Thank you for a great 2022! (Patreon)

Dear Icon Army,

I’m sitting in a bustling Nashville coffee shop enjoying a moment and I can’t stop smiling. I’m thinking of the past year and everything it contained: All the things we learned, the beautiful ways we got to connect with you, the ways we got to share what we make.

So a little look back on the past year…

We began 2022 by heading to Pennsylvania to record not one but FIVE music videos for our upcoming album. We got to hang out with a few of you and it was so nice to connect in person after the past couple years apart, plus it felt good to headbang and remember a bit of what it feels like to play live ;)

Speaking of, it was such a relief when we finally were able to go back on the road on the Ready for Combat tour this past June. We grabbed Sumo Cyco and Awake at Last and hit nearly 30 cities in about as many days. Going into it, we were a little curious about how it would all go. Would our fans venture out after years of Covid scares? Did touring still feel magical? Would being an independent band still work? We were delighted with the answers to all these questions. The icon army showed up and made it one of our favorite tours to date.

On September 29th, after months of teasing and years of prep work, we released our 5th studio album, The Reckoning! This album was released only 18 months after our previous, which was a new record (hehe) for us. Finding our dream producer David Thulin here in Nashville has been a game changer for us, and we are excited to keep making music at a steady pace.

In the fall we received an opportunity we’d been actively pursuing for a long time: The chance to open up for a more established band on their tour. We were offered a spot in Europe supporting The Rasmus and we couldn’t wait to see our overseas fans as well play for bigger rooms than we usually do.

The tour ended up being much more challenging than we could have anticipated and we did something we thought we’d never do: We went home.

This was a gut wrenching decision that broke our hearts to make. Letting our fans down was something we never wanted to do. Looking back though, we know it was the right choice for us and we’re sill so grateful for everyone's support and understanding.

A few other things happened this year. We redesigned our website, www.iconforhire.net, and launched something we’ve been wanting to do for years: Camp Icon. The response has been overwhelming and it’s one of the things we’re most looking forward to in 2023.

Speaking of looking ahead, this upcoming year will likely be filled with lots of touring-we want to be on the road to celebrate The Reckoning and play these new songs together. We will announce US tour dates soon!! We hope to come through some of the bigger cities not once but twice this year, so stay tuned for that!

It wasn’t a particularly easy year, but we are proud of how we showed up and the music and shows we were able to offer the world. And that’s what makes me smile the most: We made it another year, with the tribe we love, on our own terms. Another year of carving our own path, making things our own way, counting on our fans-YOU-to believe in this thing and support our work in the world.

We love all our fans of course, but our Icon Army Headquarters really have a special place in our hearts. It’s because of you that Icon for Hire gets to be a thing. Thank you! Thank you for your being with us another year. Your encouragement, your pledges, your involvement on every livestream, it all makes this thing work.

I sit here and wonder how many more of these letters I’ll write over the years. Maybe I’ll save them and compile them in one place in several years, and we can look back on everything that happened, all the wins and all the hardships, and know we fucking survived it. Made it out with our dignity and integrity intact. It's a beautiful thought, and there’s no one else we’d want to do it with than you.

A very special thank you to our top pledgers this past year: Shawn McGlinchey, Ryan Tarr, Aaron Rodriguez, Robin Bron, Aaron Geis, Kaia King, Alexandria Morris, Amanda Aceti, Celestia Colders, Cora Lynn, Dante Hernandez, Marissa Hamilton, Joseph Konieczka, Rene Peters, Theresa Harrison, and Sara Rivman! 

Here’s to a beautiful 2023!

XOXO,

Ariel & Shawn