This year is……different

The overhead Christmas music singing about being separated from the people we love, a little too on the nose.

The songs about this being the most wonderful time of the year feeling almost absurd. And, as a person with a bunch of potential gifts in my store, it feels important to acknowledge that.

This is not a normal year, and whatever you are feeling - from deeply embracing the traditions to create a haven of comfort or feeling profoundly weirded out by them, it’s a natural human response to situation we’re finding ourselves in.

To be honest, it’s BECAUSE this year is so different that I even have “gifts” in the first place.

Normally, I kind of lay low this time of year. Play a few shows in the mountains, snag a “holiday” party that is in no way a holiday party for a corporate office or two. And maybe mention that download stickers make decent stocking stuffers for the indie-curious in your life.

I wouldn’t need to focus on gifts online, so much, because most of my income comes from performances any way, and I’m more of a Winter Solstice girl than a “Holiday” girl.

But this year, it’s different. And to act like it’s not is at once inauthentic and kind of gas-lighting.

I haven’t been able to work in months, and many of you haven’t either. We’re having to be conscientious and cautious about if we gather and how we gather to protect our more vulnerable family members (if not ourselves).

There’s existential dread on a level we haven’t experienced within modern memory, not just from the pain of having to stay separate, but also feeling like we’re losing momentum around our dreams and goals as we struggle through the very basics of survival.

P.S. I wrote a solstice song for this year that goes way more in depth about these feelings that you can watch over on IGTV or on The Feral Folk Facebook page.

Instead of paste-ing on some plastic smile and a Santa hat, I’ve created a few offerings in my store to help you make the most of this reality that we are in.

Digital House shows are private online concerts for you and the friends and family of your choice. The goal isn’t just to be performed to, it’s to make a memory with each other that is unique enough to stick, with the option of adding on Download stickers for attendees to have a moment.

Feral Telegrams are specially recorded video performances of a message and a song that you can send to someone you care about to say, well, whatever you want to say and it can also be upgraded to add on a download sticker.

And, of course, YES. Download stickers still make great stocking stuffers, but this year I encourage you to invite the gift receiver to one of my free live concerts. Make a memory with them. Share your favorite song. Use the music as a means for deepening your relationship, not just a thing to fulfill an obligation.

Different doesn’t have to be bad, but first we have to accept, to a certain extent the reality we are in. Different can also mean freedom from overwhelming expectations. Different can help us get clear on what traditions really matter to us, and which we maintain on auto-pilot. Most importantly, different can engage our creativity and innovation in the face of challenges to make memories that will last a lifetime.

If you feel one of my new services can help you do that, check out my store.

A Dystopian sort of December