It was such a delight to attend Folk at Magdas last Saturday night.

After hearing my children perform at the launch of Magic Fish Dreaming  in October Merv has been persistently and gently encouraging them to attend and perform at this regular event hosted at Magdas.

We began by attending one last year to see what it was like, and have also been back to attend a concert by a fantastic guitar duo earlier this year (Magdas are also involved in the Brisbane International Guitar Festival), but finally this weekend my children were ready to perform there once again.

They had a ball.

They’ve since decided to name their duo, come up with a style of how they dress, and work on their performance banter, as they loved the storytelling of some of the performers on the night.  They are going to write some original material as well as do covers, and have offered to set some of my poems to music.  So watch this space.

They are persuading their older brother (a brilliant guitarist who is still shy to perform much in public and who secretly has the most beautiful rich deep voice to share with the world) to join their duo and make it a trio!

There is nothing like seeing your children find their confidence, and  seeing them nurtured and given opportunities by others.  This is dear friends, the power of community.

What I love about Magdas is how community minded they are and the opportunities to meet other creatives and people who love the arts there.

The MC of the evening Caroline Hammond had a great chat with me, and her and Jodi Murtha, who recently put out a debut album, brilliant voice and songs, had lovely things to say about my children’s efforts and their set.  I thank them so much for their warmth!

I share this story, not just as a proud mum, which of course I was, but as a creative nurturing young people.  Nurture your little ones to write their poems, and write their songs.  Enrich their lives with art and find community events that will support them in a caring way to develop their talents.  Connect with other artists, writers, musicians and it will enrich your life too.

A big thank you to Magdas and the amazing sound man  and other black board musicians for making our first Folk at Magdas a great night.  Sorry we couldn’t stay for the whole evening!

If you live in Brisbane, or are ever passing through, join their facebook page and subscribe to their newsletter.  A great venue, showing its love and support for the community through the arts.

NEXT  MAGIC FISH DREAMING EVENT

I have a book signing in a couple of weeks.  I’ll read you a poem, sign your book, and am happy to chat about how we can keep nurturing the creativity of the young people of our community.

Stones on May 27th, 11am-1pm