A great songwriter captures and absorbs each emotional, experiential and existential moment, internalizes and disseminates them into a big ol’ creative stew and serves it up hot and fresh, heavy on the passion. Robyn Scott is on a musical quest and has learned to appreciate all that music has gifted her while embracing her journey with awe, wisdom and humility.
It all began watching her dad Randy sing while bouncing between Foxboro, Stirling and Ameliasburg. She debuted at age seven at the Stirling Theatre Trent Valley Jamboree and a trip to Nashville later ensued at sixteen to record three singles. “I couldn’t have done it without the support from my entire family. My uncle Gerry and aunt Gail went with us to Nashville when I was recording my first singles and aunt Gail did all the radio tracking for the songs I released to radio over the years.”
Two of Scott’s tunes, I Want To Live Like That and The Bird Song broke into the Canadian Country Music Radio Chart top forty. Scott began to play at fairs and festivals including twice at the renown Havelock Country Jamboree as her burgeoning career gained steam. In 2003, her first child Matthew was born and she transitioned into the most important duty and hardest job on the planet – being a mother. Scott set music aside and embraced her new role with the same vigour and passion that fuelled her music.
By 2010, she was busy rearing three children but once an artist, always an artist – especially one who’s born to entertain like Scott. She began to think about her musical journey, songwriting, performing and Nashville. “I enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom for many years. But I think as an individual I was starting to feel lost in the noise. I was happy but felt like I had lost my identity. I felt like I was just mom, not Scott.”
A golden opportunity presented itself when Terri Clark asked Scott to open for her at the Belleville Fair. Scott put a band together and had an amazingly magical night chock full of epiphanies. “This got things going again, like poking the bear.”
She fished out a guitar her husband purchased fifteen years prior, signed up for lessons and began to accompany herself at jams, open stages and open mics. As her proficiency quickly increased, she started writing again and the more she played, the more songs she wrote.
Like any savvy songwriter, she’s an observer of people, phrases, and societal situations but realizes there’s always more to learn. “Most songs I have written have started with a hook, which leads to a chorus which leads to the story unfolding in the song. But they all come from a moment or an experience or a conversation where something clever is said!”
The songs kept coming and pretty soon, it was time to hire a producer and record them for her latest album aptly dubbed Rearview Mirror. It’s an eclectic mix of finely crafted country tunes that showcase her song-smithing skills, soaring melodies and a seemingly limitless vocal range.
Nashville is a magical place for musicians and songwriters and for several reasons holds an extra special place in Scott’s heart. From her first trip as a teenager to her honeymoon as a young woman, she still frequents Music City with her family and attends songwriter rounds, rubbing elbows with a plethora of great writers and musicians. It’s become her southern second home. “A city that we just love all around. I feel so blessed for the friendships I have created in the Music City. It can be a very humbling place to be. With so many talented artists in one place, it keeps you level headed.”
In 2017, Scott lost her dear friend and cherished music partner Karen Smith. She nearly gave up music entirely but lucky for all of us, she reconsidered. That first solo show without Karen was a final coming of musical age for Scott and one she holds with great reverence. It was around this time that she experienced her first dose of cosmic synchronicity and landed a side hustle as radio host for 800 CJBQ – the very station that played her first single Ain’t That Enough back in 1995.
Experience and wisdom have taught Scott to go with the flow and it’s all come full circle offering up the greatest cosmic synchronicity of all – the gift of proudly sharing the stage and spotlight with her son Matt. The baby boy who compelled her to put everything on hold is now a talented young musician himself and an all around fine human being. As far as music, songwriting and motherhood go – a bunch of great big gold stars for you Scott.
“I have chosen to be happy where I am and move forward wherever music takes me. I am here for the journey, not the destination.”
robynscottmusic.com
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