Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and so with this episode of Acoustic Blend we are featuring “songs of the smitten.” Here’s the opening track, featuring a chorus with some beautiful imagery:
I wanna hold you close but never hold you back, I’ll be the banks for your river
I love the image of a river bringing love and wholeness (hey, that’s a great idea for a song). We’ll move from there to explore the many aspects of love, from infatuation to heartbreak, reconciliation and commitment.
Before I forget, there is a very special announcement during this episode about the annual Shirley Martin Scholarship for Young Songwriters. I kept it on theme too by playing the song “Sick,” a previous winning entry penned by Briagha McTavish. Applications are being accepted until April 15th, and are open to songwriters age 14-19 in 14 different Indiana counties. There is a $500 cash prize, and all entries will receive feedback on their original song. Check samisong.com for more details!
Speaking of Briagha, we’ll close out our show with another of her original songs, one that hits me right in the feels every time:
In between we’ll have some foot-stompin’ love songs from Drew Holcomb, Brett Eldredge, and my friend Cliff Ritchey. We’ll pause for a Robert Frost poem about friendship called “A Time to Talk.”
Acoustic Blend airs Saturday, February 12 at 8pm EST on WBAA AM 920 in Lafayette / West Lafayette, and streaming live on wbaa.org. You can view the full playlist at barrett.substack.com once the show airs. ‘Til next month!