"Despite growing up around music, I never really gravitated towards it as a younger man.
I was a visual artist - painting, drawing and taking photographs. Playing music wasn’t for me. In 2017, mental health difficulties had taken me out of work and I was trying to figure out how to keep dark thoughts at bay. I was dealing with a loss and grief, and honestly, didn’t know where to turn. I bought a cheap ukulele from Amazon to occupy my mind, learned a handful of chords and began using those few chords along with some of my own words.
The first time I played in public, I included one of my own songs. It was called Disbelief, and was about losing the house I’d grown up in losing that sense of safety. I was still recovering, still processing everything, and I poured all of it into that song. Afterwards, people told me how much it had resonated with them; it was the first time I realised that my grief could be transformed into something beautiful. Since then, through the challenges that life throws at us, music has been a constant.

Writing, playing, meeting new people, collaborating - all of it has helped me see thing me see things differently and feel stronger.

Music is now part of my every day. Along with full-time work and family life, I juggle rehearsals with different bands.

Mondays are spent playing with Swefn, who are newer to the community. Wednesdays are with my friend Ruth Alder-Bateman, working on our duo R&R, laughing and talking nonsense between songs — which we then try and build into our act.

And whenever we can, I’m either writing new songs with my soul brother, Iain Petrie, or rehearsing with our band, Circus in the Sky, which is always a challenge with six busy people, but always worth it.

There’s something really special about creating, rehearsing and performing something together. I love the small moments: harmonies finally clicking, mistakes turning into new ideas, the deep talks after rehearsals.

Ruth and I hosting the Repas 7 Hogmanay celebrations as R&R, or headlining the Berwick Food and Beer Festival with Circus in the Sky and hearing people sing our own songs back to us, is something I’ll never forget.

Music has completely changed my headspace: practice calms me; writing helps me process things; performing gives me energy like few things can. It’s built my confidence and helped me find a life/work balance. Most importantly, it’s helped me connect with so many people from all walks of life. I was 35 when I bought a ukulele and learned my first three chords. Now I’m 43, playing live as often as I can, surrounded by a community that feels like home."