We were lucky to catch up with Julie Hume recently and have shared our conversation below.

Julie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I had an interesting conversation with the members of an affinity group at the Folk Alliance International Conference this past week. We were discussing being a caregiver and the challenges and concessions that come with it. One well-meaning soul offered the well-worn platitude:” You can have it all. Just not at the same time!” This time she was met with a lot of skepticism from all camps- those who had waited to have kids or waited to have a career, those who had done some of both, those who had balanced a second, more reliable career with their music and those who had given up on one and come back for the other later. Then there were those who had just powered through and gave it their all on all fronts. I thought about my own journey and what I might do differently. I lived and breathed music when I was in my young adult years and could never imagine doing anything else with my life, but I also worried a lot about the future. I worried about things like retirement and health insurance even as a young woman and in my late 20’s went back to school to get my teaching certificate. I even spent a great deal of time in Austria getting my MA in German, all the while balancing my teaching career with my music career. The tipping point was when I had my first child. Something had to give, and it was music. After my second child was born, I briefly came back to performing. However, when my two-year-old daughter was diagnosed with autism, everything else took a back seat. I took a good 15 years off from playing music altogether and just slowly snuck back into performing – recording my first solo CD when I was 54. This of course put me on a different trajectory than the performers who were in their 20s. However, even though I miss some of the plum opportunities I had when I was younger (oh to be seen as a young up and comer, full of promise again!), I have so much more to write and sing about now and I am so much wiser when it comes to making my art count. I am a more honest and generous artist than I was when I was younger. Did I get to have it all? No way. But I got to have so much. That’s what I would like to tell younger artists who are so worried about their future and the choices they may have to make.

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

Like a lot of the creative people I come across, I wear a lot of hats. I started playing music in high school and started performing during my college years at the University of Kansas. I played music professionally in my early 20’s through my mid-thirties. I performed as a singer-songwriter, but also as a member of a group called “The Center for World Music” which was located here in Kansas City. I played in a Cajun ensemble, an Afro-Cuban ensemble and an old-time band. In my late 20’s I earned my MA in German in Klagenfurt, Austria. I also started working as a teacher, teaching German and Gifted Education in the Kansas City area. I have continued this on and off throughout my life and am currently teaching both German and Gifted Ed as a part-time assignment.

After my children were born, I left music for a while. My daughter is 20 years old and is autistic. I’ve spent a lot of the last 20 years on that journey. However, shortly after I turned 50, I returned to the music world. I recorded my first album of original music, “Late Bloomer” at age 54 and have since that time recorded several more albums of my songs. I also helped form and sit on the board of directors of a Kansas City non-profit called “The Heartland Song Network”. We are an organization for songwriters and performers, focusing on collaboration, mentorship and educational opportunities. I have been deeply involved in the collaboration arm of this organization, most recently organizing a songwriting collaboration with a similar organization in Calgary. I also have been working on several projects such as a youth recording project and a sensory friendly concert series. I have found that this particular non-profit is a good fit for me, combining my love of non-profit work with my musical pursuits, my teaching experience and my interest in working with the special needs community.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have always loved performing from the time I was a very young girl. I have very seldom experienced stage fright and always loved the feeling of communicating with a live audience. However, in my early thirties I had a bad seizure onstage (I started having seizures while I was in college and was diagnosed with epilepsy). My husband had to walk me offstage and I found the whole experience disquieting. I was hesitant to play solo shows after that point and avoided any type of situation where I would be by myself on stage. The one place where I couldn’t avoid being by myself “onstage” was my classroom. I ended up having a few seizures while I was teaching. The behavior of my students and my coworkers helped me realize that it wasn’t the end of the world to show a little vulnerability. I eventually braved a live audience alone again after an extended absence. I’ve never had another seizure, but I have messed up the lyrics to a song or two, forgotten what I was saying in the middle of an introduction and started in the wrong key. Accepting your imperfections and your physical limitations is part of being a generous performer and gives the audience a different way to relate to you.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think that my goal is to help artists navigate every age and its benefits and limitations, both in leading by example and by working with younger artists. I have experienced being a performer as a late teen, young adult, and later, as a late middle-aged and senior woman. I have been able to inspire others by showing that the desire to create and share doesn’t have an expiration date. I am always excited to get very young teens involved in songwriting. I have seen a lot of introverted young women turn into confident performers and absolutely blossom as they learn how to express themselves in the way that seems most natural to them- through words and music. In my later years I have also tried to give an honest account through my music of what it is to be an older woman in society. I have laid bare my concerns about my country and our biggest challenges, the challenges of being many things to many people and the joys and sorrows of every age. I am currently recording a project which I call “Ghost Wrestling”- trying to come to terms with the ghosts of my past while I navigate my journey into .old age. While my words and music might not be heard by the masses- I am always touched by those who find my music from so many corners of the world. My husband and I love to look at my online statistics (Japan! Ghana! Wales!) and think about the miracle of communicating with such a diverse audience in the digital age.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.juliebennetthume.com
• Instagram: @juliebennetthume
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieBennettHumeMusic

Image Credits
1st picture and bottom right picture- Brian Byers 2nd picture and bottom left picture- Courtney Hulsey