Life and Work with Heatherlyn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heatherlyn.

So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m frequently asked how I got into music, and I would say music got into me first!
My mom has said for years that I was singing even before I was talking. I have memories of making up little songs in my car seat while along for a ride. They would be about anything, basically narrating, through my simple childlike melodies, what I knew of my little life and stories I’d heard.

My first performances and leading groups of people in singing happened in church and in school. I was a tiny person with a big voice and everyone wanted me to sing for them. I was leading “This Little Light of Mine” around 4 or 5 years old. 🙂

When my birthdays began to be in the double digits, I was writing actual songs with a bit more structure – they were about butterflies and friends, jingles about toothpaste and state slogans on license plates. Haha!

There were a lot of people around me who encouraged me to sing. My Aunt Donna and Uncle Doug got me a karaoke machine for Christmas one year; and my grandma, all the way up until she passed when I was in middle school, she LOVED for me to create tapes of me singing pretty much anything to her. I’m grateful for that.

There were also many things and some individuals that pretty much told me I didn’t have what it takes. Raised by a single mom with high school education and no child support to fill in the financial gaps, we were cared for within community and family, but we were under-resourced for lessons and instruments. I learned things here and there from kind grown-up friends, played my neighbors piano or played the piano in the choir room after school each day. I picked up the guitar in college, where I earned scholarships and took out loans to attend a fantastic music program near Boston; but the pressure got to me. I often felt inadequate and I also knew I didn’t want to sing classically. So, not being entirely sure of what course to take, I ended up switching my focus and got degrees in theology and youth ministry. The adolescent spiritual formation and family psychology studies available to me through that program lead me to work on my own childhood traumas and the theology studies began my personal deconstruction process which ultimately lead me to my own authentic spiritual path. Sometimes, I regret not continuing my music studies, but I know deeply that the personal formation I needed at the time was greatly supported by the classes I turned toward. I’m grateful for how they continue to inform my awareness as I now curate inter-spiritual sacred spaces of healing through music.

Following college, I worked for a few years in a couple of different churches as a worship minister and I also worked directly with youth who wanted to lead song. It was a lot of fun and I was great at it! However, there was a point when I realized I was getting burned out, not because I was investing so much in the artistic, musical, and leadership development of those incredible young people, but because I was neglecting my own. I had forgotten that my life force energy is in creating and singing for others – that this is what makes me come alive and it’s how I love people – and my wells were totally dry.

So, at 25 years of age, I had a quarter-life crisis – haha! – and as my life partner, Jason, and I were considering the next steps in our life together, I recalled that there was never a time when I didn’t want to write songs, record them, and travel to sing them for people. I had always wanted to do that! Somehow then, I knew in the deepest way of knowing that I would both regret and resent my life if I didn’t do something about this, and I’m so grateful he was supportive and shared a dream with me! It’s a long story, but we eventually took turns leaving behind our regular-paycheck-jobs, and we hit the road together in 2010.

Jason is also a brilliant artist with lighting design and he’s a masterful sound-scaper. So, we just called and emailed everyone we knew in different parts of the country and we’ve been producing house concerts and backyard shows together ever since! We’ve faced a lot of uncertainty and hardship, not always knowing how we’d get bills paid; but there are also many risks we couldn’t have taken without the immense support of friends, family, and simply people who believe in what we have to offer through music and creating these experiences, which I believe are life-giving, healing experiences of beauty and honesty – at least, I hope so. 🙂 I can’t count how many times we’d be on the road and issue a call out on social media for support for new tires, and the Heatherlyn Music community totally came through.

Over the years, we’ve had a chance to work with some incredible organizations and projects, collaborating for a more equitable, just, and whole communities and society. We’ve also faced many challenges and have sought to create a sustainable, community-based way of creating a livelihood. I’m not sure the general public knows how challenging many of the systems set up around music and the arts can be for your independent artists. There’s a parallel in the music industry to the 90/10% in the rest of the population. Most of the very famous top hit songs you hear on the radio are written by the same handful of songwriters. The gig economy demands that you work without pay to get the work with pay and sometimes those gigs barely pay; and it can get incredibly overwhelming. Some venues even require you to pay-to-play; and I personally think that’s so dishonoring of artist’s gifts to our communities! I have gotten sick a number of times being my own booking agent as well as the director of marketing and communications just before going out on tour and managing my own tour, you know? I’m also proud of how hard we’ve worked and I’m grateful for some incredible experiences, people I’ve gotten to know, and places I’ve seen all because I answered the call of music unabashedly and with my whole being. Even though the gig economy has wreaked havoc on my psyche, my sense of worth and worthiness – I’m in therapy for all of this; I’m glad that Jason and I have always been dedicated to as much as possible cultivating within ourselves a mindset of abundance and practices of generosity. We’ve always kept it real about the difficulties of bush-whacking an uncharted path through the ever-changing music world; and all the while, we’ve sure never stopped being grateful.

A couple of years ago, we moved to Denver from Minneapolis for health and well-being. I have chronic environmental allergies and chemical sensitivities and we both have (self-diagnosed) Seasonal Affective Disorder; so we’re healthier in this climate and we felt drawn to connect with the community we’d be developing during each of our tour stops through here over the past decade.

