Newsletter number 2 - more gigs, another upcoming release, some reflections for you. And a special welcome to any of you who have newly signed up to my email list.
Berwick Food and Beer Festival 2022
This first-of-the-month-newsletter comes in the nick of time to let you know that Dialogic is performing at the Berwick Food and Beer Festival this Saturday 3rd September at 7pm on the main stage. I'm seriously excited at this opportunity to be on a big stage at home, and I would be seriously happy to see your friendly faces in the audience. Come along and we'll play our hearts out for you! More great music before and after us.
Harvest Moon Festival
Another chance to come and hear me sing this month is Friday 9th Sep at Lamberton equine centre, Eat Sleep Ride. It's their Harvest Moon Festival 4pm - 7pm, free entry, everyone welcome. It'll be a down-to-earth event, with acoustic live music, bonfire, storytelling, and fresh home grown food. Come and see this remarkable, off-grid venue and all they're doing with the community.
Releases
So... my debut release 'Safe On Your Way' is now out there in the ether. It's a weird and wonderful thing for me, to know that it has been listened to in many countries around the world. Not yet in great numbers, perhaps. But until last month my home-penned songs had only reached ears in and around Berwick. I still have a flutter-in-my-tummy moment when I consider that my audience now spans thousands of miles in each direction. Wow!
Don't worry, I haven't lost all perspective! I know the world is awash with newly released music. Something like 40,000 new releases every day.
I'm thinking about my contribution making little ripples, rather than a big splash. But even if it's on a small scale, I'm still moved to think of making connections, via my music, with my fellow humans dotted around the globe.
I'm something of a home bird, and these days feel more drawn to putting down roots in north-east England rather than travelling far from home. But maybe I can travel the world via Spotify and the like, without the need for aeroplanes.
Others may have more wanderlust than me but I suppose I've still got some. An image I had when writing 'Safe On Your Way' was of someone leaving home to go on an epic journey. But something shifted in me during lockdown, keeping me more local in my intent. I want to explore the full wonder of what is walking distance from home. And I'm now more aware of the cost of travel - to my pocket, to my person and to my planet. I'm lucky in that I can see nearly 30 miles from my home, so there is wonder to be had just in the views from my doorstep.
Love And It All
I'll segue into news of Dialogic's next release, coming out sometime this month, 'Love And It All.'
The first line of this song is, "Wanting it all, your hunger for the other..." I hope people will get meaning from the song from whatever their individual perspective, but in this context I'm thinking of one theme that was on my mind when writing it: the pull to venture away from home, versus the pull to stay home. It can be edgy navigating those different yearnings.
I can't wait to show you the lyrics video that my wife MM is currently making for 'Love And It All'. It's cool, and it's edgy.