For Love...

By Pam Hadder


This year I gave myself the ultimate birthday gift - I attended a folk music retreat organized by the Winnipeg Folk Festival.


Open to all ages and levels of musicianship, the four day experience was a dream come true.  The mentors were Abigail Washburn (banjo and vocals), Kai Welch (guitar, keyboards, song writing and more!), Martyn Joseph (guitar, song writing) and the amazingly talented, Willy Porter (guitar, song writing and vocals).  


Doing this was a real push out of the comfort zone for me - I am an introvert for whom "being on" and taking the first step with groups of people is terrifying and exhausting, to say the least!  And I really didn't know what to expect from the retreat - I mean, was I worthy to be among these talented professionals? 


I knew that many areas were of interest to me: song writing, vocals, guitar and having the opportunity to interact and learn from other musicians. What I didn't know was how it would all go down - or if I would be totally out of my league!  The great news is that it was wonderful and a complete affirmation of my love of music.


By far, the highlight was succeeding in writing lyrics and music to my very first original song - it's a whole new level of passion when you create something and sing/play it from your heart (a big WOW!).  It was the most indescribable, humbling and exciting experience to interact with and receive guidance and encouragement from respected professionals - the grace, talent, enthusiasm and generosity of Abigail, Kai, Martyn and Willy was consistent and true. They each gave fully and honestly throughout the retreat -- both in performance and in mentorship.


Abigail: you encouraged me to push my voice to max volume, and hey, you were right - it's powerful and it won't break!  You were also so joyful, intelligent and passionate about life, music and people; you have redefined love, life and beauty for me. Yeah  - it's a very big deal :)


Kai: you could see my shyness and coaxed me into the spotlight; your feedback and encouragement with vocals, guitar technique, and my first song lyrics meant so much - I didn't know where to start with song writing,and now I can't stop! It's like this back log of musical expression is bursting out of me - and it's so much fun and so energizing to let it loose!


Martyn:  you showed me that even experienced performers can be painfully shy, and yet they can work within that and be successful, and you taught me that you don't have to be a highly proficient musician to write songs - you just have to get started. And... you made me look at Bruce Springsteen with appreciation - who could have guessed that was possible?


Willy: you are supernatural - and I am so glad that I was able to tell you that and to experience your beautiful spirit and positivity!  Your recorded music doesn't capture your amazing talent - what a treat to know you and to hear you perform in an intimate setting, and your feedback and suggestions for my song writing were so appreciated.


Highlights of the folk retreat were overcoming my shyness and writing my first song.  The down moments were minor (and kind of laughable in hindsight), and any bummer moments  ended up being eclipsed by the good stuff.  (Some of the young ladies were very high-school clique-ish.  And one or two of these kicked that up a notch and were simply stage whores... it was all about them... so that sucked for the band sessions where you need to feel a little "we"!)


So...yeah, I felt a bit robbed with the band sessions, because I was partnered up with these self-absorbed chickies...But it turned out to be not a big deal, because the over all experience was so fantastic!  Most of the other participants were wonderfully cool, friendly and eager to connect and share.


I've exchanged contact info with several of the people I met an hopefully some of the good musical connections will take root and I will have some regular folkie jamming to look forward to - so far I have one invite; it's a start!  If not, I know that with time, persistence and just by being consistently "true to me", I will be nudged to where I need to be musically and personally.


It feels a bit like losing your training wheels on a bicycle... I am proud of what I have achieved, I am excited to be riding fast and free with renewed purpose...and I just have this great optimism and joy - it feels amazing to be open to newness and moving forward!