So let me tell you a story… now this story includes all of the necessary parts so you can feel as if it were happening to you as you read it and feel (almost) exactly as I felt when it was happening to me. With videos and pictures and a great ending, I hope this story is one you will enjoy.

It all started in April of 2015. I receive a text from a friend of mine saying something along the lines of, “Listen to this song!” and proceeds to send me a link to this song called Thunder by Penny and Sparrow, who were musicians that I had never heard of. Listening to this YouTube clip was all it took for me to fall in love with their music and the two quirky dudes who sang it.

As I began to obsess over their songs, I began to have this desire to see them live. (I mean... duh) May 1, 2015, I went to my first Penny and Sparrow concert in Nashville. I remember sitting on the lawn of this outdoor concert venue, in awe of the men singing in front of me. I remember just feeling overwhelmed with joy and peace and I was smiling because I loved the music so much. I felt such a connection with their songs.

After the show, my friend and I went up to the merchandise booth and got to meet the men who make up Penny and Sparrow, Andy Baxter and Kyle Jahnke. Their genuine spirits and welcoming personalities stunned me in an amazing way. We spoke to them and I remember thanking them for talking to us, and they responded, “We hope there never comes a point where we can’t talk to our fans.” They weren’t intimating or cocky or anything stereotypical of people who have a bit of fame, they were just friendly people who had the incredible gift of making music.

After this concert, I knew I had to see them again. They had come out with this new song called Double Heart a few months later, and I remember sitting in my room listening to this song thinking, I would kill to be able to sing this song with them. I kept thinking, how amazing would it be if I, myself, got to harmonize with these men?

I mean, a 19-year-old girl can dream, right?

October rolled around, and I remember sitting in my apartment in Knoxville, and I get a text from my friend in my hometown telling me that Penny and Sparrow are playing at a venue in the town 20 minutes from my house. Logically, after hearing this, I skip my last class of the day, round up my friends (and text an invite to my mother) and drive back home in time to make it to the concert.

I remember sitting in The Down Home, this small and intimate venue in Johnson City, only a mere six feet or so from the stage where I was about to see my favorite musicians once again. Minutes before they were supposed to perform, my friend and I look over and we see them standing over to the side, talking to the owner of the venue. So again, logically, we bound over to talk to them. I shake their hands to introduce myself and tell them I’d seen them in Nashville and was so excited to see them again. I remember Andy saying, “Well it’s good to see you again, Megan.”

*faints*

We then took a selfie with them, and I felt so happy and content with the night already. They hadn’t even performed yet! Little did I know, the best night of my life was JUST beginning.

They went on stage and continued to sing and play, with me and my friends and mother just sitting there embracing every single second of it. Did I mention we were six feet from the stage?

Now after the show, we approached them again to encourage them by telling them how well they performed. (During this time I also asked for the set list, just because I’m obsessive like that and I love how they hand-write it)

Anyway, my roommate and I are singers, and had been trying to make a cover of their song "Double Heart" (the one I obsessed over, remember?) but had trouble picking out all of the harmonies. So after the show, we walked up to Kyle and said, “So we LOVE your song 'Double Heart,' but we’re having some trouble with it, do you think you could help us out?” He then replied, as if it was the most casual thing in the world, “Yeah sure, just stick around until most of the people leave and we can run through it.”

*Mouth drops and heart begins to race*

“Absolutely!” We replied. We just got offered to sing with our favorite musicians on the face of the Earth. No big deal. We went and sat in a booth, and about twenty minutes later, when there were about 15 people left in the venue, I look over and Kyle motions us over to come on stage. Giddy as ever, my roommate and I hop on stage, the four of us stand in a circle, and Kyle begins playing the intro on guitar.

I look over in complete and utter awe at my mother, who is videoing the whole thing of course and I can’t stop smiling. Andy starts to sing the first verse, and before I know it, my roommate and I are coming in with the harmonies that we knew. We sang through the whole entire song, at one point it was Kyle and I singing together. It was everything I had dreamed of when I first heard this song coming into reality. We ended on the powerful chorus with our notes just ringing out, and once we stopped singing, everyone else in the venue just erupted into applause.

I grinned as wide as I probably ever have, and looked over at them, and they just said, “You guys sound good, good job!” And I was just like, “YOU ALL SOUND GOOD!” Andy held his hand out and I just grabbed it, my life had been made.

We then proceeded to take more pictures with them so we could have a memory of this night to hold onto forever.

I then went outside and basically started screaming and jumping up and down because I was in such disbelief that this regular college student got to sing with the musicians who made her fall even more deeply in love with music.

Hands down, best night of my life.