On the road with Beyonce. MCSWT Archives

On The Run: Paris and a new chapter in Toscana

June 26, 2018September 16, 2014 by Adison

This post is more of a journal entry. Something that I felt the need to write, because my heart is heavy. This past weekend completed a 2 year journey working with Beyonce. Having completed two tours with Beyonce and one with JayZ (Mrs Carter Show/On The Run), I have experienced so many incredible things, have traveled the world many times, and have gained the most incredible family. The end of the tour kind of snuck up on me, and I didn’t expect it. It wasn’t until about a year into the tour that I really started opening my eyes to how incredible my job and my life really is. I was still adjusting to being out in the real world. However, being on the road for 2 years didn’t feel like real life. It honestly felt like an extension of school.

Just like the rest of my tour family we’ve had ups and downs, amazing shows, great traveling experiences and not so good ones.. we’ve experienced heartbreak, we’ve fought, and experienced the most incredible highs one could imagine. I can’t even begin to tell you about all of the amazing people I’ve met. I’ve experienced love from so many fans and people around the globe…language barrier or not.

This post was prompted by me sitting in my Italian class this morning in Tuscany.. (yes, I moved to Tuscany.. for a little while anyway). Everyone in the class was introducing themselves to each other, and then it came my turn. People asked why I was there and what I do, etc. So I stumbled through telling them about my adventure in the past two years in broken italian.. and that is when I realized that that chapter of my life is over (for now anyway).. I haven’t accepted that yet. Yes, when one door closes another opens, and I’m excited about a new beginning, however.. I wasn’t ready for that life to end. I wasn’t ready to leave my sisters in the band.. I wasn’t ready to not wake up, go to soundcheck, play a show, etc. But what can you do? I’m so grateful to Beyonce for not only giving me the opportunity to play, but more for just bringing me together with my family. We have become a family. I’m so grateful and blessed for being able to have had that experience.. and it’s certainly not over. But you have to understand, before I joined Beyonce, I was still in school.. so this is really the first time in my life I have no strings attached to anything or anyone. It’s so freeing. It’s overwhelming. It’s exciting. It’s petrifying.

Which brings me here.. To Toscana. In my house on top of many hills.. with the most amazing view that I didn’t think existed in real life. Yet, here I am. I cook. I learn Italian. I play music. I write music.. I meet new people. It’s an amazing life. As they say here.. “prima o poi le cose belle finiscono” which means “now or later all of the beautiful things end”.
Anyway.. enough of that. I’m working on the next few episodes of the cooking show..which will air soon! I have so much love for all of the fans and friends that have followed my journey the past 2 years.. It’s not over yet.. So stay tuned!! Thank you all for your support!

P.s. To my sisters.. Rie, Katty, Crystal, Bibi, Joy, LT, Dani, Tiffany, Crissy, Montina..I love you with ALL of my heart. God blessed me with you all in my life. See you really soon.. one way or another!

Con molto amore (with much love),
Adison

beyGOOD Christmas Extravaganza in the Bronx

June 26, 2018December 22, 2013 by Adison

Last night the Mrs Carter Crew put on a Christmas Extravaganza for families in need in association with Beyonce’s Beygood program! All thanks to Denee Baptiste and the Mrs Carter Dancers for putting it all together!

These kids all wrote us their Christmas wish lists and everyone in the crew bought them their presents all wrapped and ready to go! We had lots of festivities for the kids including a dance area,
Arts and crafts, reading to the kids, and taking pictures with Santa Claus!

Naturally at Adi’s Jazz Kitchen we have to run the cookie/cupcake decorating station, which was a complete success! Who doesn’t like christmas cookies and cupcakes?! Come on now.. I started baking as soon as I got back into town from our Boston show at 430 AM all day until the event.. Now keep in mind there were hundreds of people and all this baking took place in one oven w 2 racks and a very small nyc kitchen! What a blast though…

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The gingerbread recipe I used was killer! I highly recommend it. (They come out chewy and very flavorful)
http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/411823

Here’s the red velvet cupcake recipe I used (also highly recommended!)
http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/478166
In addition to making regular cream cheese frosting, I also made my own recipe: NUTELLA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING! Can you say dabombdotcom? Here it is:

3 cups conf sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter softened
8 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups Nutella
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Blend all the ingredients together. Frost cupcakes when cooled completely. Store extra frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator!

It’s so important to remember to give back to those who might need a hand this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Life on the road with the Mrs Carter Crew and Beyoncé

June 26, 2018December 12, 2013 by Adison

Just like any other leg to this tour there have been ups and downs.. Mostly ups! I love being on the road in the US just because of the simple fact that it’s not TOO far away from home, and I still get to use my phone and have internet :D. Plus, this leg is shorter than the others, which is nice since the holiday season is here and we all just want to be home with our families. Meanwhile, I have my lovely tour family and here’s some of the adventures we’ve had so far this leg…

We had a blast in San Jose at Christmas in the Park..

getting in the Christmas spirit with my favorite movie..

