Sidewalk Diamonds is a band who plays what they call "Garage Americana,” a soulful blend of rock and Americana with a raucous spirit, across venues in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota. What I find to be exceptional about this band is that from the moment I clicked play on the first track featured on their website, I felt my mood lighten. Honestly, I just felt good. Discovering more about them, my heart felt downright happy. Their music is infectious. The lyrics, vocals, and instrumentals have a lived-in quality that honors precisely what is right for the song. Their graphics are top notch (thanks to their drummer, Nick Pyper-Holz) and I found their video section well produced and unique (thanks to lead guitarist Jeff Petersen, and features the backstory behind many of their songs. Sidewalk Diamonds seems like a band whose members have been doing this full-time for a long time, and earning a sweet living off of their efforts to boot. But that’s not the case at all. All of the band members have much more traditional, full time gigs.

Now in their fifties, each member brings years of experience with other bands and musical endeavors to Sidewalk Diamonds as they honor their love of creating good music, and their passion for performing and bringing joy to audience after audience.

With so many brutally hard news stories out there, it’s reassuring to realize that our hearts and souls can still connect to the goodness in the world around us. It’s not unlike staring down at concrete on a sunny day and seeing sparkles in all the hardness, or Diamonds In the Sidewalks. See what I did there?

During this episode, I’m excited and honored to talk with band members Beth Pyper-Holz and Tony Thomas and learn why they describe Sidewalk Diamonds as more than a band, but “a cross-country road trip in a VW minivan, where the heat and air conditioning might fail, but the friendships and music make it all worthwhile”.

Check out their website: https://sidewalkdiamonds.com/ Listen to some tunes, and Tune in…

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com