10/05/2026
I had a profound musical experience yesterday that I would like to share. Just a warning, this might be a bit lengthy, but if you can stick it out, it may be worth it.
Those of you who are musicians, or who simply understand and appreciate music, well hopefully relate to this.
Musicians are musicians because it's our passion. We often sacrifice steady incomes, pensions, and salaries to follow what we love. One of my favourite quotes is "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."
We play for that connection: connecting to the music, to other band members, and to our audience. Sometimes it's one of those three, sometimes it's all three. I think last night I experienced something very rare.
I was performing with Curt Young and the Healers. Curt Young is a beautiful soul, musician, and speaker, and in every performance he shares a message about his journey as an Indigenous person.
I met Curt a few years ago at one of the jams where I was in the host band. Curt came up to play, and I knew at that moment that I wanted to play music with this guy. It took a couple of years, but the universe connected the dots for me, and I am now the drummer for that band.
We were playing an outdoor set at a whole-day festival in someone's backyard. The weather was gorgeous. Curt decided to stray off the set list and perform one of his originals, a slow 12/8 blues tune called "Hear Your Voice."
The song was originally written for his partner. Curt travels a lot and loves to hear her voice when he's away.
On September 30, he decided to change the lyrics to make the song suitable for the Truth and Reconciliation movement. The song is about mothers who lost their children to residential schools.
Once he started the song, I knew it was something special.
When it was time for the guitar solo, something amazing happened, and the whole band could feel it. I won't mention names, out of respect for my bandmate, but he started playing this solo and it was so beautiful I almost stopped playing. Once the song was done, I told him, "Hey man, that was really beautiful, brother." I know he heard me, but he didn't say much. He was facing sideways, and when I looked up, I could see a tear in his eye.
I said, "Hey brother, are you OK?"
He turned around to me and said, "No," and started weeping.
Obviously, the song had touched him deeply, and he channelled the message into one of the most beautiful, emotional solos I’ve ever experienced.
The whole band was elevated.
Once I saw his reaction, I knew without a doubt why his solo was so beautiful. It came from somewhere deep inside, and the whole band knew it.
So, thank you, my friend, for sharing that moment with all of us. We all witnessed the magic that keeps us continually showing up and waiting for the next magical moment.
