A Song for July: Bonny Light Horseman
Dear friends,
I hope this message finds you well. It’s hard to believe that summer solstice has passed, and that that the long days of 2020 have begun to wane. Luke and I have been enjoying our green oasis in Vermont, the quiet beauty, the active birds and deer and woodchucks that have made a home near ours (or perhaps we have made our home near theirs?). We stay busy, but are trying to enjoy summer’s delights - the local swimming hole, dinners on the lawn, games of corn hole with our housemates (who beat us every time), socially-distanced play dates with our young neighbors and 17 chickens (!), helping Jonah, who farms some of the land, in exchange for fresh veggies, nibbling raspberries off the bush. It has been a grounding place to grapple with the current uprisings, to read and learn from, bear witness and listen to our BIPOC siblings, and to discern my place in this necessary work.
This month’s offering
moves away from my typical Classical offerings. You’ll find below a song that Luke and I recorded for my mother-in-law’s birthday, “Bonny light horseman,” a favorite Irish trad song of hers. The story comes from the Napoleonic wars, a woman grieving the loss of her lover to unnecessary war, the product of a single man’s selfish ambition. (“Boney” = Napoleon Bonaparte) We were lucky to have my father-in-law, Kieron, and friend John Parker joined us on the recording.
I am also lifting up this month a few songs from a new friend, Darius Christian Jones, who I met through Luke. Darius is an incredibly talented trombonist, composer, vocalist, and music producer, having worked with artists like Macklemore, Gwen Stefani, and Rihanna in addition to producing his own music. He’s also just a very cool human, generous, and super funny — all of which you’ll see in his songs and videos below! The text of “We are more” was from a phone conversation with his father after the death of Ahmaud Arbery (you’ll also hear Luke singing in the background), “Where is your mask?” captures the energy of what so many are feeling during this COVID-19 pandemic, and the funky feel-good vibe of “Heartbeat” radiates the joy of loving!
Finally, no doubt you are aware that the arts have been hit hard by the pandemic.
A few folks have asked me about how you might contribute monetarily to these monthly offerings, and what I’ve decided is that if you wish to share your resources to support artists during this time, anything you share with me I will send to the artist featured in my monthly newsletter. So, this month if you would like to make a pay-what-you-wish gift, proceeds this month will go to Darius and his incredible work.
At this time, I’m not setting up a formal platform for gifting, so I encourage you to make the gift via PayPal (stephanie.hollenberg@gmail.com) or Venmo (@sphollenberg). If you want to send a check, please get in touch for my mailing address and “memo” the month. If you wish to set up an automated recurring monthly gift to support each month’s featured artist, that’s doable via PayPal. Again, all gifts collected will go to the featured artist.
So! Please do check out more of Darius’ incredible music, look him up on Instagram and YouTube, share with friends and family, and if you wish to celebrate and support Darius — in numbers small or large — gifts are welcome!
Many thanks, friends! Courage to you as we learn to lift up and celebrate and walk with our BIPOC siblings. Enjoy the music!
Be well, as ever,