Heart stirred...

There is something about music, specifically live music, that does something to my very soul.  I know that sounds extreme and a little corny but I do truly mean it.  I have such a visceral response to music played live. It rings to my core and makes me feel so many different things.  The biggest is gratefulness that there are people who feel, and write, and play this music that touches something inside me.  These people who are not superstars but still keep putting themselves out there for those of us seeking and wishing we had the the voice.  These people who give us voice. 

I drag my poor Irishman to so many events just to support these voices these talents these wonderful folks who do something I soooo cannot do.  To show them their voices have importance.  I am thankful there are musicians and that there are people who believe they have a place and a value.  And that my little town actually draws talent and supports those who are on their journey to finding their voice.  I am always in awe the talent that lurks at the end of my little street.  The opportunities to discover voices and songs.  To experience the package of the words, oh how I have always been a sucker for good words, and a tune. 

I have always had music in my background growing up.  My parents took us as kids to all kinds of live events.  And also growing up Irish there is a tie to that sound to that art.  There is an appreciation for songwriters and performers.  How many afterhours events I was at where the shushing began early to show respect to the talent.  You were NOT allowed to speak or distract from the performer who was giving of themselves in front of you.  You were expected to give complete respect to the bravery and the gift.  There is sooooo much of that lost here in America.  So much lost from that.  So little respect paid to people who give from their being to you.  Whether it is your style or your genre there is a respect for that gift for that voice.  To be in a place that allows for that expression and encourages it.  To be an audience for something that really is bigger than what it seems.  Music is a journey.  A path through all that you experience during this human condition.  It is there in the pain, the memory, the love, the lows, the highs, the silliness all that are this one life you live and share.  To have that voice that direct connection to the spirit and to share that voice with others is beyond a gift. 

I am ever, ever grateful that there are folks working to show us this path and lead us on this journey.  Folks who work soooooo very hard to pull it together and fund this craft.  And folks who make it easy for everyday folks like me to soar.  Thank you musicians.  Your importance in this world is often overlooked but it is my one woman quest to drum up support for your efforts and your voice.