It’s fitting that I returned home from a songwriters festival yesterday – the very weekend that Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival (PBSF) co-founder Jim Pasquale passed away.
Since last Tuesday I had been up in Alabama at the first ever Lake Martin Songwriters Festival (pictured). Not likely to happen in 2021 due to the above, not to mention other prevailing circumstances, this year would’ve been the twelfth edition of the PBSF (the pandemic having wiped out the 2020 version). But sitting in Alabama last week I saw much that reminded me of not only the PBSF’s roots but why songwriters festivals in general are so special.
The outpouring of love, prayers, memories, and more for Jim Pasquale are a clear indication of the sense of not just camaraderie but family that envelops organizers, songwriters, volunteers, and more at songwriters festivals.
This past weekend at the Lake Martin Songwriters Festival I was chatting with Kensie Coppin, who had driven to Alabama in a car with two other songwriters to perform. On an almost five-hour road trip from Nashville, she not only bonded further with a pair that she already considers friends but said that traveling to the event was almost like a “family vacation” of sorts. That is the kind of special bond that there is, when you take to considering other songwriters not to just be colleagues but people who you would consider ‘family.’
I’m confident when I say that Jim Pasquale felt that all who came through various installments of the Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival over the years were like family to him too.
| Related posts: |
| Opportunities from People You Overlooked |
| Growing Trend: Supporting Other Musicians |
What I also observed at the LMSF over the last week was an escape. Yes, the area is beautiful. It didn’t take long for me to understand why people go to vacation rentals such as The Pace Place to have an “off the grid” type of trip. But for those who came from Nashville in particular, it was a chance to exhale, coming from a place where it’s the music BUSINESS every single day, every single week, every single month. Ironically, though, after Emma Zinck came off stage following her performance Saturday night, she told me, while pointing to the stage, “That’s home for me, up there.” She was able to lose herself in her art in a manner much different from when she’s back in Music City.
And then there are the local organizers of the event along with Chad Wilson, who I had first met when he was performing (with his brother) at, you guessed it, the Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival in October 2018. He and the folks in Lake Martin were putting down roots for something that you can tell they want to someday see be in its twelfth year, just like the stars that Pasquale had in his eyes back in the first year of the PBSF.
And for the record, away from the stages of the various venues in Lake Martin, while the songwriters did have some nice bonding opportunities with special activities scheduled for them, they still couldn’t shake who they are at their core and spent some time collaborating with one another. The songs that will come from those impromptu sessions will be like the reflections that many will one day have on this inaugural event just like what others are having in thinking back on their times with Jim Pasquale – special memories that they will hold dearly for years to come.
What has your experience been with songwriters festivals, whether as a participant, an organizer, a volunteer, a sponsor, or a fan? Share those stories with me on Twitter via @NHT_tweets. Or, put them in a post on Facebook or LinkedIn. Alternatively, you can always send me an email. And if you’re struggling in the music business, take advantage of my more than 15 years of experience and let me help you with those challenges. Schedule a private, one-on-one online video consultation with me and let’s get you on track towards good memories and success stories of your own.