As we began to consider a transition here, we also knew we probably needed to slow down our touring schedule for a bit. For a few years, we were on the road nearly constantly – we’ve been literally all over the US, in Canada, the UK, and Australia. We’re so grateful for all the friends and chosen family we’ve made around the world. We’d been live-streaming our house concerts regularly, and we decided to start an intentional LIVE Online with Heatherlyn series utilizing the Facebook LIVE to remain in touch with folks we’ve met along the way and to build our Patreon/patron community. This has been a lifesaver for us and made it possible for me to keep creating and sharing gifts via various mediums. When you become a patron of Heatherlyn Music, you receive exclusive updates and first listens. You can get in on witnessing my creative process and know that you’re a part of something good and beautiful, passing along the medicine of music to others!

I’m currently in a bit of a season of recalibrating, desiring to renew my vision, build a local band and some other teams around me. I’m revitalizing my various offerings since I’m a singer/songwriter, a yoga teacher and meditation guide, a healer; I can create a variety of experiences and services! You’ll soon see a revamping of our website and all that jazz. I’m looking at a variety of projects on the horizon and figuring out how to prioritize and fund those!

My most recent music release, produced by my dear friend and collaborator, Ben Grace is my Being Breathed EP, and I love for everyone to check that out online! It’s streaming everywhere thanks to our friend Keith Dixon and his small record label in the UK.

Through my LIVE Online with Heatherlyn series, I create an in-depth talk show called Storydwelling. To us, that’s “cultivating a courageous, compassionate curiosity for ourselves and one another”. Each episode, I have a guest share their story with us, and I weave LIVE song throughout our conversation. I’m so grateful for each and every story we get to hear and learn from as we practice deeply listening together. I believe this series is so valuable, creating quality content that offers an honest look at real lives and beautiful, hopeful work in our world. This is a significant independent production that our patron community supports! So, really, maybe I should say it’s an interdependent production. 😉

If you’re at all interested in a progressive church space where an honest and gritty spirituality is more or less what we practice together; where the messages are interdisciplinary (theology, philosophy, anthropology, psychology…) the LGBTQIA+ community is fully included, celebrated, and in leadership; where spiritual bypassing is avoided and doubt is encouraged rather than shunned; where we know we don’t always get it right, but we’re working to be anti-racist; where your story matters and you really are welcome to be you exactly as you are and no one will try to change you – you can come see me most Saturdays (5PM) leading song at Left Hand Community Church in Longmont where I’m affectionately (though not formally, haha!) called the Minister of Magic. 🙂

I have a couple of Holiday House Concerts coming up in the Denver area! Save the dates DEC 6 and 13 and connect to my social media for updates and details to come on those! It’s one of my favorite times of the year and I’ve personally experienced it as a very painful time of year. I seek to hold space for all the things in my Holiday shows. We laugh and cry and keep it real.

Stay tuned for the online series and for more local shows!

Any advice for other women, particularly young women who are just starting their journey?
Gosh, I’m sure I’d have a lot to learn from them as they are more native to the way social media communication works. I see creative millennials gathering around each other to lift up one another’s gifts, and it’s a beautiful thing!

I do believe that part of why there have been so many financial struggles for us is because I’m the face of our tiny operation and I’m a woman and whether subconsciously or not, I’ve often wondered if folks don’t realize we both need to create our livelihoods as well as cover the costs of our work.

It seems to me there a pervasive mindset that musicians will play for exposure, for some reason, forgetting that we can’t pay our bills with “exposure” or even gratitude and love and encouragement, however well-meaning and heartfelt.

I would say: Adhere to your truth. Know your values and let them guide you.

If you’re invited to contribute to an event or cause that really resonates with your heart and you really want to do it, even if you’re not paid well, as long as you feel valued in some way, you get to choose and do that event if you want to! Build relationships and collaborate with the event organizers to make sure there’s a plan in place to meaningfully connect as many people as possible back to you and your work.

Alternatively, if there’s an event for pay that your heart isn’t really into, but it could help support other aspects of your work, be sure to name a fee that might also account for your emotional labor and additional recovery time.

Keep it real. Have fun. And embrace the people around you who want to help you with your vision!

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
For clarity… the Storydwelling series I mentioned is one of the things we create that I’m most proud of.

I think my bent toward story and spirituality and knowing music is my medicine are perhaps things that might set me apart.

There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that a lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
I’m still working on this since I still sort of new to the area! My approach is simply getting out to events and experiences where there are other musicians, creatives, and social entrepreneurs. Since my heart is so much into my work with Storydwelling, I’m loving connecting with the Soul Stories Denver community. I’m excited about hitting up all the open mics I’ve been hearing about too! I also really enjoy Sofar Shows – for me, that’s the absolute best way to enjoy and meet other singer/songwriters!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.heatherlynmusic.com
• Email: heatherlyn@heatherlynmusic.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/heatherlynmusic
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/heatherlynmusic
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/heatherlynmusic
• Other: http://youtube.com/heatherlynmusic

Image Credit:
Nick Velharticky, Amanda Cruz, Jason Hamilton-Chronis, Makeup (in a couple of those) Aurora Ix Chel

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