‘Aging is inevitable, but getting old is optional;’ an interview with Ron Sowell
Musician Ron Sowell just published his third studio album Dance Till the Music Stops Photo by Rafael Barker Singer songwriter Ron Sowell embraces that getting older doesn t mean getting old Now in his seventies Sowell just circulated his third solo album Dance Till the Music Stops which encourages people to live in the moment appreciate life and stay young no matter how old they get Sowell was born in New Mexico where he fell in love with the guitar in his teenage years He studied political science in college and intended to enroll in law school but decided that wasn t for him Believe in yourself trust your intuition and do what you love Sowell stated Find out what you re passionate about and commit yourself to that and you ll never regret it Sowell decided he longed to be a professional musician After college he traveled around the United States playing at college coffeehouses and one of his stops was West Virginia Sowell intended to only stay there for the summer of but he remains there to this day It s been a long summer he noted Sowell commented he never thought he would be able to make a living playing music in West Virginia but the state has proven him wrong I have two original bands and my radio show Mountain Stage that grew up in my backyard and I have been with it for years Sowell commented It s amazing that I ve thrived here and in a place that you wouldn t think that a musician would thrive professionally or musically but I certainly have Sowell has fallen in love with the people land and rich musical beliefs of West Virginia As the musical director of NPR s radio show Mountain Stage Sowell has celebrated the local music scene and has gotten to play alongside selected of his musical idols including Gordon Lightfoot and Danny O Keefe Sowell revealed that before making Dance Till the Music Stops he felt songs welling up in him and he knew he had to create another album Being at home during the COVID- pandemic gave Sowell an opportunity to begin writing Dance Till the Music Stops One of the songs on the album It s All Up to You emphasizes having a positive outlook on life Sowell made an uplifting music video with his close friends to go along with it Sowell explained that an album is a snapshot of where you are in your life and while he was writing this one he was thinking a lot about aging The message of the album was inspired by his dear high school friend Dusty Huckabee After Huckabee was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer s someone inquired him how he was going to handle it He solely responded by saying I guess I ll just dance till the music stops Sowell reported those words just hit me like a ton of bricks So much so that he built the entire album around them Dance Till the Music Stops is a tribute to Huckabee s courage and a reflection of Sowell s own outlook embracing ecstasy and purpose even while facing challenges It s just about living in the present and appreciating every moment that you re here Don t obsess with the past and feel guilty or regretful about what s happened Sowell reported Don t project yourself into the future and be anxious and fearful about what s going to happen but stay right here just like Dusty did for the time he has Sowell s new album Dance Till the Music Stops is available on all music platforms The post Aging is inevitable but getting old is optional an interview with Ron Sowell appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta
