AOTA-231110 - Leah Song and Mark Edward Wilows

Art on the Air is a weekly program that covers arts and arts events in Northwest Indiana and beyond. This episode features an interview with Mark Edward Willows, who has written a children's book called Silas and Sophie. The book is being re-released and may also be turned into a cartoon. Willows hopes to bring literacy back to children through his book. He is also working on other projects, including a podcast and a local television show. The show also features an interview with Leah Song, a singer-songwriter and member of the band Rising Appalachia. She incorporates various musical styles and storytelling into her work. This week on Art on the Air, our whole show features American Roots singer-songwriter Leah Song, a multi-instrumental musician, storyteller, poet, and artist, who along with her younger sister Chloe Smith, fronts their band, Rising Avalancha. Our spotlight is on Mark Edward Willow's children's book, Silas and Sophie, now getting ready to be released as an animated cartoon. Welcome, you're listening to Art on the Air on Lakeshore Public Media, 89.1 FM, WVLP 103.1 FM, our weekly program covering the arts and arts events throughout Northwest Indiana and beyond. I'm Larry Breckner of New Perspectives Photography, right alongside here with Esther Golden of The Nest in Michigan City. Aloha, everyone. We're your hosts for Art on the Air. Art on the Air is supported by an Indiana Arts Commission Arts Project Grant, South Shore Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Art on the Air is heard every Sunday at 7 p.m. on Lakeshore Public Media, 89.1 FM, also streaming live at lakeshorepublicmedia.org, and is available on Lakeshore Public Media's website as a podcast. Also heard on Friday at 11 a.m. and Monday at 5 p.m. on WVLP 103.1 FM, streaming live at wvlp.org, and Tuesdays at 4 p.m. on WDSO 88.3 FM. Our spotlight interviews are also heard Wednesdays on Lakeshore Public Media. Information about Art on the Air is available at our website, breck.com slash aota. That includes a complete show archive, spotlight interviews, plus our show is available on multiple podcast platforms, including NPR One. Please like us on Facebook, Art on the Air, WVLP, for information about upcoming shows and interviews. I'd like to welcome to Art on the Air Spotlight, who's been with us before, and we've talked about him in depth. Now he's got a special project that's coming up, a book that he's come out with, it's actually been published before, but it's being re-released, and also there's some additional things he's going to talk about. Please welcome Mark Edward Willows to Art on the Air Spotlight. Mark, welcome back. Hi, Larry. Hi, Mark. Thank you for having me. Hi, Esther. So we know you have this project, and actually it was released one time, but it's being re-released, but also there's some special things coming, so tell us a little bit about your book that you have out. It's a children's book. It is a children's book, and it is called Silas and Sophie, and the premise of the book is the story is about a little country boy with a love for his dog, and it goes through trials and tribulations, and it is really a very heartwarming story. And I wrote the book three years ago, and it did go through some changes. I'm actually the sole author now of the book, and I've always, you know, as a kid like you, Larry, we all grew up with animation, the Flintstones, all of that stuff, and I'm like, you know what? There's something I need to do with this book, so I approached a production company in Los Angeles, and they read the book, called me back like within a day, which is kind of very rare, and they're like, we love this. We would like to turn it into a cartoon, and we have not yet decided. Are we talking weekly cartoon, daily cartoon, what, and of course, if it will go to a cartoon, the story will expand a little beyond the book, obviously, but it was just something that I have done, and one of the reasons that I wrote the book, and I believe I told you this last time, I really want to bring literacy back to children. Children today do not know what books are, because everything is in the palm of the hand, buttons, hitting, and you know, just like the old saying goes, reading is fundamental. It is. I mean, not only is it teaching them, they see words, they see spelling, they see punctuation, they see all of that, and that is something today children see very little of. So Mark, are the names significant to you, Silas and Sophie? You know what? No. They are character names, although I will say the dog Sophie kind of has been named after Oprah Winfrey's dog, because if you remember, she had a brown dog called Sophie, and that is where I kind of came up with Sophie, and Silas, we just wanted a country name of a boy, and for some reason, I am thinking of farms in a silo, that is how it started, like silo, ah, Silas, and that is how it really came up. So are you thinking, have you started book two? I think we talked about book two the last time, like a Halloween, I think it was a Halloween day? It is a Halloween book, and as everyone knows, if you follow me on Facebook, I have a very famous cat, Blake, whom I love to pieces, and anyway, the book is going to be about him, he will be the star, and the premise of that book is going to be a solid black cat, which he is, and the solid black cat turns into an orange cat on Halloween, and spreads