I’m in a songwriting group on Facebook, the singer/songwriter songwriting challenge. This group and staying up-to-date with other musicians is my primary reason for keeping Facebook. For me this is one good thing that comes out of Facebook. In the face of despair and difficult times it’s important to create things, to do creative things. This is how humans bring love into the world. Bring peacefulness. Connectedness. Writing songs alongside other artists does all of this for me. Sharing what is created does so too.

In January of 2024, this group started another “season” where we get song prompt a week for 10 weeks. We all write a song and post it for everyone in, and following the group (even you can just follow it) to see. Then, we provide support and encouragement to each other for our newly born songs. For week one in 2024 I happened to be out and about and probably a bit grumpy and down because, you know, the world. Then, I happened upon a young couple with a young child. They looked happy and joyful, and I thought, “huh, people still fall in love in this world. Not bad. Maybe that’s a story worth telling.” So, I wrote a song about watching two teenagers in a coffee shop at the beginning of journey of falling in love. The next week I wrote a song from the young woman’s perspective of that scene. Then the next week, from the young man’s perspective. And 10 weeks later I had written 10 songs telling this love story.

I shared it with a friend who encouraged me to write a narrative of their story. “Oh, that sounds hard,” I said. But I intrigued by the challenge. When I finished the narrative filling the spaces between the songs I shared it again with my friend. Nice, he said. But what’s most interesting is when the narrative is from your perspective as you watch them and are creating this story. I want to know why the songwriter watching them needs to write this story. “Oh, that sounds really hard,” I whined.

I used to shy away from calling myself an “artist” because I was sure, still am often, that what I create isn’t good enough for that label. But, I’ll take ownership of it now. It’s about creating things and sharing them. That’s it. And that’s what I’ve done. I’ve made a thing–a musical novella called This Town. It’s an album that mixes spoken word storytelling and songs to tell the story of Danny and Katie, growing up together and falling in love in Northfield. A hopeful story of love and life in difficult times.

The album, This Town will be released Sunday September 28th. I’m releasing two versions. This Town (Stories and Songs) and This Town (Just the Songs). It will be available on all the streaming services, for purchase as digital download or CD (with the book) on Bandcamp. You’ll be able to find all that at my website.

I’m also doing a one-man show telling the stories and singing the songs Sunday the 28th at the Grand Event Center in Northfield. Doors open at 5.

And here’s a sneak peak at the first story and song.