Just Us Folk

Sometimes there are moments in your life when you think things can’t get any worse than they are. Life’s been hard and then along comes something else to test you.

That’s sort of how it had been for singer-songwriter Jory Nash. He had left a performing life behind for a variety of reasons, one being it didn’t make economic sense anymore. Jory had come onto the scene at a time where artists such as himself could sustain a career through record sales, radio airplay and concert/festival bookings. While artistically successful, his 2018 album, Wilderness Years, was a failure by all of the metrics he had been using up until then.

The result was a depression that affected his relationship with his partner, how he parented their young son, and life in general. Added to this was the diagnosis of multiple aggressive cancers his partner faced. Then their home caught fire, so they quickly moved to Cobourg just east of Toronto.

It’s no wonder Jory didn’t pick up his guitar for 19 months. But as the saying goes, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”

Luckily, he realized he had to change his expectations of what the music business can provide for him.

“The business doesn’t owe me anything,” he said.

Only a few years earlier Jory would have had a different attitude, given all of the work he had put into his career.

“I think I have a little bit more humility now,” he said.

Jory now knows the quality of his art is only a small portion of what goes into a successful career.

Things started to change when friends from Ottawa relocated to Cobourg and wanted to hold a house concert featuring Jory. He quickly accepted and then challenged himself to write a new song for the occasion.

“At the time, my son was six years old, and he had never seen me play my own music,” he said.

Jory was happy with his new song, he enjoyed the process of writing again, and he enjoyed performing in front of an audience. So he started working on more songs just for the pleasure of writing.

During all of these difficult times, finances were tight for his family so at one point Jory had to pawn his grandmother’s wedding ring. But right after the money was put into his bank account, the account was cyber-hacked. After getting no help whatsoever from the bank, Jory went onto Facebook to essentially shame the TD Bank into returning his money. So many friends and fans showed their support that soon enough, the bank reimbursed the money.

Jory was heartened by the overwhelming messages of support. But many of them also wondered when he was going to do music again. He took it as a sign that it was time to return to performing. If only, as a way to give back to those who showed assistance.

Soon enough more songs started coming to him. But these were different kinds of songs. They dealt with trauma, depression, new beginnings and the power of family. The result is Jory’s new album, The Light Still Shines on the Main. The album was financed through crowdfunding, an exercise Jory thought would take three to four months to achieve. To his surprise it only took one month.

“The ways I used to measure success are no longer relevant,” he said.

“I was able to make a record through the kindness of friends, fans and even strangers.”

All of which makes Jory thankful for all that he has.

Knowing the new album is different from his previous releases, he knows the quality of the work is still there. Now if he’s booked to perform a show, Jory knows his job is to play to the best of his abilities and to be grateful for the opportunity to play.

At last fall’s Folk Canada conference in Ottawa, Jory’s showcase performance was greeted with a standing ovation to welcome him back to performing.

“If there’s anything that I can take from this ‘comeback’, it’s that you need to remember what it is you want to get out of your career,” he said. “Be open to changing what your parameters of success mean.”

For more on Joy Nash and The Light Still Shines on the Main, go to https://jorynash.com.