magic across the land, and at midnight, he turns back to himself, and the last sentence in the book is, well, after all, it is Halloween night. So the book is available right now, so tell us about some of the availability and some of the places it is. Yes, the book is available right now as we speak at barnesandnoble.com, do Silas and Sophie, my name, Mark Edward Willows, and it will pop up, also in the next coming days, it will be available on Amazon, and we are also going to be putting it on Kindle. So that is all of the stuff that is coming up, but right now, if you go to barnesandnoble.com, the book is there. And you also talked about Macy's, and do we make a book signing somewhere down the road? Yes, the book is going to be in some national stores, we have been talking to Macy's, they seem very receptive, they love it, and to my surprise, they have a bookstore called Barbara's Bookstores in Macy's, and I was amazed at the children's book, it is 85% children's books in that store. So I am like, this book is perfect, and that is how it began. So what other projects are you working on, is there anything coming down the road? I know you are always busy doing things or networking with people. I have a podcast, which is Gavin Cabin, that is a celebrity podcast, I do an entertainment segment in Orlando, Florida, I am on a local newscast out there, and they are trying to push to get that to go national now. So we are going to see how all of that works, and also on the radio local here, I probably without mentioning the station, I could be a competitor, I do that once a week, can I mention the station? Oh sure, by all means. Z107.1 out of El Paraiso, I am on there every Friday at 10.10 in the morning and 2.10 in the afternoon, and I just do a Hollywood segment, and it has been kind of sad because lately I keep opening up with all of these actors passing away. It seems like that is all it has been, but it is a fun segment and I enjoy doing it. Right, and that is once a week? Once a week, every Friday. Okay. Any other projects with television, film, anything like that? Yeah, I am trying to get together a local show that I would like to do, and I feel the need for that in the area, even though you do a great job with your show, but local is so important, and that is something that I am currently working on, and as I tell everyone, and I am sure as you know, there is always oars in the fire. It just has to be that way in this business, especially if you want to survive with a can of chickens. You have to have something in the fire. And you have been doing some speaking engagements, tell us briefly about those. Yes, I will be speaking actually at Calumet College of St. Joseph. It is going to be on whatever the Wednesday is, November 7th, 8th, somewhere in that area. I will be speaking, and Mr. Cosello, who is one of the deans, has invited me down there, so I will be talking to the media students, and I love doing that, because I have been doing this so long. I just love to bring my knowledge to the classroom and tell children and give them the pros and cons of the business. Well, we are just about ready to wrap up. I want to give you a chance to also tell where the book available is and how people can find you online. Well, you can find me online. I am big on Facebook, Mark Edward Willows, point out, Willows has one L, W-I-L-O-W-S, and the book is at barnesandnoble.com. You can type in Silas and Sophie, Silas and Sophie Mark Edward Willows, and it will pop up, and like I said, it is coming soon on Amazon. We appreciate you coming on Art in the Air Spotlight. Mark Edward Willows, Silas and Sophie, and it is available at all those places that you said. Mark, thank you so much for coming on Art in the Air Spotlight. Art in the Air Spotlight and the complete one-hour program on Lakeshore Public Media is brought to you by Macaulay Real Estate in Valparaiso, Oval Patrician Senior Broker. And as a reminder, if you would like to have your event on Art in the Air Spotlight or have a longer feature interview, email us at aotaatbrech.com, that's aotaatbrech.com. Art in the Air is supported by an Indiana Arts Commission Arts Project Grant, South Shore Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. You're listening to Art on the Air on Lakeshore Public Media, 89.1 FM, on WVLP, 103.1 FM. We are pleased to welcome Leah Song to Art on the Air. Leah is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumental musician, storyteller, poet, artist, and activist known for her role as one of the two front sisters of rising Appalachia. With her sister Chloe, they incorporate vultury vocals, rhythm, banjo, guitar, ballads, dance, spoken word, and storytelling into their work. Her music is based in the traditions of Southern soul and international roots music. With her sister, they are also part of the beautiful Starling Arrow. Thank you very much for joining us on Art on the Air. Aloha and welcome, Leah. It's so nice to have you here. Yay. Thanks so much for having me as a spokesperson for us. For lots of us. Yeah. My pleasure. Well, we appreciate you coming on the show, and our audience wants to know a lot about our guests. I always like to talk about their origin story, and I like to tee it up by saying how you got from where you were to where you are now. So tell us about yourself. Yeah. This is probably my favorite piece of our story, if I were allowed to say such a thing. My sister and