Sure, I can mix it up with the best of the kids out there and quote you Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift lyrics. And I have enough discernment not to confuse Michael Bublé for Frank Sinatra. But who's speaking for me -- the person who can appreciate all of that, but doesn't really resonate with any of it fully? Where's the new music for grownups?
Until now, we have been relegated to oldies concerts with perpetual re-releases of the same songs we already know -- not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that it's not enough. I want to be excited about something new, the kind of songs that make me feel understood and hopeful instead of merely wistful, the kind of songs that make you call your friends and say, "You've got to hear this song!"
Enter Blue Sky Riders, a group comprised of Kenny Loggins, Gary Burr, and Georgia Middleman. It stands to reason that it would take an already established star to courageously lead the rest of us to a new frontier of music that reflects both the life we have lived and the dreams we have yet to. It's a bold move to start over in a business that would have us believe that life ended at thirty.
So when I went to hear a Kenny Loggins concert this week, I was really going for the opening act (no disrespect intended, Kenny). Sure, Georgia and Gary are two fellow Nashville songwriters whose work I've listened to and loved locally for years, but this was something new. This was my chance to see whether we are indeed "too old to dream," as one of the new songs in their set put it.
My conclusion? Hell no! And what a welcome relief to hear meaningful lyrics and melodies that you can walk away singing. So yes, maybe hope does spring eternal for this singer/songwriter. Maybe I just want to know that infinite possibilities exist for all of us at any age in any area. So I'm rooting for the new paradigm in an industry that has historically catered to 14-year-olds. I'm saying a prayer that three talented people can change the conversation to reflect the largest forgotten demographic -- that broad spectrum of us who are no longer kids but not quite up to hip replacement either.
Blue Sky Riders opens for Kenny Loggins this summer, but begins headlining their own shows this fall, with a new CD coming out early next year. Check them out. You'll be humming a new tune once you do.
Me? I'll be working on my own new playlist.