Swannanoa Gathering

I've fallen back in love with music again.

Okay, so maybe I never fell out of love with it, but this past week has showed me (once again) how wonderful music really is. In so many ways. 

For the last seven days, I've been in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, attending this fantastic, little music "camp" called The Swannanoa Gathering. This gathering is held every summer at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, and there are so many wonderful programs ranging from a "Fiddle Week" to a "Traditional Song Week". For the last three years, I've attended the "Contemporary Folk & Guitar Week", and the people that I have come across at the Swannanoa Gathering have never ceased to amaze me, inspire me, and remind me why music is the most fabulous thing in existence.

Every year, I get something new out of my experience at Swannanoa. The first summer, I was there as a Youth Scholar, and I knew about one person at the camp going into it. My time was spent meeting the most supportive and loving people with an amazing passion for music. I had only gotten my feet wet, but I left with great memories and a hope to return the following summer.

Last year, I had only lost my father six months before, and the Swannanoa Gathering served as a place of much-needed healing for me. My mom and brother were able to attend as well, and my love for the Gathering rubbed off on them... they couldn't wait to go back.

And now to this year. All three of us returned, and all three of us walked away with an indescribable feeling of love for the place. There is nothing like the Swannanoa Gathering; not just because the setting is so beautiful and serene, but because the people that run the programs and those that attend the classes are truly wonderful.

There's a picture of me with my "Ukulele II" class, instructed by the most amazingly talented woman, Marcy Marxer. Marcy has worked with some amazing artists over the years, including Eva Cassidy and Les Paul, and I could have listened to her tell stories all day long. You can watch a video of Marcy playing one of the songs she taught us ("12th Street Rag"), here.

My other classes were just as fantastic, however, I forgot to get photos of them. My "Songwriting Games" class was taught by Cosy Sheridan, and she is such a warm and delightful lady. Her name really does describe her perfectly- she is such a "cosy" person.

Another songwriting class was taught by Cheryl Wheeler. Ah. I loved this class so much. Even though Cheryl had absolutely no plan for what we would do (it was her first time at Swannanoa, and she didn't really know what she was doing), I still walked away with so much more than I ever thought I would. Not only is she an amazing songwriter, but she also made me feel great about a lot of things that I have struggled with as far as music goes. Like me, she doesn't know half of the chords she plays, yet her songs are so beautiful. Also like me, she doesn't really know a lot of music theory. I'm not saying I don't want to learn more than I do (because I definitely do). It's just comforting to know that it is possible to be an incredibly talented and successful musician without knowing all of the technicalities. (However, if anyone wants to teach me, I would definitely take you up on it).

My last class was taught by Jon Vezner, Grammy award-winning Nashville songwriter. Not only is his songwriting wonderful, but he is an amazing person as well. This was a "Co-Writing" class, and on the first day, Jon paired each of us up with someone randomly (with the intention of getting us to write a song together in a matter of days). I have to say, I was absolutely terrified. But I ended up getting paired with the most amazing little lady (and best co-writer!) ever.

Here I am with Maya. (We had just been absolutely drenched by a rainstorm). Together, we wrote a song in about 4 days, and I have to say that I couldn't have been more proud of our finished product. We worked so well together, and I hate that she lives in Maine, because I would love to hang out with her more.

Here's a photo of us performing our song at the open mic on Thursday evening... Jeff Gilkinson (who was absolutely amazing) accompanied us on his five-string cello. Ahhh such a great time.

During the entire five hour drive back to Nashville, I listened to nonstop music. This may not seem that strange to you, but believe it or not, this is the first time in months that I've been able to listen to music in the car... I don't know why really... I've just had no desire for it. On roadtrips, I've been listening to podcasts of NPR TED Talks or RadioLab NYC (which are both fantastic podcasts, by the way). But until yesterday, music wasn't thrown into the mix.

Don't worry. That little podcast phase has come and gone. I mean, I'll still listen to them from time to time (because they really are interesting), but music will from now on be the star of the road show.

From the moment I peeled out of Warren Wilson College, I blasted tunes from Etta James and Billie Holiday to Punch Brothers and Alison Krauss. I was euphoric. Is it weird that I cried because I was so happy? Maybe the emotional moment was brought on by the lack of sleep from staying up until 4am every night to listen to wonderful Swannanoa songwriters and jam sessions.
...But maybe not.
I think that means I'm in love with music?

<3
Nat