We recently connected with Goldie Lahr and have shared our conversation below.

Goldie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I am a solo artist and have pursued this as my career for the past eight years. I got a fairly late start to the music scene, though I have always been a singer and enjoyed writing music for myself, I never picked up a guitar or performed at a gig until I was 26.
My husband is military so we move around frequently, this posed a challenge to getting my foot in the door in a new town since it takes time, but as soon as I did, I decided I wanted to share that with other military spouses who enjoy singing, but may not have the opportunity to do so because of lack of connections.
This gave me an idea to start The Blue Anchor Belles, an all military spouse 40’s/50’s trio of singers who perform around town for events, assisted living centers, military functions and more.
I modeled the group after the Andrews sisters/ WWII USO style performances. We have the A line dresses, and vintage microphones to match!
It has been the most rewarding job and Pensacola/ the gulf coast has been more than receptive to this unique idea.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Goldie Lahr, I grew up in Fort Worth Texas in a musical family. All of my five siblings were in band and sang, except for me. I went to the choir route and also played violin for a short while. My mom is probably my favorite vocalist and the person I modeled my voice after. She (as well as my siblings), often sang or played their instruments for weddings, events and church,
The funny thing about me was, I had crippling stage fright. I would dread a performance for weeks. Once I was performing my violin for a recital and not a couple seconds into the song I just walked off stage and fainted.
You would think after that, someone would move on to another hobby, but something always pulled me back to music despite not getting over my stage fright until well in my 20’s. (It still hits me in my 30’s every once in a while).
I wanted to study music in college but kept hearing people tell me not to make my hobby my career, so I studied religion and history with the idea of attending seminary and/or being a teacher.
I graduated college, married my now husband of 12 years and had many different teaching jobs and church jobs until Robert (my husband) decided to join the navy to become a pilot.
I knew it would be next to impossible to get a church job in a new community where they knew you’d only be there for a few months, so I decided to try and achieve the even more impossible thing, attempting to become a respected musician (with crippling stage fright) in a town where I’d only reside in for a few months.
Easy peasy.
During my husbands flight training we moved around very often, this was when I decided to try my hand at playing guitar and singing. I had experience playing the violin and a little bit of piano, but I really wanted to sing, so decided to pick up a guitar and efforts to accompany myself.
I needed the experience performing so volunteered with a local hospice organization singing and (attempting to play)ing the guitar for folks under hospice care. Usually by the end of my performance I was drenched in sweat, and despite singing so softly and stumbling over guitar chords, the people I played for were always so supportive and encouraging.
After about a year of this, I think that was the person I wanted to be. Not so much the musician (though I still enjoy that roll, End it is my main role) but the person that encourages people to step out of their comfort zone.
I really feel blessed that I’m doing both those things. I get hired to play my own songs for events/ restaurants/ bars, but I also get to perform and be peoples’ cheerleader with the Blue Anchor Belles, the 40’s 50’s singing trio of military spouses I started about 6 years ago. I’ve seen ladies with zero performance experience, shine bright on stage in front of hundreds of people.

Problems I solve for clients:
When you hire a musician, you are usually getting way more than what you would expect. A musician has to, not only be good at their instrument, but also be an entertainer, a sound engineer, a social media expert, an MC and sometimes a mediator when you’re playing for a wedding and family drama ensues.

The main thing I want potential clients to know:
I want to be a positive experience and a positive light when they interact with me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I try to be as versatile as possible as a musician, because there is a nice balance of enjoying what I do but also trying to make a living. I constantly have to keep my eyes open And my mind open to opportunities. I can be singing at a preschool one day, then getting hired to do violin work for a film score the next day, to singing at a memorial service, to running sound for an open mic night.

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

I think there is so much talent right around us, commercialism tries to get someone to think that there is only one value to art or music, and it is monetary or its fame. However, I think art that is beautiful and meaningful to you is something you find through your own self discovery, it takes time to be sought after, it’s an artist or singer you invest in and watch grow. It’s a painting or song from a neighbor that you know the back story to because they were vulnerable enough to share it.

Contact Info:

• Website: Goldielahr.com
• Instagram: @goldielahr
• Facebook: Facebook.com/goldielahr

Image Credits
Marin Merkle Photography Hynds designs Hope Twenty Two Photgraphy