One of my big passions in recent years has been picking up my acoustic Fender guitar and singing my heart out. However, getting to perform on stage with highly experienced artists takes this passion to a whole new level.
I was lucky enough to participate in the inaugural SongSight Better Together Alumni Concert last fall. This event – and a few others leading up to it –are the brainchild of Scott MacIntyre, a 2009 American Idol finalist who happens to be blind.
Let’s briefly go back to November of 2022. That’s when I was selected to attend the first-ever SongSight Music Mentoring Retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona. During this unique gathering, I joined six other visually impaired artists for a powerful weekend with Scott and some of his top connections from the music industry. We performed our favorite songs for each other, learned about songwriting, talked about accessibility in making and recording music, and recorded an original group song called “Let the Light in.” I remember flying home and feeling so empowered after that weekend. A second retreat then took place last April for a new crop of attendees, where another single was born, “Better Together.”
Scott had mentioned the idea of putting on a live concert, and the attendees of each retreat seemed very interested. So, he and his team got to work and planned two performances for late October at Steinway Hall, a venue that’s inside the Steinway piano store in Scottsdale.
Five of us from both retreats came together for this exciting experience. We spent lots of time rehearsing at our hotel and at the venue, and of course fueling our bodies with several delicious meals. Then the big day finally arrived. Scott and his team assembled a set list featuring a nice mix of music that would incorporate the five of us and even his wife, Christina, their two kids, and some other talented instrumentalists.
Joe Giacinto, a tremendous clarinet player, led off the show with a dazzling rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” He later played a peppy version of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Vocalist Z’Leah Liburd sang “You’re Not Alone,” an original piece conceived at this year’s retreat. Mariana Florez collaborated with Scott and Christina to sing “Santiana,” a sea shanty from the Mexican-American War era of the 1850s. Lizzie Dunn played “A Century of Love,” a beautiful piano composition she wrote for her grandfather’s 100th birthday. Scott and his family also performed a few other selections, including “This Land is Your Land” and a medley promoting their Dr. Seuss-inspired “Seussical the Musical.”
My choice? “I Won’t Back Down” from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I wanted to perform this song for multiple reasons. First off, it’s just a great song to sing and have fun with. I also thought the message of not backing down in spite of adversity was quite appropriate for this concert. Plus, my dad, a longtime trumpet player, is a big Petty fan and even went to school with some of the Heartbreakers in Gainesville, Florida. It was so cool that we got to perform on stage together for the first time. What an honor it was to be accompanied by Scott on piano and vocals and Ray on percussion.
There were four group songs, including “Let the Light in,” an “Amazing Grace”/“You Raise Me Up” mashup, “Better Together,” and “Lean on Me.” I love sharing the stage with everyone for these songs, and I felt like we complemented each other quite well in terms of our vocal ranges and abilities. (Having my guide dog, Goldie, on stage for a few of the songs was neat too!)
For the first time, I also got to experience working with a makeup artist for these performances. I was a bit nervous about having to wear makeup, but thankfully it was just a tiny bit of powder on my forehead, nose, and cheeks. Sharon Rodriguez, a longtime friend of Scott’s who is an expert at this kind of stuff, immediately put me at ease when I met her.
For me, collaborating with other artists opens my mind to new ideas and helps me improve in so many ways as a musician. It’s also just plain cool to share the stage with others in order to put on a show that we can all contribute to and be proud of when the crowd applauds. Not only was it empowering to collaborate with these artists, but the fact we could all relate on our visual impairments made the experience so much more meaningful. I think some of the lyrics we all sang really summed up how we all felt afterward: “Every shadow… every unknown…Fades away when our voices collide… We’re better together.”
(Learn more about how you can support and get involved in the SongSight Music Mentoring Retreat for blind and visually impaired artists.)