2025

Some thoughts on the year

Well, it’s almost the end of the year. I’m not sure how that happened. I am at a coffee shop now, with not much to do, so I thought I would put a few thoughts about this year down in writing and share them with all of you.

Let’s start with the most notable event of the year: my house burned down in a fire. That’s pretty unbelievable to write, even now. In fact, I’m sitting now in almost the exact same spot I came directly after I evacuated my home on that fateful day. I remember looking out through the glass window of this coffee shop at the huge plume of black smoke smothering the sky, completely shaken by what had just happened. I smelled like ash and smoke, but everyone in the coffee shop was completely unfazed. I remember seeing a friend that day, and I tried to explain to her what had just happened, that I had just evacuated and that my home was in danger, but she didn’t really seem to grasp the severity of the event.

I spent that night at a nearby hotel and in the days and months to come, I cried and cried. I stayed with friends and family, and I was completely lost, for lack of a better word. I found out the day after I evacuated that my house was (probably) destroyed, I didn’t get full confirmation until a few days later, but the news really broke me. I remember sitting on my hotel room bed, alone, shaking, crying, so confused as to why this had happened to me and wondering what I was going to do next. Almost everything I owned was in that house, and although I had managed to save my car and a few valuables, almost everything else was completely gone. My beloved piano, the first big purchase I made when I move to LA, gone. Most of my music equipment, my guitars, my microphones, gone. A huge collection of books, probably more than 200, gone. I won’t list every single thing, you get the idea.

I don’t think I’ve fully processed the events of that day, nearly a year ago. Every time I go back to my old neighborhood I feel a lump in my throat and tears start to well up in my eyes. I feel that even now, typing these words. It’s hard to describe what it’s like to have your home and community completely destroyed in a matter of hours. For me, it has been a deeply humbling experience and a lesson in surrender. Because even though I did not have a plan for what would unfold after the fire, I found that I was guided and helped through each of the coming days, weeks and months. I had so many beautiful and kind friends offer to let me stay in their homes, buy me meals, or just be a shoulder to cry on when I needed it. If you’re one of those people and you’re reading this, thank you. You know who you are. You’ll never know how much those things meant to me.

Like I said before, the fire humbled me greatly. I now understand in a very visceral way that nothing in this life is certain, that everything you think you know can be turned upside down in a moment, and that nothing is really guaranteed. A very painful lesson, to be sure, but also one I can appreciate, even if it is extremely hard to accept. Now, a year out, I’m starting to see things a little more clearly, and I can see even though I lost a lot in the fire, I also gained a lot too! The chance to move out of my comfort zone, an opportunity to meet new people, and an opening to start a new chapter of my life. It has challenged me to truly embrace the idea of trusting the unfolding of your life, even though you may not understand it in the moment. I remember just before the fire I had made a video on my “advice” Instagram account (@advicewithanson) about how you need to trust your life, no matter what, that you are right where you need to be. And then a few days later, my house burned down. Ouch. Well, I have tried my best to accept that, and still am. Some days are harder than others, and some days I still look back and think, “Did that really happen? Did my house actually burn down?” At times it still feels like a bad dream. But on the whole, I think I’ve made a little bit of peace with what happened at the beginning of the year. Or at least, as a wise man once said, I’m trying my best. (Winky face).

Alright, what else, let’s see.

I went on no less than three tours around the world! Well, technically it was two, but the second one was broken up into two legs that were in different months, so for me it feels more like three tours. I went to China, Singapore, Canada, and the United States. It was! Amazing! Wow, what a gift to be able to travel the world with my best friends and share my music with so many beautiful souls. Show after show, I was touched by how genuine and kind everyone I met was. I received so many sweet letters and gifts (I got a Labubu!) and I got to visit so many new and inspiring places. If you came to a show or you helped with the tour in any way, thank you so much! Performing these shows has been a great joy for me in a year that was, in many ways, tremendously difficult.

I also put out an album this year, titled You’ll Always Be Mine. It was the result of about two years of writing, recording and producing. I started work on the album in late 2023, after going through a breakup. Many of the songs were written then, including the title track, “You’ll Always Be Mine.” Putting out an album is always a sizable and intimidating undertaking; I am a notorious perfectionist, and as a result I spent many, many hours scrutinizing every inch of each track for anything I deemed unsavory or unworthy of release. By the time the album came out last month, I had listened to it so many times it was almost hard to appreciate the body of work as a whole. But I am proud of it, I think it covers a wide spectrum of genres and communicates what I’ve been through emotionally in the last two years. I’ll admit, listening to a few of the songs (especially the title track) is still a bit painful for me, so you can imagine what it was like to listen over and over for production and mix notes. But I’m glad I did, it feels good to have those songs out in the world and for people to hear about this chapter of my life.

I also put out two Christmas songs, which I am really proud of! I have tried to put out a few holiday songs each year just to keep things interesting and because I enjoy it, and I think this year’s turned out great. We tried to really get out of our comfort zone this time around and I’m really pleased with the result. Hopefully others will feel the same!

I also did a fair amount of traveling for fun this year; I went to Switzerland for about three weeks, I went to London for almost two months, and I stopped in Paris for a few glorious days. I really love Europe, if you couldn’t tell. Switzerland, especially, inspired me so much. The buildings, the scenery, everything is so beautiful there; it has a magic I can’t quite describe. And when I got there in the spring, the weather was unbelievable. I went on hikes in the mountains through fields of blooming flowers, I had ice cream by crystal clear rivers, and I sat alone under the shadow of Staubbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen just enjoying the sound of the water. Needless to say I have enough inspiration now to write at least two albums! But don’t get too excited, I’m going to need at least another month of hibernation after getting back from my North American tour.

So what final words can I say, now that this year has come to end?

Life goes on. In its beauty and in its terror, in its catastrophes and its trivialities, life goes on. In a year in which I was hoping for a lot of ups, I encountered a lot of downs. But in spite of that, there was still so much to be grateful for. So many moments of joy, of personal healing, and wonder to appreciate. Maybe it sounds like a Hallmark card, but it’s true; I can say that although this year did not go how I had planned, it was a marvelous adventure nonetheless, and for that, from the bottom of my heart, I am thankful.

Sending love to all of you and have a very happy new year! <3

A few photos from the year:

Some ice cream in Lucerne

The Terracotta Army in Xi’an, China

La Tour Eiffel!

The tour crew at the Forbidden City! We finally made it after two other trips to Beijing!

Sold out in Shanghai! My biggest headline show ever! Photo by Jake Haseldine

Hiking near the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland

Staubbachfall Waterfall in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Yours truly in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland