We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Heatherlyn Music a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Heatherlyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’m currently working on my next album, entitled Heatherlyn’s Musical Apothecary, which will be released later 2023! I don’t know if it’s the MOST meaningful project I’ve ever worked on, but its deeply meaningful to my journey and artistic process right now.

I’m especially excited about this because the thread of meaning running through each song is Healing, and I believe so many of us desire more healing in our lives – consciously or subconsciously – for our psyches, our hearts, our relationships, and on the deepest levels of our being.

The songs on this record both reflect a personal healing journey I’ve been on the past several years and this project also beautifully combines my love for music with my practices of mindfulness and meditation – my love for guiding people in LIVE music meditations.

Each song contains a mantra for listeners to engage with if they so desire. For those who might not know, the Sanskrit word mantra means “mind vehicle”. It’s literally a simple and repetitive tool for transforming our thought patterns. I believe our lives are largely created by the storylines we believe about ourselves and others and if we want to change our lives, we can significantly do so by renewing or reprogramming our minds.

First, we need to get aware of the patterns of our mind and then we have agency to re-pattern the ones we find do not benefit us and our living.

Here’s how this has practically played out for me: I began a yoga practice in 20o2 for chronic pain in my body. This pain was triggered while reconnecting with the piano and taking some lessons that reminded me of trauma from my college music education experience. I intuitively knew the chronic pain I was experiencing pointed to some deeper mental and emotional trauma that was ready to be healed. The pain was a feedback system asking me to attend and heal.

I then did yoga teacher training and ever since, I’ve been studying, trying out and employing, as well as teaching others various mindfulness practices – all the while interweaving and infusing my music together with these mantras and meditations.

This album will exist and stand well in the world as a really enjoyable Americana album yet, I’m also creating companion resources for utilizing each track as a meditation. I’m looking to potentially include accompanying embodiment options, medicinal tea recommendations, and simple artistic expressions of the meditations for folks to try out themselves!

My hope is to create multiple avenues and tools for approaching and unlocking the medicinal qualities in each song and within each listener’s own being – inviting people to participate in their own healing.

I hope this may support fans in their mental health journeys as well as shift consciousness toward ever more active kindness and care toward ourselves and one another with the Heatherlyn’s Musical Apothecary album as an inspiring sound track, accompanying each person on their particular path of renewal.

Heatherlyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Singing became an obviously significant part of my being early on. My mom says I was singing before I was talking, and I don’t recall ever not having big dreams and an overwhelming desire to create and share song with others. I got into music and have remained fiercely dedicated to this path, through all the ups and downs of it, quite simply because *music got into me*.

I recall making up silly jingles about license plate mottos or about toothpaste while brushing my teeth in my grandma’s bathroom and writing sweet little songs about butterflies, friendship, and even spiritual ideas as a little Heatherlyn. My mom loved my singing and celebrated my creative songwriting. My aunt and uncle who helped raise me, got me a karaoke machine when I was a pre-teen so I could practice at home with tapes. It was my most favorite gift ever.

Being a single parent household with no child support, we didn’t have the resources to pay for music lessons but my neighbor would show me some things on the piano and allow me to pop in and play hers. I picked up guitar the summer after my freshmen year in college to accompany myself and have it as a songwriting tool. I’ve been teaching myself ever since and gratefully learning from other musician friends along the way.

There have been a lot of challenges. My neurodiversity (I was only recently finally diagnosed) became an obstacle to my thriving in the music education program I entered in college, so I dropped out of that, tried to except that I didn’t “have what it takes”, thought maybe I was foolish to think this could be a viable path for me, I grieved, and I studied theology instead.

I even did a special semester on Martha’s Vineyard that was entirely focused on songwriting and recording, but dreams were shattered yet again because the sort of stress I experienced in the environment as a neurodiverse and highly sensitive person ended up constricting my voice and the directors there basically said I should accept that (again) I didn’t “have what it takes”. I don’t think they fully saw at that time what I have to offer.

Skipping ahead to the next chapter, I fell in love with my life partner, Jason, who happens to be brilliant at LIVE sound & lighting production and he grew up doing it, coiling cables since 3 years of age. A few years into our relationship, we decided to take some huge risks, quit our regular paycheck jobs, made sacrifices to combine our skills and take them on the road – creating house concerts and tours regionally, nationally, and then globally.

Initially, we thought this would only be a pipe dream, but we went for it, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life now. I’m so proud of us for listening to our hearts and taking the leaps we continue to take to live into these dreams and make them reality. And after all the times I’ve been told that I don’t have what it takes, I’m proud of rising again each time my dreams have been crushed, and with the support of my partner, friends who endlessly believe in my, and my community of fans and supporters – I keep persevering onward.

Now, there is nothing else for me to be about or do with my life. Singing over people, singing to their souls is the way I love this world to life. Some who’ve never met me before have said that they feel loved and healed within the sound of my voice. I hope that may always be.

