For journeys of geography, imagination, or heart, resilience and friendship make fine traveling companions. The creativity of these musicians will help you think about these things.

In their song Buen Camino/Good Travels, Brian and Rosi Amador, who are Sol y Canto, sing of good travels, good detour, good stumbles, good recovery, and other aspects of journey in both Spanish and English. That's natural for them, as Brian's background includes Spain and New Mexico, and Rosi's encompasses Puerto Rico and Argentina. They are currently based in Massachusetts, where you will find them creating what they describe as "quirky original compositions that address matters of the heart, social and global aspiration, and unique and driving interpretations of contemporary Latin music." They have bilingual audio books the children in your life might enjoy, as well. Buen Camino is on the album En Vivo, En Familia, where the couple is joined by their daughter Alisa Amador, herself an accomplished singer and songwriter.

Nanci Griffith was also a singer and songwriter, whose work inspired many in her native Texas, in her adopted home in the Nashville music community, and indeed around the world. Griffith passed away recently, leaving a legacy of songs to celebrate. Here, a young Nanci  sings and tells the story behind There's a Light Beyond These Woods, which was the title track to her first album.

Nanci's song talks of friendship. Sol y Canto sings of resilience. Both those things come together in the work and music of The Katie McNally Trio. Katie McNally on fiddle, Shauncey Ali on viola, and Neil Pearlman on piano are all natives of North America whose shared love of the music of Scotland and Cape Breton has brought them to create music which respects tradition while moving it forward. This set, which opens with the tune Fletch Taylor by Flynn Cohen, and includes a tune by Jerry Holland and an original by Pearlman, is the opener for the Trio's album called Now More Than Ever.

Just now it is part of that time when summer changes to autumn. The weather may be quiet or full of storms. So, too, may happenings and circumstances. It may be time for quiet reflection, too, which is what Cara Dillon and her musical partner and husband Sam Lakeman invite in their take on the song The Water Is Wide. You may know the song; be sure to listen to what Cara and Sam bring to it, though. Cara comes from Dungiven in County Derry in Northern Ireland. Sam is from the southwest of England, near where the couple now make their home in Somerset. You will find The Water Is Wide recorded on Cara Dillon's album Live at Cooper Hall.

Resilience, friendship,  creativity, reflection -- good companions all, wherever you may find yourself in whatever season.

Thank you for staying with us through this journey. Below, you'll find a link that will take you to an article which has a bit more backstory on the series. It also has links to a number of the stories, including ones called Listening for Community, Music for Winter's Changes, and The Geography of Hope.

Music for Shifting Times

Kerry Dexter is Music Editor at Wandering Educators. You may reach Kerry at music at wanderingeducators dot com.

You may find more of Kerry's work in National Geographic Traveler, Strings, Perceptive Travel, Journey to Scotland, Irish Fireside, and other places, as well as at her own site, Music Road.