interdependent

After a big sleep and a day at home I’m feeling so good about playing shows this week. So happy.

Thank you to the people of Winnipeg for coming out on Friday to Blue Note Park! Slow Leaves was brilliant and we felt very lucky to share in the goodness of the work they’ve done to build a following. And I heard a rumour that Slow Leaves will be gracing a Regina stage in the fall. I’ll be crowing about that when the time comes. From the bartenders to Jonny our sound tech to the owner’s knowledge of what is essential for a great venue, it was a night where I felt the dreams-come-true ease of being a musician. YOU did that, Winnipeg!

I also want to tell the people who travelled to the very beautiful Caliper Lake Provincial Park for the Moose n’ Fiddle Festival how lovely they are! The day was all shades of delight. Sierra Noble and Little Miss Higgins were on fire, the organizers could not have been kinder and the backstage snacks were the birthday party spread at your fun uncle’s house.

Unfortunately, I didn’t consider that we’d be in a provincial park for the show. I was just thinking about the business of working. Imagine how silly I felt when all the fellas went swimming and I had no suit. I waded in the shallows and it was nice, but I won’t make the mistake again.

The best part of the weekend was falling into the trust of my band. There was a presence and playfulness between us as we delivered the nuances of each song. Creating music in the moment is a joining of minds. There’s eye contact and knowledge of what’s to come, but also so many surprises that are just the fabric of playing live! Jeff, Bryn, Blake and I were a four headed Hydra of music. It was tremendously fun.

And then of course I must thank my friends Terry and Marianne, who are really chosen family. We came and went from their Winnipeg home at inconvenient hours – we arrived at midnight after the Blue Note show, left by 8 am Friday morning for Ontario and were back at their place at 2 AM after Moose n’ Fiddle Fest. We woke again at 5:30 AM on Saturday to get on the road to Regina. They hosted us at every turn with warm beds and laughter and coffee and amber liquor and bagged lunches for the drive home. They offered such comfort to us, and it contributed to the joy of it all.

I love my job. I can become weakened by the solitary blue light of my computer as I tend to the things a self-booked, self-managed artist must do. BUT when I’m on the road and when I’m in a rehearsal I’m feeling my flex. When I speak with people who connect with what we do and recognize the web of dependence that supports my life’s work, I feel SO hopeful. Grateful. Energized.

To be able to bring that to the stage… there is nothing like it.

More of that, please.