Tuesday, March 31, 2020
The world needs music and art now more than ever. We need the beauty, the inspiration, the creativity, the aliveness, the hope. We’ve been social distancing for two weeks and we are all settling into new normals. We have up days and down days. We go from hope to fear to sadness to hope to faith. We are all feeling alot.
So when someone organizes something that is uplifting, connects us and is delightful we are appreciative. This article is being written from my living room where my husband and I just enjoyed an hour of live music sponsored by the The Haliburton County Folk Society. Nick Russell and Benton Brown were broadcasting live through Facebook from the CANOE FM concert hall. They played a blend of covers and original music and it was fantastic. This is a beautiful example of people rising to create new possibilities during this time of the COVID virus. The Folk Society partnered with Nick and Benton and Canoe FM and, when they set the evening up they promoted it to encourage listeners to get take out dinner and support local restaurants. That is so so so beautiful. So much careful thought for the entire community.
There were so many things about this concert that made me smile. First of all, Benton and Nick are both gifted performers and their music was outstanding. But more than that, they are so kind and positive to each other and it was fun to watch them interact. They were performing live and people were posting comments as the show progressed. At one point Benton acknowledged that he needs to get better at using technology (he was trying to follow some posts). That made my whole evening because I feel like a dinosaur trying to figure out the technology as I try to offer some yoga classes on line. I realized in that moment that I am not alone! And he is young and I’m, well older, and I always think my age is why I struggle with technology. We are all experiencing new normals, trying new ways of connecting and really living our lives in non traditional ways. As we sat watching the concert, I couldn’t help but reflect on how simple our lives have become, and how much I appreciate small things now. The Haliburton County Folk Society gave us an opportunity to be together, even though we are apart. I followed comments as people posted them and at one point I realized our young neighbours were curled up on the couch listening as well. I saw comments from other friends who I haven’t seen in a couple of weeks. The whole hour was heart warming, uplifting and delightful. I felt connected to our county and to the world as people tuned in from all over. Once again I am so grateful to live in a community that continues to be creative, supportive and full of hope in times of adversity. We will get through this challenging time. We are connected even though we are apart as we social distance. Stay strong everyone. If you want to watch the concert you can go to facebook and go to the 100.9 Canoe FM Community Radio page.