show, but I still wanted to play. I’ve been performing since I was 13 years old, I really didn’t want to stop now. I suddenly remembered how two years earlier I had been scheduled for a show at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City, but that it got canceled due to a blizzard. Instead of not playing, Lauren and I performed on Facebook Live from her apartment in DC. People loved it. They tipped us more than I was going to make in NYC that evening.”
That night their first Facebook Live show went better than expected. With almost five thousand views on their inaugural performance, family, friends, and fans joined to support “The Justin and Lauren Show,” requesting songs and tipping via a sign that LeMunyan had drawn by hand. The performance first got the attention of Reuters, who filmed their second show in their apartment on March 15th, followed by The Washington Post, CNN (who also filmed them in their apartment), Al Jazeera, and Washingtonian Magazine. Trawick’s Facebook page climbed from 7k “likes” to over 12k in only a few months, and almost 200 people joined his Patreon club.
“We created something that I had never experienced before in the 12 years I’d been playing music professionally. Suddenly we had a TV variety type show similar to “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” where Lauren and I would sing, tell jokes, do skits, and talk about our lives to hundreds of people twice a week. We amassed a fanbase of superfans and cultivated a community of people that showed up not only for us, but also to chat with each other as they had all become friends in the process of watching our weekly shows. These were the people that I performed “Back of the Line” to live for the first time, and who encouraged me to record it for a single.”
Most recently, Trawick has been bringing back the live concert experience in a unique way. Utilizing his fanbase and the power of social media, Trawick and LeMunyan have been organizing secret backyard socially distant performances of “The Justin and Lauren Show” in backyards donated by friends and fans. These shows have been limited to only 25 people per show, with social distancing and safety being the highest priority.
“We have literally gone to every single yard and measured them by hand with a tape measure. Lauren then creates a grid on a digital map that she uses to design a seating chart where essentially every ticket buyer is buying a ticket to a 10 x 10 foot square in someone else’s backyard. It’s a lot of work, but when people come up to us afterward thanking us for bringing live music back into their lives safely, it’s all worth it for us.
Trawick and LeMunyan have currently sold out over 9 of their secret backyard shows in Arlington VA, Richmond VA, and Philadelphia, PA. For more information on these secret backyard shows go to www.aneveningwithus.com.
ABOUT JUSTIN TRAWICK :
Justin Trawick has been performing in the Washington DC area and along the East Coast since 2006, citing musical influences like Bob Schneider, Greensky Bluegrass, The Tallest Man on Earth, G. Love, Old Crow Medicine Show, and David Gray. In February of 2014, Trawick won “Song of the Year” at the Washington Area Music Awards for his solo recording of “All the Places That I’ve Been” which can be downloaded on iTunes as a single along with his five other solo records and EPs. In June of 2015, Trawick released his first single, “Goodbye,” under the band name “Justin Trawick and the Common Good,” written about the search for direction and belonging in a world that always feels one step ahead of you. In January of 2017, “Justin Trawick and The Common Good” released their first album, “The Riverwash EP,” which features Norah Jones’ guitarist Adam Levy. Trawick and the band have performed for the Kingman Island Bluegrass Festival, Appaloosa Roots Music Festival, Floyd Yoga Jam, TedxEast in NYC at the City Winery, and TedxPennsylvaniaAvenue in DC at the Newseum.
Additionally, Trawick has opened for over 30 national acts, including Suzanne Vega, Wyclef Jean, Brett Dennen, Blues Traveler, Enter The Haggis, Bob Schneider, and Edwin McCain, and shared bills with Dr. Dogg and The Avett Brothers. As the founder of the nationally touring show “The 9 Songwriter Series” and co-founder of “The Circus Life Podcast” with guests such as Kevin Eubanks, Chris Thomas King, Ernie Halter, Yarn, and Snuffy Walden, Trawick has built a brand that extends far beyond his home base in DC. For more information, please visit http://justintrawick.com.