Sydney Leyerle
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
Singer, songwriter and mom, Amy Helm, will be celebrating the release of her new album at the Black Swamp Arts Festival.
On Friday, Helm will be releasing her fourth album titled “Silver City.” The very next day she will be performing at the arts festival where she said she will be singing some of her new songs.
This album will be a bit different than her other records as Helm said it is like a series of letters written to younger versions of herself and other women.
“All of the stories in the record are focused on different stories about being a woman, being a single mom, being a hard touring singer, raising kids, being just all the kind of seasons that we walk through in our lives, experiencing the world as women,” Helm said.
The album is something Helm said she relates to a lot and hopes her listeners will understand the stories and make the songs their own.
“I hope they take the songs and make them their own and put their own stories into it,” Helm said.
Music has been a part of her life since she was a child as her father was also a musician. Helm began playing in bands and really loving music when she was a teenager and since then has continued to do what she loves.
Through music, Helm said she found a sense of belonging and was able to put aside her anxieties and just enjoy the opportunities she had.
“For me with music, it was like it was a sense of completion and a sense of belonging, where I could just be on stage singing to somebody,” Helm said.
Helm isn’t just a musician, she’s also a mother. While she said it can be hard to balance her music career and being a mother, she has found a community of people who help her every step of the way.
Like herself, Helm’s children get to grow up around music which is something Helm said she loves seeing.
“I think it’s a beautiful thing for any young person to pursue playing music, listening to music, enjoying music, finding themselves in it,” Helm said. “So, I loved having the opportunity to do that growing up in my family, and now I get to see my kids and their friends just doing an extraordinary job finding their way creatively and I find it really inspiring to be around it.”
Helm will be playing at the Black Swamp Arts Festival on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Main Stage. Her performance will feature herself and her band and she said it will be energetic with people dancing and just having a good time.
“I hope people feel good,” Helm said. “I mean, I really dig finishing a set and watching people dance and have fun and kind of have a good time and just leave feeling a little bit lifted up.”
Amy Helm
Amy Helm will be performing at the Black Swamp Arts Festival on Saturday at 8 p.m. on the Main Stage.
