In 2012, when Hurricane Sandy struck, I lived in Long Beach, NY. Living right on the ocean meant the threat of a hurricane could necessitate a water rescue. We were able to safely evacuate and had a safe place to stay. We left for our own safety—and so that no rescuers would need to risk their own life to save us. In the hurricane’s aftermath, we volunteered at the Long Beach Ice Arena, which quickly became the donation/distribution hub for the entire barrier island. Help came from everywhere.

Connection and community: as events  shift and change, so do understandings and perspectives about events and circumstances.

Music can offer a thread that pulls through, a life line, even a life boat, in times of change. There are dark times; there are lighter times. Music can be a friend along the way through all these shifts and changes.

That is something people in Ireland have known a good bit about through the long course of the island's history. One aspect that recurs in the song and tune of Ireland is the ability to lift spirits in the midst of hard times.

Today’s world is a chaotic mess of everything. Within the past few years, we’ve dealt with plagues, weather disasters, political unrest, domestic madness, international issues, and all sorts of mayhem. Throughout the past two years of the COVID pandemic, we’ve regularly heard the mantra we’re all in this together. In truth, sadly, we’ve seen much nationalism take precedence over global community compassion.

February: whether you are in the northern hemisphere with winter or the southern one with summer, it is a month of transition. In weather, in plans, in quality of light, and in the stories we tell, there are contrasts and changes, back and forth, from one day to the next.

Here are several ways musicians look at these things. At whatever point in the year you are reading this, there is much to explore and consider.