It's been a while since we have written a journal entry and we're already almost halfway through the summer. We're hanging out in Calgary right now working on new material for the album and we're getting very excited about the recording. The studio is both an inspiring and scary place to be but all of us are really pumped about this next record and really happy with what each other is creating. Nothing like arranging new songs and creating lots of harmony. Yay!The festivals so far have been chock full of good experiences. A few off the top of my head: three amazing workshops in Vancouver with the likes of Sarah Harmer, Dona Rosa, Juana Molina, Bill Bourne and Eivor Palsdottir, Dochas, John Reischman and the Jaybirds and more. The weather was great and the festival did well so we're happy to see that it will be around for at least a good while longer. Please support that festival!We spent some time with friends in Vancouver (you can check the "Images" page for shots of my friends Gill and Neil's beautiful dog, Sherpa as she chows down on sushi) and then headed to Calgary. This was our first time at the Calgary Folk Festival as the Jennys and we had a blast. Seeing the Indigo Girls live for the first time in my life was actually more of a thrill than I anticipated. Those women are the true definition of pro and their songs have definitely stood the test of time. We were also treated to shows by K'Naan, Iris Dement, Jeff Tweedy and the ever-fabulous Ron Sexsmith. I never cease to be amazed by all of their incredible writing.We had the pleasure of performing with the Holmes Brothers and Hungry Hill in a Sunday morning workshop that saw a devoted clan of people stand out in the pouring rain and cold for an hour and a half! We couldn't believe it - it was an utterly magical experience. We also had a workshop with the legendary McGarrigle Sisters which was a pretty profound experience as well. There is something about sharing stages with heroes that defies description. I thought Ruth was going to lose it when Kate and Anna told her how much they enjoyed "One Voice".By the end of both festivals we were quite tired but truly inspired by all of the fantastic musicians we heard.We are off to Canmore tomorrow where we will meet up again with the Worms, Eliza Gilkyson (who we loooove and who we had the chance to talk to), The Bills and more of our favourite people. Performing at the festivals is always a welcome way to reconnect with our road families and its a great way to take in music. That's actually a rare thing these days for us.Hope to see you all at the rest of the festivals this summer.~ Nicky