I can’t write songs at the moment. I sit at my keyboard, play a chord and nothing inspires me. But that’s ok, it’ll come back. I’ve had writer’s block enough times to know it is impermanent like everything else. So I’ve started writing poems again, one a day after my morning meditation practice.

This morning it is stormy here in the Australian bush, the wind blowing the rain sideways. We’ve had so much rain the grass grows tall and so green it hurts your eyes to look at it. In the evenings the wallabies come to graze. They don’t seem to mind us.

The start of January is always a difficult time for me after the high of Christmas (yes I am like a small child). It’s hard to get going again, to get focused. But I have a new album to finish that is five years in the making and now at last we can see the end in sight. I have a new book to publish and an album of instrumental cello music to record. And a tour of south-east Queensland to promote.

All these are my reasons for being, reasons to stave off the black dog snapping at my heels. We are all stressed, we are all anxious about what will happen next. I hope 2022 will see the end of the pandemic and I will be able to travel to see my family again for the first time in over 2 years. I miss them more than they know.

But my life is here, in the bush, with the trees and the wallabies and the mist that comes creeping down the Obi Obi valley at dawn. I know why I am here and what it is I must do. To sing songs to people, to compose music, to write poems, to play my part in this crazy world we live in. Hope is a potent elixir. So I sit at my keyboard, play a chord and wait for inspiration to come…

Yesterday I went to Caboolture Hospital and sang some of my songs for patients and staff in their mental health facilities. Also performing were the Mindfulness Poet Brendan O’Shea, Cardie Boydell who did an incredible rendition of Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’, Cecelia Scahill who organised the event and sang backing vocals and singer-songwriter Kaycee Morgan who is a peer support worker there and has the most beautiful voice.

I am passionate about the benefits of music for mental health and I used to do a lot of gigs in mental health hospitals in the UK. I hope I will be able to do more here in Australia.

In other news, I am delighted to be performing on New Year’s Eve at Bushtime, the wonderful summer camp organised by Woodfordia who run Woodford Folk Festival on the same site. I’ll be on the Troubadour stage with Christian at 4pm. The perfect way to see out the year.  Tickets are on sale now.

Hope all’s well in your world.

xx

I’m very happy to announce the release of ‘The Collection’, a double album of songs selected by me from my albums ‘Stranger Place’, ‘Keep Walking’, ‘Believer’, ‘Bird Inside A Cage’ and ‘A Bit Of Blue’.

‘The Collection’ is a kind of ‘Best Of’, if you like. All the songs I’ve ever recorded for my albums are dear to my heart so it was hard to choose but I hope I’ve included your favourites – please see the track list.

You can order ‘The Collection’ now through the shop on my website. Postal services between the UK and Australia are still very delayed so bear in mind it might take a few weeks to arrive.

My new poetry book ‘Words With Wings’ was featured on ABC Radio Sunshine Coast the other day. I’ve had some amazing feedback about the poems, particularly the digital album of me reading them accompanied by my own piano music. One person said it was like ‘a box of chocolates’. Can’t get much higher praise than that!

Hope all’s well in your world.

xx

“The poems in this book are all pieces of my heart.  I give them to you in the hope that the words will speak to you, that they will be words with wings to uplift, comfort and inspire.  There is so much space and beauty inside all of us, there is so much potential.”

I’ve just published a new book of poetry called ‘Words With Wings’.  Inspired by my life in the Australian bush and my daily meditation practice, these poems are my thoughts about the meaning of life and the world around us.

The book ‘Words With Wings’ includes a download link to a digital album of me reading all the poems accompanied by my own original piano music (you can hear an example in the video below).  This digital album is also available separately from the book.

You can order your copy of the book, or just the album if you prefer, here.

Big love and thanks to everyone who supported me on my Sunshine Coast Hinterland tour. We had such a great time. The last night at The Majestic Theatre on Saturday was the icing on the cake.

Thank you to my amazing band: Sarah King (violin/viola), Louise King (cello) and Christian Dunham (bass). Thanks also to our sound technicians Michael Whiticker and Mac.  A special thank you to Yvette Nielsen, Kristy Xavier and Jodie Archbold for all your help.  And to Henry Glover for his wonderful photos.

I have been overwhelmed with the audience feedback – a huge thank you to all of you who sent me messages. It means a great deal.

You can see more photos by Henry Glover on my Facebook Community Page.  If you would like me to let you know when I’m touring again, please join my mailing list.

Hope to see you all again very soon.

xx

Thanks to all the people who came to Eudlo Hall last night to see my Hinterland show with Sarah King (violin/viola), Louise King (cello) and Christian Dunham (bass). I was quite overwhelmed by the audience reaction. It’s just so great to be out playing live music again.  Thanks to Henry Glover for the photo.