I grew up in a beautiful, very quirky, working-class neighborhood in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, and we had a pretty unusual upbringing. We have a folk sculptor of a father and a wonderfully obsessed, fiddling mother. And both of their artistries were their passion and not their jobs. They worked hard to hold the household together in fairly menial day labor. I think they would both say that, but there was just a ton of art in our home, and a ton of music in our home. And we also grew up in downtown Atlanta. We were children of the public school system, so there was this fantastic, very vibrant neo-soul and underground hip-hop community that was growing up and sprouting around us as young people in our school, and in our peers, and in our community. And so we had just all of this access to Southern front porch culture, of which I consider all of these things to be part of the front porch cultures. And that was just normal for us. We didn't know that was unusual. We didn't know it was unusual to be straddling the rural and the urban Southern traditions. We didn't know that that much art was unusual. Our parents had a continent band, which we were just mortified and embarrassed by for a while, and then that was pretty fantastic. And so it was in our blood and in our bones in a lot of ways, and the long, winding story would take some hours to tell, but the cliff notes are that we left home, both of us in our own timing as young adults, as young women, and began traveling abroad and studying and learning about the wider world as just eager and hungry young women from the South and realized in those journeys that we actually came from a very deep and rooted tradition. And it was in that era of our early 20s that both my sister and I started turning back and tilting back towards a lot of the traditions we were raised in and started collecting songs and beginning to understand our role as performers, musicians, storytellers. And like you said, there's a lot of things we like to incorporate into our show. And it was a slow, and it still feels kind of like a slow and humble journey. We jump in to invitation-based gigs, and we still do as much studying as we can around all of that, but it's taken us into a hefty, many-year career now, trying to make sense out of our traditions and also writing and creating new traditions of music that feel like they matter for us. It's, you've described a very vibrant household. Can you describe, so like, I'm interested in two things, like, one, what is your first clear sort of baby memory of music and how it was incorporated? Like, do you have a favorite baby memory that sticks with you? And can you describe what a day in the life of this, like, artistic family was like for you? Yeah, yeah. I have the best early, well, it's not my memory, but it's the first memory that my parents tell me was my first word, and they would listen to all, they had a fabulous vinyl collection that I'm slowly inheriting. And apparently my first word after Mama and Daddy, they walked in the room and I was shaking the crib, and my first word was Da Duke for Duke Ellington, because the Ellington records were the favorite in our household, so Da Duke, that's like, I don't quite have that memory, but I love the notion that that may have been a bit foreshadowing of our world. So beautiful. I know. Duke Ellington, I mean. My train car. With honor. And we're the day in the life, is that what she said, a day in the life? Yeah, yeah. With two artistic parents, I'm wondering what, you know, a typical day is like. I mean, our childhood was really, you know, we lived right in a very functional working class neighborhood. Our father would often walk us to school in the morning. We could walk to the little public elementary school by our house. We were big advocates of public school, public radio, you know, the public TV stations. We had a tiny little television in our home, and we would only watch the nature channels, go get TGIFs, thank goodness it's Friday, we would get a root beer float on a Friday. And you know, most of our activities were within walking distance of our home. So we would spend time in school and spend time in various after-school events and then come back. And we had a very attentive family. There was a lot of conversation at the table, a lot of creative nudging. At one point, my father taped brown paper all around the child-hype walls of the house and handed us crayons and let us go to town on what we thought was a mural project. We didn't have a lot of, you know, financial, we had financial stability, but not a lot of excess in any way. And so most of our activities had to do with making things out of whatever we could find. And that felt like a wonderful thing to be taught how to do as kids. We didn't know any different. So is there more children, siblings, other than you and Chloe? And were you and Chloe close growing up? Because in all the media and video, you two seem extraordinarily close. Yeah, there were no other siblings. We laugh about what our family band would be like if there were a few more of us. And we are extraordinarily close. When I get off this call and interview with you all, I will be going straight to her home. A little baby time. We have a little baby time, and we have stayed close. I mean, we had a few years of probably childhood angst where we were trying to figure out our places, but we don't have a real