We recently connected with Paige Berry and have shared our conversation below.

Paige, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Moving to Austin, Texas in 2015 after 25 years in my hometown of Knoxville, TN was perhaps the biggest risk I’ve taken. I hit a wall in every way, and it became clear that to save my life I had to leave–something I’d been trying to do for years. My mom and I visited Austin on Fourth of July weekend, just in time to see Willie’s picnic from the hotel room window. I was immediately smitten with the beauty and vibrance of Austin.Seeing the cacti and palm trees was captivating to me then. Remarkably, I didn’t know it was the live music capital of the world, or even the capital of Texas. As I near ten years in Austin, I can see how every risk I’ve taken has led me to this moment. In so many ways I’ve achieved more than I imagined–we’re coming up on our third official SXSW performance, we just put out our LP Will I Still Bloom? And played KUTX Studio 1 A.

Still, it is a huge challenge to subsist on a barista salary in one of the nation’s most expensive and fastest growing cities. I risk my security and safety by fighting to stay afloat in a city and in a nation that doesn’t see the value of artists in a capitalist society. And yet, it’s the music community that keeps me in Austin. It’s a big city with a small town feel, and I’ve cultivated a chosen family of friends and peers that are part of this larger vibration within the scene. We’re in such an exciting time for Austin music; I want to be aware of this moment and cherish it.

I’ve started thinking about risks a bit differently as I get older. Not long ago I walked home in the dark on Menchaca, thinking with the car lights it was fairly safe. Instead it was absolutely terrifying as cars flew over the hill and sent violent gusts of cold air into my face. Once I reached my street I noticed for maybe the first time how dark it is, and how few street lights there actually are. I saw with so much clarity what an unnecessary risk I had taken in walking alone at night. This is something my younger self would have done with abandon, probably while raging drunk. Again and again there are examples of me being reckless with my own life. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to hold every version of me and tell them I’ll never leave them, that they were always enough. I want to channel whatever message the universe transmits through me–the universe experiencing itself with gentle curiosity.

This past week we went on a mini tour to Ft. Worth, San Marcos, and San Antonio. It’s wild to think about now, but two years ago I was booking tours just to cancel them as Covid numbers rose. Every time I decided to try again only to have to send out dozens of cancellations at a time. But I persisted–it’s something I’ve always done, but not always noticed. My friend Lark told me yesterday that I’m a survivor. I am now living in the time I thought would never come–shifting from survival to intentionality and presence. This present existence is finite and precious, something I’m learning anew every time I’m asked to let go. I want to embrace the idea that radical, transformative love is absolutely impossible without the deepest pain and loss.Both are intricately woven into the fabric of my soul’s journey.

Growth hasn’t been and never will be linear, but I continue to wake up every day to new, beautiful parts of me hiding under the scar tissue. I have created safety within myself and therefore it’s safe to be tender, to share with the world that they are safe to do the same. I want to keep telling stories through song, and around campfires, and in sacred spaces. I want to build something that lasts knowing that nothing is ever created or destroyed, only changed.

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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 am a musician in Austin, TX, originally from Knoxville, TN, where I attended University of Tennessee for a BFA in Graphic Design. I worked as a designer in Knoxville and continue to freelance to support my focus on music and touring. I am most proud of pushing forward when all seemed to be lost and to transmute pain through song. I am proud of choosing happiness instead of bitterness. I am (still) proud to live in Austin, TX.

I want folks who might listen to Half Dream to know that they are inherently valuable and loved and that nothing could ever change that or take it away. It is a true gift to be witnessed in vulnerability, and I am honored to share my stories and my heart with you.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

We applied for SXSW 3-4 times before being accepted, and even then we were on stand by until the last minute. I really do believe persistence is 90 percent of it. I emailed KUTX for every release of the 202o EP until one day to my shock and delight there was a response from the program director in a year old email thread.

I’ve been rejected in every which way you can imagine, both professionally and personally. I had to attend to the details of my life and heart and learn to really (really) get comfortable with loss before I could unlock the opportunities that awaited me. I do think often of the adage: to whom much is given, much is tested.” I take that responsibility more seriously today than I ever have.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew that I didn’t have to be in constant pain to create good art. I didn’t know that I didn’t have to exploit my own sadness to illustrate a point, but that I had every right to. I wish I had started therapy at a young age to help speed the process of recovery that has facilitated the success I have now. I would love to highlight Capital Area Counseling, SIMS foundation, and Open Path therapy. I mention therapy at every show in conjunction with introducing a song I wrote in one of the darkest times of my life. I want folks to know that suffering is optional and support exists. Sometimes you have to throw yourself the life preserver to be rescued.

Contact Info:

• Website: halfdreammusic.com
• Instagram: @halfdreammusic
• Facebook: facebook.com/halfdreammusic
• Twitter: twitter.com/halfdreammusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPNW-NuZ3BwE3uoecw_HwEA

Image Credits
1st set: Jay Ybarra 2nd set: Ali Ditto