Throughout the next few weeks, we will be sharing personal perspectives on the past year and a half throughout the COVID-19 pandemic from artists and those who work in the music industry.
I think when any of us talk about the past year and a half there is an overarching sense of shared trauma. For me it was having a year of gigs both as an artist and someone who was working behind the scenes ripped right from under me like so many in the music industry. It left me scrambling to find a place to live due to not expecting to be grounded indefinitely which led me back to crashing on my dad’s couch for a few months back in the small town I grew up in. It left me questioning my future as a creative in a world where venues big and small closed their doors like many and most businesses that served the public by means of gathering and community. In all of this it also allowed for so many vulnerable moments of self reflection, accountability and ultimately growth in many ways. I went from a deep low of uncertainty to a manic high of, until that point, unmatched levels of creativity. It connected me with new friends and re-connected me with old pals through a shared sense of continuance. The pandemic left me with a new found sense of appreciation for creating, a revamped focus on what it means to be a friend and re-ignited my deepest desire to be a more neighborly and caring member of society. So many have lost so much and unfortunately continue to even a year and a half later. None of that is ever lost on me. Moving forward I hope to keep perpetuating a sense of togetherness, more vulnerability and overall just living more selflessly.