We go to rehearsals and rock out…

Kind of like Larry (Les Twins) and Derek did today on the bus in Kentucky..

We catch lots of trains, planes, boats, and buses..

There’s ups! like seeing my suite mate from Interlochen (high school) in Houston, Emily for lunch!

Then there’s more ups like getting picked up in cool dude cars on occasion..

The best part about this leg so far was the COOKING PARTY that we had at Jennita’s! Here’s a sneak peek (full episode to appear soon)!

I made apricot glazed turkey meatballs, and they were a hit! I love sweet and savory. yum yum yum!

Lots of the crew cooked too including Katty, and her “Not Paula Deen’s Banana Pudding”

Crissy even gave LT a peanut butter facial! She’s very convincing. 😉

Then there’s the times where we are killing time backstage (everynight) so we watch Ancient Aliens.. Dun Dun Dun!!!

and Rie always falls asleep.. she’s dreaming of aliens..

Then there’s the Mrs Carter Show..

It’s a good job.

Home sweet home for a while.. Tour bus tour

June 26, 2018December 2, 2013 by Adison

Here’s a little tour of our tour bus, and a little demonstration from Rie Tsuji on how to properly climb into a bunk.. There is also a special guest appearance from Mr Bear. Check it out!
Tour Bus Tour

Christmas in the Park with my Beycrew!

June 26, 2018December 2, 2013 by Adison

Here I am again, starting another leg (the 5th one to be exact) of the Mrs Carter Show World Tour with Beyonce. It really snuck up on me this time.. I was having such a good time with my family and my sweetheart over Thanksgiving I barely noticed I had to leave the day after. We started off in Vancouver (which is beautiful I hear.. No time to explore) then we flew into San Jose today. My spirits were lifted when I saw a Christmas fair outside of our hotel!! So we went, we ate, we stole Santa’s sleigh, and we decked the halls and it was a blast!

See you tomorrow night San Jose!

Halloween down under with the Mrs Carter Band

June 26, 2018November 2, 2013 by Adison

Hey Everyone! Here are some shots and videos from the Mrs Carter Show Halloween party and the band carving watermelons! I didn’t buy a costume so I tore the sheets off my bed and made a toga! It came together with the help of some of Crystal’s birthday flowers.. Always finding ways to improvise over here.. Here’s the stuff!

I hope you all had a very spooky halloween!

In other news.. Stay tuned for a new episode of Adi’s Jazz Kitchen.. Featuring a very talented special guest!! Take a guess who..

Dun dun duuunn!

Fish Tacos down unda with the Mrs Carter Crew!

June 26, 2018October 25, 2013 by Adison

The lack of a kitchen on the road really infuses a deep sense of excitement (over the normal amount) within me when it comes to good food.. As you can see by this video, I am more than thrilled when our “after show” food is us getting our own taco truck. You can also see, that I’m not the only one! (Both of the Larry’s, Crystal, and Rie seem to agree)!

Been having a blast, Melbourne. See you for show number 3 tonight!

Land of the Kiwis

June 26, 2018October 18, 2013 by Adison

I am happy to announce that Mr. Bear and I now have a new traveling buddy (thanks to my sister Katty and her hubby Keyon)… Meet Mr. Kiwi! Yahoooo! Straight from the first stop on the Mrs Carter Show Tour with Beyonce.. Auckland, New Zealand!

And since this is Adi’s Jazz Kitchen and it’s about food and music, I had to get a picture of LT in the background eating the very delicious chicken teriyaki from catering. Speaking of catering, I have to say New Zealand takes the best catering award of the tour so far. The food has been absolutely delicious here. Everywhere I’ve gone the food was on point. What I loved most about it, is it is simply made and all of the ingredients were able to stand out on their own and really come through in the dish.

Our very first day here Rie, Jennita, and I went out to a great restaurant that we found on the “where chefs eat app”, called Coco’s.

Coco’s is a really hip spot with a Brooklyn-ish charm that serves rustic italian food. We ended up ordering a few different entrees and antipasti and sharing family style (of course, that’s the best way to taste everything!)

Bruschetta with mashed broadbeans, pea, mint, and faggotini (ricotta stuffed mozzarella). Bruschetta is such a great vehicle to try out new flavor combinations,. You can go the traditional route of tomatoes, a lovely olive oil, basil, etc.. or you could.. do I even dare say try making dessert bruschetta (you know, you gotta expand your nutella horizons) or even maybe try a savory sweet combination like brie cheese and semisweet chocolate chips? Any takers?

