Tomorrow marks the five-year anniversary of the release of my original-song album Stay Awhile. Wow, how the time flies, but one of the things that is so special about music is its timelessness. It sticks with us and stays the same as we grow older, while reminding us of who we were or where we were the first moment we heard it; or inspiring us, yet again, as we share new memories to its familiar soundtrack.
For those who were at my Pre-Release Listening Party, you heard me tell many of the stories about how these songs were created. I wanted to do something different and connect the audience with the backstories and play the recordings themselves versus just singing through my new album.
It took a dose of courage, however, since sharing the stories behind the songs and recordings would also be about being even more vulnerable and sharing even more of the hardest bits of myself or my experiences, rather than "putting on a brave face" of performing and entertaining where it's possible to hide beneath that face. From years of chronic illness to relationship struggles and triumphs, it can be a scary notion to put it all out there. But it's something I've felt called to do with my music, for it invites others in as much as it feels therapeutic and validating to get it out. And I’ve always had a love for storytelling—no matter whether I’m doing the telling or receiving.
Great art really is about communication and baring a little of our souls, whether we are in the role of artist or audience. It celebrates the moments of beautiful emotion—joy, sadness, pain, euphoria, love and loss—that connect us all.
So, I decided to start a blog series called "The Art of a Song: The Songs of Stay Awhile." I'm excited for all of you to share in a little more of my story—and I say “share in” because when we connect with another’s journey, even if for only a brief moment, it becomes part of our own in a way, as it impacts us or inspires us or just makes us stop and listen for a while. With that, I hope that you'll stay awhile with me as these blogs are posted in the upcoming days and that these pieces and threads of my story will help you feel that you're not alone in this fantastic, crazy journey called life.
With love always in words & music,
Tara