beauty.

sometimes i just get so caught up in the moment, it seems that all i can do is just cry. i didn't cry tonight, but i tell ya, i was close.

tonight was the fourth installment of live on the green, a free outdoor concert series downtown nashville in front of the courthouse. this was my second time attending this event, and tonight's performers were thad cockrell, matthew perryman jones, and dave barnes. (please check out all of these great artists if you aren't already familiar with them.)

i go to a lot of shows in nashville, and the artists (especially the locals) all tend to make the same joke about performing in nashville: that when it's time for crowd participation and singing along, that it sounds like a choir with all the different parts and harmonies. i mean let's face it, i'm a minority here in that i'm not a singer. and the joke is funny because it's true.

so tonight, in the middle of the set, dave began to perform "when a heart breaks". during the bridge he had us all sing, and all of the musicians quieted down, and that joke became reality. it really was like a choir singing along. and hearing these beautiful words being sung so powerfully by all of my neighbors (we share this city), watching dave soak up the moment under the starry autumn sky, something magical happened, and that's when it hit me: this is home. this is my life. this is where i am right now.

no matter the stresses, no matter the worries, i will always have music, i will always have my city, and i will always, always have hope.

(i feel as though i just babbled on and on and did not do this night justice by any means.)