We recently connected with David Hudson Berger and have shared our conversation below.

David, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?

Honestly, I have been fortunate to have received incredible generosity several times. A particular experience that stands out was when I was living in Austin, TX in 2019 as a full-time musician. It’s a gigging town, so that’s what I did a lot of. I often performed at farmers’ markets (even in the blistering 100+ degrees), and while I did enjoy bringing music to the people and watching kids dance and have fun, there were times that these kind of gigs felt unfulfilling. Especially as a solo artist, it’s easy to get in your head and let self-doubt creep in. Doing gigs for money, like ones where you have to play a lot of cover songs, can feel like it’s getting in the way of your artistic path. I was going through a difficult time with all of this. I had a market gig coming up, and was really not feeling like doing it. I showed up anyways, went through the motions, but my heart wasn’t into it. During a set break a woman came up to me and sincerely thanked me for sharing my music and said how much she needed to hear that, and bought a cd. She followed up with an email that went much more in depth of how the music had touched her. It was a wake up call for me. This is the life I chose, and having a gift to share means that it is so much about how it affects others around me. Since then I’ve tried to hold the perspective that “this isn’t just for me”.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I create a progressive blend of folk music, which means influences of post-rock to jazz to ambient find their way in. In a live setting I express it through finger-style & percussive guitar, on-the-spot live looping arrangements, & ambient soundscapes. The way I use live looping as an arrangement tool right in front of people’s eyes I think is what sets me apart.
I also write, perform almost all instruments, & produce my recorded music.
The songs I write are rich of nature heavy metaphors & emotionally vulnerable pondering. It’s often a conversation with myself that is then reframed to be more accessible and relatable. Mental health is at the core of many of the songs, and finding hope & clarity through nature is often the common thread.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think being aware of what is really takes to create art is the first step. Once you recognize how beautiful it is for a human to conceptualize and bring to life an idea and share that with the world, you can’t help but be in awe of this experience. That being said, we need to learn as a society to VALUE artists for their work. Think of this scenario: you get invited to a bar where there’s a few bands playing, no cover charge. You also get invited to a show at a proper venue where there’s a $20 cover. I’d say most people lean towards picking option 1 because twenty bucks to see some music sounds steep. Most people (including myself) also end up spending at least $20 or much more on alcohol.
So what are we saying? That we value the booze that we will certainly not be remember or gaining anything from over the experience of having another human share their soul with us? Music is holy. Music is universal. Music can heal.
I had to go through this reevaluation of prioritizing my own values and realized I was not practicing what I felt was right.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The first year of the pandemic really turned things upside down for me. I was playing music full time in Austin TX, and in summer 2020 decided to go back home to Upstate NY for a couple months. It turned into six. Once I got through the grief phase of not knowing what to do with my life, I decided I could lean into other areas of my life that maybe I put on the back burner for music. I worked as a field guide for a wilderness therapy company in Utah. I grew immensely, learned so much about human psychology, deepened my relationship with nature and human connection, and learned survival skills. I took a full year off music. Coming back to it was clunky, but I had gained so much gratitude for getting to create, and it’s given me a new perspective as I’ve gotten back into it full time again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/willowspeak
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/willowspeakmusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/willowspeakmusic
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/willowspeak
• Other: www.patreon.com/willowspeak

Image Credits
Photo 1 Stephen Reardon Photo 2 Hans Jurgen Photo 3 Emery Becker