We’re looking forward very much to doing it all again next Saturday night at Maleny Community Centre. There are still some tickets left but please book soon if you would like to be there. We also play the beautiful Majestic Theatre in Pomona on Saturday 25 September.

Tickets for these gigs are $30/$25 concessions available through TryBooking. Tickets will be refunded in the event of a lockdown.

https://emilymaguire.com/hinterland-tour-2021/

Please spread the word if you have friends or family locally who might like to come.  If you’ve got tickets, it will be lovely to see you there.

 

Time has flown again. I saw a big black snake on the dirt track yesterday which means it’s nearly spring.

I’ve been composing lots of short cello pieces which I absolutely love doing. I’ve also finished a new poetry project called ‘Words With Wings’ which I’ll tell you all about next time, once the books arrive from the printer.

Life on the farm is quiet. The veggie garden is still derelict but I’m hoping to get some seedlings at the market tomorrow and plant a few of the beds before it gets too hot. The dogs are having a lovely time stalking the chickens in the orchard but the chooks don’t seem to have too much trouble in getting away. The goats enjoy the occasional fight but spend most of their days lying in the dairy waiting for their next meal.

I’m looking forward very much to my Hinterland tour next month, while hoping and praying we don’t get locked down again. If we do, we’ll refund all the tickets and make another date.

You can watch the sneak preview of the show and book tickets here.  If you can come, it would be lovely to see you there.

xx

ps. a very chatty butcher bird on our veranda…

One of the joys of being bipolar is the immense relief and gratitude you feel when you come out of a depressive episode. I find myself feeling that it was all somehow worth it, just for that feeling of coming out of the darkness into the light. I’ve now managed to record the last vocals for my new album (I can’t sing when I’m depressed) so after months we’ve been able to take down the huge mattress tardis in the middle of our living room (you can see a video in my Facebook Community Group).

I’m in charge of the chickens on the farm who are now free range. Thankfully the dogs don’t seem to be interested in them (having been completely obsessed when the chooks were behind a wire fence). So every afternoon I go to feed the chickens and say hello to the goats who bleat pitifully at me despite having been fed five minutes earlier. Dusk is my favourite moment of the day. I sit on the veranda watching the sunset across the valley and listening to the birds as they fly home to roost. Last night a huge flock of black cockatoos were the last to disappear before it went dark.

Tickets for my Sunshine Coast Hinterland tour in September are now on sale. I can’t wait to be back on stage with Christian and two amazing string players, the violinist Sarah King and her sister, the cellist Louise King. We’ll be performing at Eudlo Hall (11 Sept), Maleny Community Centre (18 Sept) and The Majestic Theatre in Pomona (25 Sept). Places are limited so please book early if you would like to come. Here’s a booking link with a live video of us performing with Sarah and Louise last year:

https://emilymaguire.com/hinterland-tour-2021/

Please share this link with any local friends or family you think might like to come – I’d be so grateful if you can help us spread the word.

In the meantime, this Saturday (26 June) I’m performing with Christian on the deck at the beautiful permaculture commune Crystal Waters where no pets are allowed so kangaroos wander around all over the place. Tickets are $15 on the door. And I’m looking forward very much to hearing acapella group The Daisy Chain Trio when I perform at Brisbane Unplugged Gigs (The BUg) next Tuesday. Tickets are $10 available on the door. Here is all the info: .

Hope all’s well in your world.

xx

I am delighted to say that if you wish you can now follow me on Bandcamp. It is a home for independent artists like me who would like the opportunity to make a living from their music. My five studio albums are up now on my Bandcamp site and I’ve written new liner notes about each one.  You can download individual tracks, albums or my whole digital discography.

Here is the link if you would like to follow me on Bandcamp: https://emilymaguire.bandcamp.com/

And please spread the word if you have friends you think might like my songs.  Thanks so much for your support.

We are now halfway through recording the vocals for my new album.  Endless cups of lemon, ginger and honey, waiting for planes overhead to pass, waiting for cars on the dirt track to disappear…

And actually, surprisingly, considering I am basically recording in a stand-up coffin, I am really enjoying it!  There’s something about the enclosed space, the black sides, the total lack of anything to look at, which is really focusing my mind on the song in my ears.

Christian, who is engineering, has the patience of a saint.  ‘Again’ is the word most used in any of our recording sessions – we are both perfectionists.  And this is the first time I’ve heard the strings we recorded months ago with Sarah King on violin and viola and me on cello.  They sound so lovely.

I am getting very excited about this record!  Can’t wait for you to hear it…

You can see a video of our recording ‘tardis’ in my Facebook Community Group.