I'm Ready to Begin

Last night was beautiful. 

For the first time in a while, I participated in a singer-songwriter round in a new, but old place called the Market at Flint. https://www.themarketatflintstation.com/ 

The establishment is a restored building off of Park Rd which used to settle in a city called Flint, as I learned. From what I gather, as Columbus continued to grow, it absorbed the little town of Flint, but still has its history with some of the citizens around the area. I was told it used to be a "speak easy" joint back in the day! 

Paired with two other incredibly songwriters, Dan Heidt (https://danheidt.com/) and Kristen Gramza (https://www.kristingramza.com/), there was no shortage of talent in the room...and of course, nerves were gettin' to me. 

1. It had been a while since I had performed in an intimate setting such as this. I wasn't used to people listening. And... well, let's just say, I still need to work on the "story behind my song" dialogue. :-) 

2. I'm still walking on egg shells on what this voice will do in the future. It's tough to not do these performances though... I figured this might be a good transition gig, right? 

The nerves were quickly trumped by the power of music. 

These events always serve as a great reminder of how much we crave intimacy, connection and an avenue for community. In a songwriter round, we have the ability to talk about the inspiration behind the song, which sometimes allows to dive in to topics that are tough in casual conversation. 

Topics like: faith, life's meaning, relationships, love, mourning, heart-break, and other subjects that don't often casually come up in conversation, are often great song topics. Not only are you talking about it on stage, but it allows you to have a way to share a conversation OFF stage, potentially connecting with people you had never thought. 

During this round, I performed the last song I wrote prior to losing my voice, "I'm Ready To Begin". Back in January, it was during the chorus where my voice LITERALLY just stopped working. I couldn't even hold a conversation. This lead me to go to a doctor and have it checked out, eventually leading to my little silent retreat. Being able to perform this song last night was an honor and a triumph for me....and very fitting too, since "I'm Ready to Begin" is very true. 

Anyways, I highly recommend you come out to one of their events, hosted by Rich Sharick on a bi-weekly basis.The NEXT one is April 20th at 8:30 PM. I won't be playing, but it's a warm, welcoming place to hang out, have a date night, or just casually listen to music! Here's my next FREE Show! 

Friday, April 26th - 8:00, FREE SHOW! 
Live at Victory's w/Luke Johnson, Cynthia Miller, and Josh Brenneman 

Classics Victory's 
543 S High St, 
Columbus 43215 

If you've read this far, THANKS! 

Please let me know how you are doing! As I will always say, this is not a one-sided conversation. I love to hear from you and what is going on in your life, so don't be shy. 

Love, 
Benjamin

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