2007 – 2008, Jason and worked with musicians in Minneapolis to create and release my self-titled debut album. In 2011, we worked with producer Matt Patrick at the Library Recording Studio to release a timeless album I entitled Storydwelling. Storydwelling is the title of that album as well as an ethos for my life and travels – I’ve defined this word as “cultivating courageous, compassionate curiosity for ourselves and one another, recognizing the shaping nature of narrative”. I also created a LIVEstream talk show with guests who share their stories and I invite viewers into my personal life practice of Storydwelling together!

After extensive travels, we decided to add LIVEstreaming to our offerings in 2015/2016 – first simply setting up a livestream camera at shows we created as we toured, and then I began to create programming specifically for streaming, to keep in touch with the growing community of friends, family, and fans coming around our work.

We leaned into that even more with weekly LOVEstreams in 2020 and we continue to broadcast from our home studio to multiple platforms. We love these experiences with fans across the continent and the world, and we’re unspeakably grateful for our Patreon community who help sustain and nourish this journey with their monthly contributions.

Interweaving guided meditation with my music developed naturally from my own healing journey, because of my own personal mental health struggles and trauma recovery processes. Yoga and meditation became powerful tools for my holistic wellbeing, personal growth and naturally, I came to desire to share the benefits of these practices with others who resonate with them or are curious to try them!

I’m also grateful to be part of the international artist collective called 9BEATS. I’m a songwriter and performer for our double album Nine Beats to the Bar, released in 2016. Jason and I have been able to travel to the UK a couple time with them and and I co-wrote an EP called Dance of the Deep with lyricist Steve Bassett, who initiated the 9BEATS project. I love our collaboration!

My theological studies have continued to expand into ever more enriching psychological, philosophical and a gracious inter-spiritual understanding, curiosity, and now, I have the capacity to serve as an officiant for sacred ceremonies and rituals (like weddings) honoring all paths and traditions to the best of my ability.

I can play solo, with a stellar ensemble of musicians or a full band for special events too!

I’d love for individuals, spiritual communities, and businesses to reach out to me for any of these services:

– Full production entertainment with a lively engaging blend of originals and cover songs.

– LIVE music and guided meditation Sessions (with or without gentle yoga)

– High Quality Zoom concerts or meditation session anywhere in the world. These can be aired on your large screen TV and connected to your sound system if you desire!

– Weddings (and other special occasions) Hire me to officiate your wedding and sing for you ceremony and/or hire me and my band to perform for your reception!

– Consider becoming part of my Patreon community to support and bear witness to the creative process – both music and painting, hear my regular musings on the depth and breath of this journey, and be a part of this tiny revolution of artistry, music, and love. Thank you! Patreon.com/heatherlynmusic

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I love this question and I’m glad you asked! :)

The most tangible and accessible ways are likely these I’m listing here and then I’d encourage you to take a little more time with the additional questions I’m asking for more deep and lasting change in our society:

1. Follow your favorite artists on their socials, and engage their content. Like. Share to your feeds or stories. Repost. Recommend them and their stuff every chance you get.

2. Send your favorite artists notes of encouragement or comment on their posts to let them know how much their work or a song means to you and how it impacts you. It is a great support to our mental and emotional well being to know our work matters, that it’s reaching you, and of benefit to you!

3. If you can, purchase their music or art directly from their site or their bandcamp.

4. If you’re able, budget 5 or 10 dollars a month to be a patron of theirs.

5. Hire them for a special occasion (have your organizing budget in advance too!) and know that a musician doesn’t usually operate off a hourly rate since most of the preparation work to make the performance stellar is many more hours prior to the event itself.

Okay, going deeper and farther…

I believe it would benefit us all to think critically about the “starving artist” narrative and all of society’s norms and mentalities around art/music consumerism and celebrity as well as the disparities and inequities that creates between famous artists and your local, grassroots, community-based artists.

For as long as I can remember people have said things to me like: “Oh, wow, I’ll be able to say I knew her when…” or something to the effect that I’ll surely be famous one day.

I absolutely appreciate what they are getting at. They are actually saying: “You’re the real deal. You’re legit AF!. You are so totally gonna “make it”!

So I’ve often wondered: why is it that we automatically ascribe and conflate celebrity with legitimacy and success in artistry?

Let me tell you. If I were ever in this for fame or fortune, I would’ve quit a long time ago. LOL.

However, the fact that I’ve struggled and gone into debt from my dreams and calling as a full-time artist, doesn’t make me more legit, soulful, or real somehow.

I’ve wondered long and hard about why the “starving artist” storyline is a narrative our society finds acceptable.

Why are musicians and artists so often expected to be the most benevolent of all with our work, say for a benefit or fundraiser, but no one would ever question paying the cook and caterer for that same event?

