Welcome to The Vinyl Sessions, a combination of highlights from the 2022 episodes, and some new content centered around the art and influence of music.

This time of year, it can be very difficult for many, myself included. Holidays are stressful in their own category. I still grieve the loss of my parents around this time of year and continue to process grief and loss of my mother, who passed in January 2021. Not a day goes by where I don’t think of each of them and what they would want for me. And of course, I ask them for their guidance from above in my life and for whatever influence they can give to help my Georgia Bulldogs to victory on game day. I can struggle in processing my grief, but I know that I am not alone at this time of year.

When I enter the “darkness”, music has been an uplifting medicine to keep me afloat, re-energize my body, and stimulate my mind. I love discovering new music, sharing new music, and talking about music.  John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (simply called “the Book” in my hometown of Savannah), was quoted as saying:

Someone once wrote that musicians are touched on the shoulder by God, and I think it's true. You can make other people happy with music, but you can make yourself happy too. Because of my music, I have never known loneliness and never been depressed.

So today, I want to share how my podcast guests over the past year have referred to music and its influence on their life, careers, and mental health. Enjoy this compilation episode of some of the highlights from the podcast this year.