Canadian Beats… Seriously?

Grateful that people are taking the time to listen.

Grateful that the songs are connecting.

Grateful that this old dream of mine keeps finding new roads to travel.

You know, when I first started writing songs, I never once thought about press coverage or reviews or music blogs. Honestly, I was just excited if I could finish a song that felt honest. If it made me feel something. If it brought back a memory or stirred up some emotion inside me.

That was enough.

Everything beyond that feels like bonus territory.

But here we are now, with articles popping up across Canada talking about Highway Life, the Nashville sessions, the band and this whole late-in-life music adventure of mine. It still feels surreal every single time I see it.

One thing I have noticed through all of this is how supportive the Canadian music community can be. Folks seem genuinely excited to see someone chasing a dream, no matter what age they are. I think maybe people recognize something familiar in that. We all carry dreams around with us. Some we act on. Some we leave sitting quietly on the shelf.

For years, my music dream sat quietly on the shelf.

Then one day I dusted off the guitar and started playing again.

And now somehow, here we are.

I really appreciated how Canadian Beats spoke about the authenticity of Highway Life. Because authenticity is all I know how to do. I cannot pretend to be twenty-five. I cannot pretend to have lived someone else’s story. All I can do is write from my own experiences, observations, memories and imagination and hope that somewhere in there, people find a little piece of themselves too.

That seems to be the magic of music.

A song written by one person somehow becomes connected to the life of another.

That still amazes me.

As these articles continue appearing, I find myself thinking back to those early open mics where I was nervous just to stand up and sing in front of a handful of people. Back then, if someone had told me that national music publications would someday be talking about my songs, I probably would have laughed out loud.