The day was March 20th, 2013. It was late in the afternoon and I, a fourteen year old high school freshman, was making my way to the Bluebird in uptown Denver whilst looking up at the unwelcoming skies of the Denver cold. On any other day at this point in my lifetime, I would certainly not be found in the midst of the winds and rain of the dirty city streets. However, this day was no ordinary day. Today was the day of my first concert-a day that would change my life forever. Today was the first day that I saw my you all.
The night was as special as I had interpreted it would be. I was given the pleasure to meet the you before and after your show and was able to claim at spot directly in the front row. I was in awe of your passion, talent, and the simple fact that they you were real people in the same place as me. Being a naive fourteen yer old girl, I assumed this would be the last time I would be able to see you incredible people. I couldn't of been more wrong.
Fast forward five years to my sophomore year of college after recently moving to downtown Denver-less than a mile away from the venue in which I originally saw you. I have now been to every Denver show since and am still just as in awe of you as I was when I saw them that first time in 2013. During June of this year, I was given the absolute pleasure of seeing you all open your New Addictions tour in Denver. This experience was so incredible, that it prompted me to travel for the first time in my adult life to see you all an additional two times on this tour, and it was the best decision of my life. I am so grateful for the experience, the friendships, and the memories.
I don't think you truly understand how meaningful the friendships we have made through you all are. In 2014 during your Heart Made Up on You tour run, I met one of my very best friends Sophie. This year, I flew out to Portland with her to see you close the New Addictions tour. There, I had the pleasure of meeting my friends, Natalie, Julia, Rebecca, and Kimmy. I was able to Oklahoma with two of them to meet even more friends while seeing one last time you before your European show run. Thanks to you, I have connections with friends across the country, and across the world. In addition to all these wonderful girls, I have so many more pals I haven't even met yet, but I'm still closer to them than you know, and I can't wait to see there smiling faces on future tour runs. So thank you for the travel buddies, the late night conversations, and the unbreakable bonds that I wouldn't have if it wasn't because of you and this tour.
Additionally, thank you for not only taking the time to say hello to us, but to have good intentions when you do it. Between touring, traveling, writing music, making films, and doing everything that you do in your incredibly busy lives, we are so unbelievably thankful that you still make time to chat with us. Thank you for stopping at the airport. Thank you for stopping before and after the shows. Thanks for coming to the barrier to say goodbye. Thanks for buying my friends drinks at the clubs. Thank you for constantly going out of your way to not only know us as fans, but to know us as people.
Riker, thank you for learning my hometown, for always giving me extra love at your Denver shows, for recognizing me at the other shows I travel to. It makes me happier than you realize.
Ellington, thank you for learning my last name and for going out of your way to learn all my friends' names, too. Thanks for making sure that we all left your Portland show with a drumstick. Thanks for simply going above and beyond to create meaningful memories for me and my friends this tour.
Ross, thank you for the lasting conversations about movies, traveling, and music. You have such interesting ideas and its a pleasure to listen to you share them. The fact that you stop to chat with us and want to have real conversations with us makes us happier than you know.
Rydel, thank you for going out of your way to make sure that every fan feels special even though you make your way through meeting hundreds of people at meet and greets. Thanks for always giving the best hugs, and thank you for being the big sister we never had.
Rocky, thank you for going out of your way to say thank you to me and my friends each time we come and see you. We notice it, and we appreciate you and your kind heart more than you realize.
Thank you for the new music. Thank you for the passionate, high energy shows. Thank you for always reciprocating the energy that we send you from the crowd. I've been to a lot of shows, and I've made friends in a lot of "fandoms" but nothing compares to seeing you guys and to experiencing the love that comes with being a part of the R5 family. We are so grateful for you and from the memories we've made from this tour.
