Sharp Notes

SARAH DONNER

I began speaking directly to the people I love and people who are in similar situations

By Sean McCarthy

For some songwriters in the South Coast, creating music can be a cathartic and therapeutic endeavor that comes from being honest and vulnerable. Being queer, genderfluid, or socially marginalized are some of the topics being addressed on albums recently released by local artists. “It’s time to tell the truth and be who you are,” says 41-yearold Sarah Donner of New Bedford, who released “She Makes Waves” in December. “It’s nice to open up to my community. To speak your truth can change your life.” And “She Makes Waves” has been an experience of change for Donner. Her 14th full-length album, the eight-song record was a project done in conjunction with the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Museum. The album was originally devoted to songs about local women from the 1800s, but as the project progressed Donner began to have a creative revelation – she began to write about some of the changes she was experiencing in her own life. “With this record I began writing about what I was experiencing on the inside rather than things going on outside,” she says. “During the Covid pandemic there was no daily minutiae to help ignore things that are tugging at your heart, there was no comfort zone. During therapy I began to reclaim my identity as a queer woman and I was able to open up about it, which hasn’t been easy.” But Donner is hopeful, and confident that she is not alone. “I began speaking directly to the people I love and people who are in similar situations, trying to bring forth a positive point of view in terms of coming out and being your authentic self. I know it’s not just me – eyes are opening. “This album has been an important evolution in my songwriting. I’m taking the reins of my life and it’s something that’s a little scary.”

Molly O'Leary

I want to inspire conversations about the topics on this album.

SINGING STORIES

Molly O’Leary’s “Holding Space” was released in October, a 13-song collection that has earned her comparisons to Alanis Morrissette and Phoebe Bridgers. The album has O’Leary expressing themes such as the addiction struggles of a loved one, her personal battle with an eating disorder, and the experiences of young minorities in society. “Life keeps giving you things,” the 26-year-old O’Leary says. “Since the age of 12 I’ve used songwriting to cope and process my experiences, and I dove in especially deep with the songs on this album. There’s definitely been anxiety about sharing them publicly, but people are connecting with it and the excitement is overcoming the fear. I want to inspire conversations about the topics on this album.” Recorded at Bongo Beach Productions in Westport and produced by John Mailloux, O’Leary is backed by a band of local musicians, including her brother Tom O’Leary on drums, John Fernandes on guitar, Rob Massoud on bass, and Brianne Vieira on strings. O’Leary often interprets the songs in a solo acoustic format or in a duo with Fernandes. “If someone isn’t used to hearing about things like eating disorders it might be uncomfortable at first,” O’Leary says. “But when we’re uncomfortable we’re learning.”

Hooly J Chan

These songs are about using our imaginations as a survival tool.

QUEER AS FOLK

When Hooly J Chan had surgery to remove a brain tumor in November of 2018, the first thing they said after the anesthesia wore off was “Somebody get me my ukulele.” What ensued was a stream of creativity that resulted in the albums “Hospital Socks” and “Make Believe,” projects they describe as being about “personal and collective healing.” “Hospital Socks” came out on February 29, 2020, and “Make Believe” was released last August. “These songs are about using our imaginations as a survival tool,” Chan says. “Humans have created and imagined the world we’re in now so that means that we can continue to imagine new systems and structures, creating a new world that’s moving towards collective liberation and healing for all people and the earth.” A 28-year-old non-binary native of Cambridge, MA, and a former citizen of New Bedford, Chan resides in Dartmouth and is a worker at ‘Round the Bend Farm. “I may be one person with a ukulele but I’m singing about some serious things and that surprises people sometimes,” Chan says. “I think that there are so many beautiful things in the world, but our society has been built on a lot of pain and suffering. There are some people with a lot of money and power that they’ve made on the backs of other humans, and we think that’s okay. With a lot of my songs I’m saying that we can work together to say that this is not okay and that we can re-imagine our world, organizing from the ground up to be in the right relationships with each other, our communities, and the earth.” Chan’s musical persona is demure yet poppy and catchy, with a uniquely sweet vocal delivery, which is often in contrast to the topics they address. “For me, being an artist is a vehicle for speaking about these issues, and trying to create change,” Chan says.

Cassie Soares

These songs are a labor of love that are helping me to learn about myself through my experiences.

FEELING IT ALL

The mononymic Cassie Soares released her debut record “Past Tense,” in September. Recorded at the home of singer/songwriter Jake Perrone in Westport, the nine tracks feature the 29-year-old New Bedford resident with her electric guitar, playing down-tempo pieces. The Freetown native recently went public with her bisexuality. “These songs are a labor of love that are helping me to learn about myself through my experiences,” Cassie says. “Songwriting is teaching me patience and how to enjoy the journey, not rushing the process and just looking for an end result.” The current caption on Cassie’s Facebook page is “Feel it all.” “I don’t write for a specific gender,” Cassie says. “I would like my songs to evoke emotion in all genders. Sometimes people are afraid to share how they are truly feeling in relationships to avoid conflict. It’s important to express yourself, to not make yourself small, and to stand your ground. By doing this, we are able to let go and move forward. I spent a long time being quiet, tending to others and trying to make things work when deep inside I knew I could no longer be stagnant, I needed motion. I needed to express myself and be free. That’s what music and songwriting is for me. Freedom.” “I’m discovering the mental harm that was done to me personally and the things I was covering up,” Donner says. “In my formative years I was told that I couldn’t trust my body, but as you grow you need to face it and talk about it and connect with others. “My songs aren’t for males or females, non-binary or transgender people. I love it when someone says ‘You’ve made a difference for me, you’ve helped me keep going.’”

LOCAL SOUNDS

Each of these four songwriters are helping others on a regular basis – each works in some capacity as an educator. O’Leary is an adjustment counselor at the Rodman Elementary School in New Bedford and a yoga instructor at The Heron in Fall River. Cassie is a SPED assistant at the Freetown Elementary School, Chan is a health teacher at the Our Sisters School in New Bedford and teaches at Elements Nature Collaborative, and Donner is an independent music teacher. Their music can be heard on all major streaming services, including Bandcamp.com. All of these artists claim that their music is ultimately “positive” for themselves and those who listen to them. “These songs started with me wanting to heal personally, I didn’t intend to release them publicly at the time,” O’Leary says. “But once I put the record together I was thinking that they could help people and so I wanted to share them. This album reminds me of how worthwhile it is to connect with people. We need to know that we’re not alone and that we need to connect if we’re going to grow and make progress and improvements. There are gains to celebrate.” “This is the best of times for women songwriters,” Donner says. “I feel like we’re not going back. I don’t think it will be easy, and it won’t be smooth sailing to achieve equality, but I’ve met enough people in my life to be hopeful.”

SHARP