Sometimes, all we can do during tough times is what comes most natural. For local singer/songwriter Joelyn Lutz, that’s her music, which is penned to inspire and lift up people’s spirits during trying times.
Lutz’s next concert is slated for Valentine’s Day, the day of love, and the inspiration for the concert is to help bring healing to a community shaken by violence.
“It’s basically coming from a heart space,” Lutz said. “I have this new CD recorded called Just Breathe and my thought was that, you know, we’ve had a lot of violence, everybody knows, with all the homicides. And I just thought I wanted to reach out as I have in the past.”
For years Lutz has performed at local schools with her anti-bullying program, including songs designed to help youngsters deal with their emotions appropriately. The outreach is to help give young people the tools they need to lead healthy lives.
She also performs for spiritual centers, like the First United Methodist Church in Santa Maria, where the Valentine’s Day concert is being held. The music she shares there is inspired by mindfulness and Buddhism, which Lutz said has been a powerful aid in finding healing and peace in her own life.
“I had gone through a lot of tragedy, and through the tragedy I had written all these songs about how to come back from all these tragedies,” she said. “So much of this healing aspect for any individual isn’t just about forgiveness, but loving yourself. My song ‘My Love is So Good to Me,’ it means that the love you have inside yourself is the first key to giving that love to others.”
But what does loving others have to do with loving yourself? According to Lutz, everything.
After suffering a pileup of stress and some tragic ordeals years ago, Lutz was stuck in a negative spiral of emotion. There’s hope for those stuck, though, she said, but it comes from self-awareness and introspection.
“I came to realize that I was my own worst bully,” she said. “Sometimes we’re just attacking ourselves so much in every moment, and we don’t realize we’re doing it, but once we do and replace those thoughts, life looks different.”
Her songs reflect that outlook. With titles like, “What Would the Buddha Do?” and “Pause Every Now and Then,” Lutz hopes to share the healing sound with everyone.
She even tunes her guitar a tad lower than concert tuning, to A-432 Hz, which she said is a more “natural, human vibration.” Every aspect of what Lutz does artistically is to bring people together.
“I thought, I just want to play my music for free for people, to connect people,” she said. “My music is uplifting and has a calming effect. It’s a good way to just drop that separation and remember, you know, basically, we’re all one.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne knows that music heals. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 4-11, 2016.