Most of the artists and creatives I know – we are very generous and generative, but just because we love what we do and are passionate about doing it, doesn’t mean we should be expected to work for free, does it?

I believe that when our artists and creatives are flourishing, our cultures and communities are vibrant, alive, human, and even maybe more connected and caring, and I believe that’s the way it should be – flourishing, not only for the musicians and artists who’ve had the luck, connections, or resources to elevate them to the top 1% but all your beloved artists, music-makers, and story-tellers.

If I had the power to do it, I’d make Universal Basic Income available to all artists who believe this is the calling of their lives.

I know that if I didn’t ever have to be concerned with how to create a livelihood with my music, I’d be creating more music.

If I didn’t have to negotiate and advocate for fair, just living wages and rates, every time I book a gig, I wouldn’t have had the level of mental health struggles I’ve had.

If I didn’t have to worry about and attend to the business of music, I’d be making more music and art.

If I didn’t have to do the 5 or so other jobs I need to do as booking agent, tour manger, communication director, email editor, social media maven and content creator, publicity, promotion, product management, etc… I’d be making more music. ;-)

And one day, I’ll have a team helping me with these things, meanwhile, I’m learning to pace myself and not let myself get burned out, to put creating first.

Also know that while we’re delighted for you to be streaming our music from your favorite subscription platform, for most of us, that often doesn’t tangibly support us or help create a livelihood for us. That’s simply the reality.

I mention all of this simply to offer a picture of how vast, layered, and complex the life and work of an unsigned music artist is.

I invite folks to become more aware of how to directly support the artists you love. Perhaps even ask them and see what they have to say!

As I listed above, it’s likely through our bandcamps, hiring us directly for us services, and becoming part of our Patreon community. I’d say, at least for me and Jason, patronage is THE VERY BEST WAY to support and sustain us, our work, our creating, our sharing with the world.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Do your best and don’t sweat it. Ask yourself regularly: Is this serving me or am I serving it?

Share from your heart. Share what’s meaningful to you to share. Have fun and be creative! Be yourself!
Share for yourself so you get to enjoy an intrinsic reward within yourself even if the algorithms don’t get it to everyone you hoped it would. Also, if something didn’t get the traction you desired, just keep sharing!

Take breaks when you need to. Lean in when you’re feeling creatively enlivened by the content you’re creating. Step back a bit if it’s taking a toll on you in any way, especially on your mental health.

The algorithm gods are not to be taken too seriously. They are random, frequently shifting like weather, and they might feel like they’re getting in your way, but don’t take it personally. LOL. I’m serious. Don’t take it personally. Social media can often feel like an insatiable and relentless time-and-energy suck. Don’t let it be. Own your agency.

Remember social media is another cog in the machines of capitalism, consumerism and celebrity culture. Utilize it as much as you can toward genuine human connection and do your best to let the other shit go. Share posts from others that you find fun, beneficial, or meaningful to you. I feel this builds social capital – it can convey to your audience more of your affinities and perspectives while supporting someone else with a share! Cross pollination is always a good thing!

Practically speaking, if you can, have on your phone a variety of images from photo shoots and video clips from performances. The more you have ready, the more you can share engaging content without having to think too hard about it. Having a bank of content on hand allows me show up consistently without it always having to be a brand new in the moment post! Remember, there are so many ways to share your story, your voice, your creativity.

Re-share previous content! If you shared a great poem a year ago, it’s probably worth sharing again since you’ll likely have new followers and old followers who didn’t see it or they might be stoked to re-visit it with you! You can also share something again with a different approach!

If you’re a full time professional musician or artist, I’d recommend investing in the pro version of Canva or another graphic design app like it. I’ve been doing my own basic graphic design for over a decade now for my shows, livestreams, and other events, and having a subscription to one of these apps is like having an assistant on hand. It saves me so much time and creative energy.

Some folks have more strategic approaches to how and when to do social media. I respect that. What I’ve shared here is what’s currently for me and I think we all have to find what works best for us, especially when we’re doing it ourselves and getting it done in between the rest of the work. Find ways to let this part of the job truly support and uplift your art or music rather than take away from it, cause if a social media approach is taking away from your craft, it’s not worth it.

And that brings me full circle to a question I’m regularly asking myself about the socials: Is this serving me or am I serving it?

Contact Info:

• Website: http://heatherlynmusic.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/heatherlynmusic
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/heatherlynmusic
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/heatherlynmusic
• Youtube: http://youtube.com/heatherlynmusic
• Other: http://Patreon.com/HeatherlynMusic http://Linktr.ee/HeatherlynMusic http://HeatherlynMusic.bandcamp.com @heatherlynmusic pretty much everywhere :)

Image Credits
Photos by Amber Cantorna, Amanda Cruz, Nick Velharticky