Magical Nights During a Rainy Long Weekend

Can I just say that I am so happy that Trevor Tchir and Kristy McKay came to visit us Ottawa folks for the long weekend! It was so nice to see their friendly faces once again. I was reminded of all of the fun and magical times we shared over the past few years while hanging out at Cafe Nostalgica.Trevor and Kristy now live in Edmonton where Trevor is currently working on his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Alberta. Trevor released his third CD, "Wooden Castles Fall" on Saturday to a packed house of loyal fans and friends at Zaphod's in Ottawa. It was one amazing party. I am so proud of Trevor. We all had such a magical time. Performing on that stage was a blast. When I wasn't dancing on stage, I was dancing in the audience and loving every minute of it! It's such an amazing experience when you look at the audience and see them singing all of the words to the songs including the ones off of the new album!

I've had many more special moments this weekend, having performed four concerts within the past three days. I'm exhausted now but it was all worth it as every moment on that stage was truly special.

Playing at the Manx on Sunday night with Yael Wand and Trevor Tchir was such a fun time. Just as I thought - Trevor and Yael were the perfect match for a magical musical evening. I was singing and smiling along the entire night, playing a bunch of songs with Yael and Trevor. Fun times, that's for sure. I have missed performing with Yael so it was a real treat to perform with her once again at my favourite Ottawa pub. We get to play on Toronto Island together next Friday along with Lindsay Ferguson and Matthew Barber which I am super excited about...

Earlier on Sunday evening, I performed with Melissa Laveaux for her Bluesfest audition. The audience absolutely loved it and we had a packed house. I definitely think Melissa deserves to get into this year's festival and will be keeping my fingers crossed for her. We had such a great time performing together that evening despite the gloomy rain lingering outside. I've been working lots on the rhythmic aspects of my improvisation lately and definitely felt a great step in the right direction during Melissa and my performance. I had so many audience members approach me afterwards to compliment me on my flutin'. My favourite comment was from an older woman who told me that I was one of the most soulful musicians she has ever heard. Won't forget that one anytime soon, that's for sure. It's interesting how so many people have approached me over the past three days to tell me how much they enjoy my flutin', much more than usual. Maybe that's a good sign... It makes the world of difference to hear that sort of stuff, especially at a time like this when my confidence is at an all-time low. I've had a number of personal blows over the past week which has been a real challenge but those moments when a stranger has complimented me have been golden and has really helped me out a lot.

This story probably will be kind of funny to you...So I'm not sure if any of you are aware of the fact that I am always wearing a hat these days. Trying to grow my hair out and so the hat has become a standard part of the Rozalind look. I absolutely hate growing my hair out as I currently feel like the ugly duckling everywhere I go! The hat sort of makes me feel invisible, even though everyone tells me that it looks good. I think everyone's just trying to be nice. I just can't wait until my hair's at a point when I can let it out of that damn hat without being totally embarassed with how it looks. Almost chopped it off this weekend but many friends coaxed me out of it, encouraging me to stick with it. Well, once again, a total stranger really saved the day today with his kind words. This charming French guy who I met was chatting with me... When we exchanged names, he totally made me smile by telling me about the meaning of my name in Spanish. Apparently the equivalent of Rozalind translates closely to "beautiful rose." Imagine a cute guy with the most charming accent and the most beautiful smile, sharing that with me during one of my most ugly duckling moments of all! It felt so good and warmed my heart. I'm telling you, that guy put such a smile on my face and it remained there for a number of hours afterwards. He probably never had a clue how magical those words would be for me to hear but the timing could not have been more perfect. It just goes to show that we can often touch another person's heart without even knowing it, just from sharing some kind or meaningful words. We can make such a difference in someone's day with a simple smile or a kind gesture. Food for thought...

OK, gots to go as my bed is calling out my name...Oh, but some exciting news first... It looks like In Support of Living's self-titled album is reaching the college radio charts! ISOL is #4 on CHUO this week. Very cool! Can't wait to play at the Elmo with them on Friday...

Warm Wishes,

Love Rozalind