as a songwriter and performer, the work of opening the heart can be a lot.
it can seem like you’re going around feeling everything — and that can be overwhelming.
the audiences I seem to connect with the most are the ones that are feeling some of the same things I am.
sometimes I play for grief or addiction support groups, like the one last night, where the people there feel they need something to get through something.
when I get to play for them, I feel most myself as an artist and a human. I don’t care so much about getting everything right, which is so, so rare anyway. if I play a slightly sad B string, or miss a note, or forget a line, it’s cool. the moment is greater than all of those things.
it’s more about knowing that I mean something to someone else in some small way — and along the way, maybe finding a little grace for myself. isn’t that what we live for anyway?
someone who was there last night recorded a part of my set on their phone. this song is called two winters and, well, here it is:
cookie nieves 
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