competitive nature. We're both tremendously different, and I think we lean on each other's strengths and kind of get out of each other's way often. So we're really, I think, quite lucky to have, just by the luck of the draw, been dear, dear friends. And a lot of siblings, I think, can struggle with competition, and that's just because of our differences. We didn't compete about much. We didn't want the same thing. So we could just kind of stand each other's flames in a way. How'd you gain all the mastery of the instruments that you have? I mean, that was, you know, you guys play such a wide variety of instruments. You know, what did you first start out on, and then how did you expand from that? Yeah, I would say that our band members have mint mastery on their instruments. And I would say Chloe and I have mastery as song crafters, and our instruments are our secondary. They're secondary to our voices. We did grow up with a lot of singing in the house. We both grew up with a little bit of resistant classical piano that we didn't love, but we did. And we started picking up more of the fiddle and banjo, bauron and guitar, a lot more of the traditional instruments, again, in our 20s. And we still have a long way to go. Our mother is one of our favorite teachers. She can play circles around us 10 hours a day. And yeah, she's the one. And we took classes at a real amazing Southern folk school called the Swannanoe Gathering, that anyone that is looking into learning traditional instruments, it's kind of like a fiddle camp, summer camp for adults. And we could not praise it more highly. It's a wonderful place to learn traditional folk music. So do both you and Chloe write music and do you have rituals for like your songwriting? Does it, you know, like sometimes, you know, and I'm curious about, do you hear the lyrics and the music together? How does it all get pulled together? Because for me, I can write something and two years, two years ago, and then what I'm writing now, it belongs there. So I don't know what you're, yeah, but then sometimes like I'll do three pages all. I mean, it's just, it just pours out. You know, it's true, it's true. I definitely, I feel like there's two kinds of creators. There's the kind that just go to the desk every day and work on their craft and and fine tune it. And then there are those of us that just get lightning bolt moments and it's inconsistent. And I actually think Chloe and I are, I am the lightning bolt one. I wait until the moment and the moment might strike on a Thursday on an airplane. It may not come for months. And Chloe tends to be really prolific at harnessing on a consistent basis. We call her the faucet. And she's really able to tend to the songwriting craft with amazing discipline and regularity and make beautiful music. So we we co-write some things. Sometimes one of us will bring something to the table, pretty completed. And there's not a lot of rhyme or reason to what we get our hands on. It tends to be circumstantial, album by album. Well, I think our audience might want to hear a sample of your music, Stand Like an Oak. And, you know, set that up for us a little bit, the origin of that and everything, and we'll take a listen to it. Well, sure, that's a great example of one that Chloe just brought to the table, nearly complete, right before the pandemic had struck. We didn't really know what was coming. And she said, just hop into the studio real quick with me and I'd like to track this. And I came up with a second harmony and a banjo part for it. And we and we just we just tracked it pretty quickly. And it ended up being quite meaningful for us as as the world unraveled for those years, because it has a lot to do with finding sturdiness and in in your roots in a way. And also the oak have interlocking roots. Yeah. So they they can hold so much more because they lean on each other. And it's one that's meant a lot to us. Let's take a listen to it. Stand like an oak. And that's Leah's song, along with Chloe. Stand like an oak, an aspen, an alder, it's in you, don't falter, and this sudden I got you. Break it, walk taller, any minute, make your bed smaller, even by the angels of the water. Push em up, push em up, put away our cares, fold them, fold them, fold up your fears. Push em up, push em up, put away our cares, fold them, fold them, fold up your fears. You said come to this river, give me your arms, lean back, there's nothing to be alarmed of. He said the more I know, the more I dig, and the more I return to myself around everything. Push em up, push em up, put away our cares, fold them, fold them, fold up your fears. Push em up, push em up, put away our cares, fold them, fold them, fold up your fears, fears, fears. 