It was a small, intimate gathering in my living room last night. Don and I spent half an hour rearranging chairs and furniture to give the best viewing for everyone who came to my first ever house concert! Don Bray, is my friend from Orillia, Ontario whom I met last year with his wife and fellow musician, Alyssa Wright, at the Haven. He was passing through Calgary, promoting his latest CD (which is fabulous), I Am Myself and was staying over for a couple of nights on his return trip east. I had asked him if I could put on a house concert with some of the proceeds going to my favourite charity, the United Way of Calgary, and he quickly agreed.
And so, last night, Don sat at one end of the living room, his guitars perched on stands beside him, while we gathered on couches and chairs around him. It is his warmth and ease with people you notice first. Don makes eye contact. He ‘sees’ you when he greets you.
And we all felt it last night. As people entered the house, he said hello, chatted about life, his trip, his CD. He asked questions of others and we shared while we waited for latecomers to arrive.
And then, the evening began. Don chatted about his musical and non-musical career. He shared his love of life today, his depression of the past, his dark periods and his struggle to ‘love himself’. And we all related. He told stories that made us laugh and cry and feel connected. And in between his stories, he sang the songs of life. From a little boy eager to hit the hockey rink every day after school learning the meaning of standing up for himself, to first slow dances and the regrets of missed kisses to the excitement of finding his first true love on the Internet, only to discover he was reading their obit, to lost opportunities and broken hearts and soaring spirits, Don took us on a journey of life. With every note, he wooed us with his voice, the power of his words and the amazing versatility of his guitar playing into that place where ‘the world’ falls away and we are all one with eachother in a circle of love and joy and peace and, as one friend in the audience said, “there is always hope!”
It was divine.
What a simple and easy way to make a difference.
Invite some friends over to join in an evening of song, raise some money for the musician and your favourite charity (in this case, the United Way of Calgary) and go home feeling alive, connected and inspired.
We had it all last night. Great music. Great companionship. A bite to eat. A glass of wine. A shared experience worth treasuring, and repeating.
Who knows… I could make this a monthly or bi-monthly gig.
It was fun and everyone benefited.
And as everyone left, we all agreed, the evening made a difference.
Dare Boldly 
Sounds like a wonderful evening I love music
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The only thing taht would have made it more perfect was having you and CC there!
And yes — I’d love to connect with your housetrained musicians! 🙂 I’d like to do more and I like the fundraising aspect of them.
Hugs — missed you!!!! (and so did Don — but the audience sure knew how much he loves you!)
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Awww… 🙂
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And that’s EXACTLY why we love doing house concerts so much — it’s more of a community gathering than a concert, building relationships and inspiring people is why we keep hitting the road, even though our accountant’s eyebrows go askew. 😉
Just one WEE correction — Don’s CD is actually called “I Am Myself”.
Glad you had a good evening. If you’re serious about hosting more often, there are a lot of musical friends of ours who I think you’d love. They’re housetrained. 🙂
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What a marvelous evening that must have been.
A local group of classical musicians gives in-home concerts every so often; we find them such a delight.
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It was Maureen — and wouldn’t it be great to do one together!!! 🙂 LOL — I’d come to Virginnia for that!
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It was a wonderful evening Louise with a very talented musician. I love music where the lyrics are “life” based and the music is sweet, pure and from the heart. Thank-you for letting me share in your lovely soiree – I loved it. Love you lots little sis, Jackie
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I was so happy you could be a part of it JAckie — and that you were so excited about it. WAtching and listening to you, I realized something dad really instilled in all of us — a sense of wonder and awe of the world, and a deep, deep appreciation of music — what a gift! Love you lots back! L
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What an awesome idea! I have a friend who has a musical family and once I attended one of their backyard birthday concerts. They’re a large family and it was like attending a folk festival with a potluck meal. It was amazing!
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and I’m sad because I thought I’d sent you the invite! 😦 next time! It would be so much fun to have you there.
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How wonderful Megan — I miss the days when my daughters performed and we could all go and sit proudly, huge smiles on our faces and simply be in awe of their beauty and wonder.
blessings to you and your daughter — and the grandparents too!
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So glad you could experience that in your own home!
My daughter was in a percussion concert last night, and it absolutely blew the grandparents away. Afterwards, we went out for ice cream. That was our treasured/shared experience.
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Megan, my grandparents used to take my sister and I out for ice cream after our various piano and school recitals. It became such a tradition that, when my Mom finally got up the nerve to join a choir in her 50s, we insisted on taking her out for ice cream too. (Although, once we were all adults, the “ice cream” might have been paired with a Baileys or the like… 🙂 )
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I think the evening rightfully qualifies
as the first of “A Million Acts of Peace…
!!
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What a great point Dianne — and I am so glad you were there 🙂
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