Day 6
Final day. I can’t believe how fast it went by. All the knowledge I took in to help me grow as an artist and the friendships I made during bootcamp have left me feeling so grateful to have experienced the whole thing. Even though I think we all had maybe a total of 8 hours sleep, it was an unforgettable week!
We wrapped up our final classes and had one last dinner together. It won’t be the same having breakfast, lunch and dinner without my band camp crew.
After dinner we took a Pontoon boat ride out on the lake. Cody and I went out with the second smaller group and boy did we all have so much fun. Lyndsay put on her music and us ladies all danced and sang at the top of our lungs “Diane”, by Cam. There is footage of it and I will be sure to post some on my actual page soon because it is too good not to share. It was really freeing to just let go and have some fun altogether for one last night.
After the Pontoon we all gathered in The Copper Room where they had previously recorded the bed tracks to each of our songs. They set up chairs and speakers and we all sat down to listen to each other’s final product. The song babies!! Getting the chance to hear what everyone had been pouring their heart and soul into the last week was truly fantastic. The producer, 2 artists and Nimbus assistant all stood up and introduced the songs to everyone. We were the last group to play our song and boy was I nervous. We titled the song “Home and Dreams”. The meaning behind the track became my story from living in Thunder Bay, Ontario and being bullied for being different. I always had a calling, this pull to go back to Calgary (Where I was born) so I could pursue my dreams of singing Country Music. I loved my family and friends and all the adventures I had in Thunder Bay but if I wanted to actually have a career in music I had to take a leap of faith and leave. Here I am now writing to you all about my music and how happy I am so I would like to say thankfully it all worked out.
I gave that song everything I had. It was the most vulnerable I’ve ever been in a song I’ve recorded. I love the song so much I am going to start playing it live. Hearing it with Blake’s voice in harmony with mine really made the song that much better. Our voices blended seamlessly together. I couldn’t have done it without the encouragement from Spencer, Blake and Cody. We had a dream team!
After listening to everyone’s songs we were all given pieces of paper to write something about each artist and put it in a jar for them to take home. I thought this was great. We all got a chance to personally tell each other what this week with them meant to us.
P.S. If anybody needs me to decipher my bad writing please let me know lol. I love all of you crazy talented, kind, loving souls!
After reading my notes I was left with so much gratitude. I felt like they all understood the real me, my authentic truth. That may be the most valuable part of this experience for me as not only an artist but as a person. That is what made all of our bonds stronger. We got to see the real person behind the artist.
The whole week was incredibly inspiring and I want to go back every year. Sitting here writing this final blog for bootcamp thinking about everyone makes me miss them! So lucky to have been a part of it. I want to thank everyone from Project Wild, Wild 95.3, Alberta Music, all the amazing key note speakers, the House Band, Producers, Nimbus recording school, volunteers at Rockridge Canyon, and the 11 other artists who I was honoured to learn and grow with.
May we all continue on this journey together to feed our souls with beautiful music!!
Musically Yours,
Lauren Mayell?
