It’s been a mighty fine run of shows in the Ottawa area with Sarah Hiltz, including some super sweet house concerts. There’s a reason house concerts make up a big chunk of my tour stops. I love the listening audiences, how close we all get to be, the warmth of being welcomed into someone’s home, and the connections we all get to make with each other in the room. There are no sticky bar tables and sometimes there are even comfy couches to sit on!

Many of my fellow touring artists have described house concerts quite well in articles like this and this. Have you ever thought of presenting a singer-songwriter, or maybe two, in your house? Send me a note. I’d love to bring live music to you and your community.

April gave me a wonderful tour on Vancouver Island. It felt like a kind of triumph, making up for last year’s Van Island tour which was marred by COVID. The shows were stellar, the weather was uncharacteristically sunny, and I got to see more of the island than I ever had before.

I also had the opportunity to stop in at a songwriting class for youth in Duncan and teach a little workshop. I got shivers when I realized I was singing Not So Silent with a room full of young women.

Shortly after I got back to Ontario, I spent a weekend at the Toronto Songwriting School retreat in Picton, where I was a guest artist. I led another workshop and got to work one-on-one with the songwriting students in crafting their songs. Sharing knowledge is so, so powerful and I really felt that energy doing this work. Facilitating songwriting workshops was fulfilling and inspiring and exhausting in the best way.