May 2025

Hello Friends,
Lately, I’ve been clearing out an overgrown chunk of land to plant a garden, and thinking a lot about resilience.  What is it that makes weeds and grass so tough?  One thing I noticed as I roto-tilled and dug down into the earth was an intense root system.  The tiny weeds on top were connected by a hearty tangle of roots, and unless I got to that, they would just keep coming back.  Similarly, we know that groves of trees are connected by elaborate root systems so that they can share nutrients with each other.

When asked what type of music I play, I will often say “Roots Music”.  This has a lot to do with the old Blues, Country, and Folk I constantly learn from, and there is another element I’ve come to think about with ‘Roots Music’: the living, adapting, resilient approach to community music.  I’ve been able to make a modest living playing over a hundred shows a year, making albums, and singing songs because of the deep roots system that connects me and thousands of people– venues, breweries, farms, musicians, fans, public radio stations, farmer’s markets, hotels, small businesses. . . the list goes on and on.

This grass-roots approach takes a long time to come to harvest, but to me, it is the only way to live with integrity and resist the top-down corporate machine.  I love my life, because I’m constantly surrounded by fellow Rootsy folks!  It’s much easier to grow when you’re connected to others who share your vision.
  
Thank YOU for being a part of that growth, and for doing your part to make life vibrant, beautiful, and resilient.  Many of you have been along for the journey for a LONG time, so I’m excited to share with you that we are planning a 20th Anniversary Concert celebrating Caleb Stine & The Brakemen’s first album: October 29th.  Yes!  We will be playing on October 29th, 2025, at St. Luke’s on The Avenue to mark the occasion when 20 years earlier we recorded a full album in one day.  So please save the date for Wednesday, October 29th, 7:00pm and plan to come out and see the original Brakemen lineup with special guests.  It will be a night to remember. 

Also, we are working hard to put together a deluxe, remastered Vinyl of the album!  Stay tuned.

Cheers,
Caleb

April, 2025

Hello There,

I’ve been reading the Patrick O’Brian seafaring novels lately—somehow I associate these as ‘Dad Books’ and having become a father a year ago, I felt I’d entered the stage of life required. The first novel ‘Master and Commander’ introduces the daring captain Jack Aubrey and his companion, ship surgeon Stephen Maturin. Through the course of the novels (I just finished #5 and I think there’s more than twenty) the men sail around the globe for the Royal British Navy, fighting Napoleon and surviving the impossibly harsh conditions of 1800’s ship life.

‘Adventure’ is a concept I think we all can relate to—the desire to travel, break free from everyday routine and experience new things. One element I’ve come to see as necessary for a true adventure is suffering. You don’t feel as though you’ve accomplished much if you haven’t faced trials and overcome them, and this is a real secret of life. If we long for adventure, don’t we also long for pushing ourselves past our sense of comfort? This can be a very helpful truth to remember when you’re stranded on the side of the highway with a broken car, or when you lose the map entirely and wonder where you are and why you left home.

For me, the journey of being an independent musician has been filled with adventure. I’ve travelled and played my songs all over the world, seen places I never imagined, and met incredible people. There has also been struggle—the entire landscape of the music business has shifted like tectonic plates on fast-forward. Things change so fast, there never seems to be any solid ground. It’s never been easy. But I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I’m not interested in ‘the music business’: this is a spiritual journey for me. Writing songs, recording albums, and performing music is my way of being human: music gives me a lens to see the world, and it’s the offering I give back.

As the adventure continues, I’m setting the intention to build connections with my musical community in new ways. Perhaps not all that new, but like a Naval General, I am redirecting the forces I have from certain fronts to others. Specifically, spending more energy on direct emails, my website, and. . . a physical mailer. I think we’re all taking stock of technology, social media, and its impact on our lives. I’ve felt it shift, and while I will still be using Instagram and Facebook as ways to broadcast shows and events, I feel that community building and creative output may be better served by a more curated experience. That being said, expect some more email list communication, a request for updated email addresses, and, for those interested, a sharing of your physical address. My goal is to curate a bi-annual mailer—like, yeah, real mail.

In the direct weeks ahead, there are several great chances to hear me play some music and experience the community of the live show: April 26th at 4pm I’m in Woodstock VA at Muse Vineyard; April 27th at 4pm come out to Union Square Park in Baltimore’s Sowebo neighborhood, and May 10th I’ve got a double header – 2pm at Remfest and 5:30pm at Monkton Festival. All the dates and details at calebstine.com

Wherever your adventures take you, I wish you the best! One thing the Master and Commander books drive home, the journey is always better with a friend. I think that’s one of the guiding forces for me as a musician—helping to create and sustain community, the kinds of events where people meet up, talk, laugh, cry, and just be together. In the seafaring novels, Jack and Stephen meet up in the Captain’s quarters to play fiddle and cello together—no matter how rough the seas have been, they convene to play together. It’s one touch that makes the books so readable, and it’s a great metaphor for how to survive the adventures of life.

Keep Goin!
Caleb

Here’s a batch of Four New Songs from Caleb Stine and Nicholas Sjostrom

https://nicholassjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/human-being-things

Thursday 7/23 Caleb Stine & The Brakemen
Friday 7/24 Justin and The Cosmics
Saturday 7/25 Ravi Shavi
Sunday 7/26 LuxDeluxe