At camp, I spent countless hours singing and playing guitar, around campfires or with a couple hundred people every day after meals. The camp songbook was filled with traditional sea shanties and english folk ballads, cowboy songs, swampy blues, and folk songs by people like James Taylor, Judy Collins, John Prine and Neil Young. Music there was about the meaning of the lyrics, the beauty of the harmonies, singing from the heart, and making the sound carry until you heard it bounce off the cliffs across the bay and echo back to you! Music there was about joy and connection, not ego or profit.

At home, I pursued music through more conventional outlets, singing in choirs at church and at school and playing flute in school ensembles, bands and orchestras. After High School I did some community theater, studied for four years at Berklee College of Music, and sang with some bands in the Seattle club scene for a few years after that. For a couple of summers, I got to direct the music program at that same summer camp where I had spent my youth. Being in that beautiful place again helped me reconnect with my roots – with the kind of music that has the transformative power to heal spirits, build community, and create a shared sense of purpose and belonging.

Unfortunately, I was never able to make that kind of music pay the bills, so I made the decision to pursue other passions for my paychecks, and to keep music as a side gig. Thirty years later, I am a tenured professor of sociology, doing research and teaching about movements for social change – movements that use music to inspire commitment and solidarity. I still play, of course. I still believe in the healing power of music and community – that’s always been the common thread. And music and the Great Northwest have never stopped calling to me, which is why I’ve decided to start this residency program.

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What I remember most from my days as a struggling musician is having to spend way more time and energy than I wanted to on my day job, then trying to fit in as many gigs as possible around it, and never having enough time to work on my own material. What I craved was a way to put all of the practical concerns on hold, put aside the question of what would sell for awhile, and really focus on what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it – to just have some time to develop as an artist. Isn’t that something every musician wants?

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So the goal of this residency is to give other musicians that chance, and to help cultivate the kind of creative musical community that starts on people’s front porches, at back-yard barbeques, and around campfires – where people sing and play from their hearts, without the need for microphones and amplifiers. We offer two weeks of down time in a serene natural setting, where you don’t have to worry about cooking your food, doing your laundry, answering your emails, or meeting your boss’s deadlines.

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Two weeks to just focus on becoming a better artist. Yes!
 

If that sounds like a chocholate brownie with whipped cream on top, then click on, McDuff! And I hope to see you next summer!

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Til then, happy trails!

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Darcy Leach