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even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water, even by the angels of the water What makes you weary? Tell me what lights up your eyes I'll meet you there, in the middle We'll lay down and harmonize Tell me what makes you peaceful Tell me what you fantasize I'll take a look in the moonlight We'll lay down and harmonize We'll lay down and harmonize I'm awake for, I'm awake for you Tell me what keeps you honest Tell me what keeps you inside I'll always call in the morning We'll lay down and harmonize Tell me what moves you ready Tell me what moves your inside I'll bring the storm, bring the steady We'll lay down and harmonize We'll lay down and harmonize I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you I'm awake for, I'm awake for you Are you planning on doing another one? What were some of the things that you learned doing it? The Catalyst flyer is still right in front of me It's so beautiful I mean, it was curated so lovely The activities and the music and the pace It just looks fabulous We are going to do another Catalyst It was a huge undertaking It was a two-day kind of multifaceted event We wanted it to be one part music festival but also one part workshop and also interactive hands-on workshops There's not a lot of... And we also wanted it to be in an urban space so that it had to do with reclamation of space So it was in an old junkyard turned into a music venue and all of those pieces of the vision were an important part of it but they don't always yield to the simplest thing and we would probably have a much easier time just making a music festival for two days in a big campground of some sort but we really wanted all these other pieces and it was an enormous amount of work but it also was a success and we were able to bring friends and mentors and performers and teachers from all these different walks of life and when it all came together it just felt like, wow, we really did it We really brought some of the big heavy hitters that have influenced us from around the world to one central place and made an offering of it So it was a massive undertaking and we're going to do it one more year and then we're going to decide after the second one if we're going to do it ever again or not Yeah, it would seem like the enriching workshops that you had would really lead to wonderful memories and friendships to interact on that level I thought it was a brilliant combination Yeah, it felt... Behind the scenes there was no drama and that was like, okay there's some few things that could get fine-tuned there's some things we could fix but it really worked and that felt wonderful to just see our role as producer come together You're listening to Art on the Air with our guest today, singer-songwriter Leah Song on Lakeshore Public Media, 89.1 FM and on WVLP, 103.1 FM Do you have any plans maybe to do a solo project at any time? I mean, is that just going to be outside of your comfort zone? Great question I have a very small solo project that mostly is related to performance I love having the ability to perform especially when I travel and it's not all five of us and the infrastructure of the whole Rising Appalachia team It's just called Leah Song, the Leah Song Project but I have no big drive to turn that into an entity I don't have a lot of desire to do a ton of recording and I don't have a ton of need to fill a tour schedule so it's continued for a while now to just live in this wonderful place but it can be a bit more improvisational I can put together shows very quickly just if I arrive in town and there's a cool tea house or something like that The idea of pushing it into a more professional place at the moment feels unappealing I like that it's a bit rogue and we're very, very busy Rising Appalachia is pretty full time and Starling Arrow, like you mentioned at the introduction has a full time studio recording put together and currently I'm managing the project so we have our hands full I'm going to retire and be a potter or something like that That's kind of interesting with Rising Appalachia you and Chloe harmonize beautifully together but you stand alone as separate entities within Rising Appalachia as well so it's almost like two solo careers put together on the same stage happening in a way as well so a little bit of both You're listening to Art on the Air with our guest today, singer-songwriter Leah Song on Lakeshore Public Media, 89.1 FM and on WVLP, 103.1 FM We have a few minutes left but we still want to squeeze in one song, Resilient Tell us a little bit about that You said that would be the... Tell us a little bit about that and we'll come back and talk just a little bit more This is a Chloe masterpiece and I'm so happy to lax poetic about her brilliant songwriting I think this is the most powerful song that she's written and she did write this quickly She wrote it in a moment of immense pressure, struggle, heartbreak right at the back end of a trip that we had taken to Standing Rock in this tumult of a big tour and I think she just felt explosive and it came that way It came through that way and she said Leah, I think I wrote a really good song Yeah, you know it and you know, and it just I think it came to her as a crystallized piece and we have now recorded three we have four different versions of it recorded we have our original duo version we have a beautiful full band rendition that has a much more instrumental piece of it our cello player, Duncan Whipple rearranged it and made it a waltz rhythm and let it on cello we have a version from the Prez Hall live stream concert and then we have a remixed version of it as well and so it continues to live people write us and say oh our choir learned this song they send us versions from middle school classes and I think it's the one we get the most inquiry about and I think it's because it holds that spark it holds in it the spark of creativity as this tool to deal with grief to deal with rage, to process and try and figure out a way to step up and so I am so honored to sing it night after night after night and I'm so glad that it's life is so vibrant out