Saturday Sessions: Adrienne Young on focus

With her second disc, The Art of Virtue,
singer and songwriter Adrienne Young included a copy of Ben Franklin’s small booklet with short explanations of the thirteen virtues he thought to practice daily. She wrote a song about them as well, a lively piece that celebrates the positive gifts of doing good. That is typical of Young.: Though she believes deeply in the power of community and the necessity of co operation and the causes of social justice, she celebrates these things rather than preaching about them. She writes original songs and chooses traditional ones that point out and reinforce this path. Sometimes the songs she writes and chooses to cover are funny, some times thought provoking, sometimes just fun. “Just remember when you get too overwhelmed, just take it bit by bit and say what did I do today, or what could I do, to make things better, and what have I learned? That was the whole point of the booklet, and the theme of the record,” Young explains. Counting a whole range of musicians from Duke Ellington to Barbra Streisand to the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson as influences, as well as writers from Emerson to Norman Vincent Peale to Wendell Berry, Young draws on a cornucopia of ideas to shape her work. “For me, it’s always been a very spiritual endeavor,” Adrienne Young said. “Hopefully a communication of feeling and a connection with people.”

you may also want to see

Music Road: Saturday Sessions: Del Suggs on teaching

Music Road: reflections with Adrienne Young

Music Road: Alison Krauss: Live from the Tracking Room: A Hundred Miles or More

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