Grilled cod over panzanella with smoked paprika aioli. I’m a total seafood junkie, especially when we’re somewhere with the clearest and prettiest blue green water I’ve ever seen. Yum. By the way, New Zealand is home to the largest mussels I’ve ever come across.. they almost scared me.

Asparagus with Pecorino Romano, lemon, and fried garlic chips. Fried garlic friend garlic fried garlic. ESPECIALLY while on tour.. Besides garlic’s amazing health properties.. I’m 13,000 miles from my boyfriend in New York City? I don’t think he can smell me from here. 😉

An amazing pile of homemade spaghetti… enough said.

Last but not least, a perfectly cooked Veal Scallopine with capers. THE END of a beautiful dinner. mmm mm mmm! Go to Coco’s on K street next time you’re in Auckland!

Also in that adventure filled day we hit up a quaint, rustic bakery and the most amazing museum!

For those who are not Kiwis, did you know that NZ is mostly made up of volcanoes?! Don’t worry, the last one erupted 550 years ago.. So Rie and I climbed to the top of one, Mt Victoria!

The view doesn’t get any better than that! Rie and I had to take a ferry to get over there!

I would like to conclude this post and my first trip EVER to Auckland, New Zealand with the yummiest lamb burger I’ve ever tasted in my life:

Thanks for such a blast New Zealand! It was so nice to meet you and experience your culture! I hope you enjoyed the Mrs Carter Show!

Much love,

Adi

PS- Melbourne, I’m comin’ for you next! 😉

Eating my way through Sydney Airport

June 26, 2018October 14, 2013 by Adison

Hey all,

Sorry I’ve been gone, but since the end of the South American leg of Beyonce’s Mrs Carter Show involved a whole lot of jet setting and no sleep, my immune system crashed on me when I finally got home.

So I spent a good two weeks in bed being sick. However, I did manage to get out of bed to go to a gala event with my sweetheart!

Damn. I accidentally just erased all that I wrote.. Now I have to type it all again. (On this iphone) agh.. Ok here goes take 2..

Besides getting in a lot of rest this break I also did work on the second episode of Adi’s Jazz Kitchen cooking show! I’m very excited to put it all together and release it to you guys as soon as I recover all of the data that is on my hard drive that just crashed :/ it sounds bad, I know.. But I’m sure that once I come across a Genius Bar, we’ll be set!
Anywho, back on the road again. Stuck in Sydney airport.. See video below.

Mr Bear is here too..

That’s all for now. See you soon,
Kiwis!

Bye South America, Hello New York! (roasted butternut squash soup)

June 26, 2018October 2, 2013 by Adison

Now that I’ve been home for a day or so, I’ve really been able to reflect on my tour to South America with Beyonce. I have to say, it was really rough! Not a lot of sleep, lots of traveling, the life of a musician. Fortunately, the pros outweighed the cons! Just the people alone that I met in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico were so beautiful and incredibly inspiring! I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone that I came across! You have a place in my heart forever and I’m so grateful for all of you! Here’s a little video after our last show in Puerto Rico:

One of the things that I was looking forward to most in New York (besides seeing my family of course) was the fall time! These 2 weeks will be the only fall I experience this year since we’ll be heading to Australia and New Zealand next! So the next 2 weeks are all about me making my favorite fall dishes! First one’s up!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Yield: serves 2

What you need:

1 medium butternut squash peeled, deseeded, cubed (the smaller you cube it the faster it roasts)
2 shallots halved
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt/pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts toasted
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp plain green yogurt (with extra for garnishing)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 450° F. Season squash and shallots generously with salt and pepper. Toss in olive oil until coated evenly. Spread squash and shallots out evenly on a cookie sheet and bake until tender all the way through (30-45 minutes) flipping every once in a while. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over med heat (watching carefully to not burn the nuts!). Once squash is tender put in a blender with 2 cups chicken stock and blend until it reaches a smooth consistency. Remove from blender and pour into a stock pot over medium heat. Stir in cardamom powder and Greek yogurt. Pour into bowls and garnish with toasted pine nuts and a dollop of yogurt. Serve with a toasted baguette.

Improvise

Try toasted almond slices instead of pine nuts
You can use heavy cream instead of greek yogurt
Try roasting root vegetables like parsnips or carrots as the soup base

This recipe is so warm and comforting. Perfect for the autumnal season in New York! All we need left is that air outside to get a little colder and crisper! (why does it still feel like summer, NY?!) The perfect song to go with this recipe is none other than, “Autumn in New York” performed by Joe Lovano and the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra (this is a throw back to my Jailyard days.. that’s me on baritone)

Ciao!

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