there well let's take a listen to Resilient Chloe Smith-Moravich and Leah Song here it is I am resilient I trust the movement I negate the chaos uplift the negative I'll show up at the table again and again and again I'll close my mouth and learn to listen These times are poignant The winds have shifted It's all we can do To stay uplifted Pipelines through backyards Wolves howling out front Yeah I've got my crew But truth is what I want Realized it's on hold Power to the peaceful Prayer to the water Women at the center All vessels open To give and receive Let's see this system Brought down to its knees I am resilient I trust the movement I negate the chaos uplift the negative I'll show up at the table again and again and again I'll close my mouth and learn to listen I'm made of thunder I'm made of lightning I'm made of dirt, yeah Made of the fine things My father taught me That I'm a sack of dust And this world was made for me So let's go and try our luck And I've got my roots Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, deep I've got my roots Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, deep guitar solo So what are we doing here? What has been done? What are you gonna do about it When the world comes undone? My voice sounds tiny And I'm short, so does yours Put us all together, make a mighty I've got my roots Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down Down, down, down, down, down guitar solo I am resilient I trust the movement I negate the chaos Uplift the negative I'll show up at the table Again and again and again I'll close my mouth and learn to listen I am resilient I trust the movement I negate the chaos Uplift the negative I'll show up at the table Again and again and again I'll close my mouth and learn to listen I am resilient I trust the movement guitar solo And that was resilient, right? In Appalachia, Leah's song and Chloe Smith You know, we only have about one minute left, too I know, I'm so glad you explained the song because I can hear the heartache and I'll show up at the table again and again and again and again It's so beautiful Yeah Well, Leah, we have just a little bit of time for you to tell us, well, upcoming projects how people can find your music maybe get in touch with you maybe even perform for them Yeah Well, if you can spell Appalachia you can find us risingappalachia.com all of the socials We're Rising Appalachia or Rising Appalachia Music basically anywhere you look And we do have a big tour our biggest tour since before the pandemic We'll start in Seattle and weave our way all the way down to L.A. and Joshua Tree We have our first international show in Mexico in April of 2024 So we're really excited about making our way to our southern neighbors We have some new music coming We have a beautiful show with Starling Arrow in that tour, our West Coast CD release So you can find all that at starlingarrow.com And we're all Luddites So we're terrible at social media but we do our very best to keep everybody posted and updated on what's happening We have a Patreon and we have a newsletter as well So dig in and find the way that works best for you It's a real big pleasure and we're a tad nervous but we're excited to be out in the world making our craft again Well, we appreciate you coming on Art of the Year That's Leah Song and of course her sister also sings along with her, Chloe Smith, The Rising Appalachia and we appreciate you coming on and sharing your musical journey Such a pleasure Thank you You go your way, I'll go mine In the middle of summertime We'd like to thank our guests this week on Art of the Year our weekly program covering the arts and arts events throughout Northwest Indiana and beyond Art of the Year is heard Sunday at 7pm on Lakeshore Public Media 89.1 FM, also streaming live at lakeshorepublicmedia.org and is available on Lakeshore Public Media's website as a podcast Art of the Year is also heard Friday at 11am and Monday at 5pm on WVLP 103.1 FM, streaming live at wvlp.org Our spotlight interviews are heard every Wednesday on Lakeshore Public Media Thanks to Tom Maloney, Vice President of Radio Operation for Lakeshore Public Media and Greg Kovach, WVLP's Station Manager Our theme music is by Billy Foster with a vocal by Renee Foster Art on the Air is supported by the Indiana Arts Commission Arts Project Grant South Shore Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts We'd like to thank our current underwriters for Lakeshore Public Media Macaulay Real Estate and Valparaiso Olga Patrician, Senior Broker and for WVLP, Walt Redinger of Paragon Investments So we may continue to bring you Art on the Air we rely on you, our listeners and underwriters for ongoing financial support If you're looking to support Art on the Air we have information on our website at barack.com.au or you can find out how to become a supporter or underwriter of our program in whatever amount you are able and like I say every week, don't give till it hurts give till it feels good and you'll feel so good about supporting Art on the Air If you're interested in being a guest or send us information about your arts arts-related event or exhibit please email us at aota at breck dot com that's aota at breck b-r-e-c-h dot com or contact us through our Facebook page Your hosts were Larry Breckner and Esther Golden We invite you back next week for another episode of Art on the Air Aloha everyone, have a splendid week Art on the Air