Deeply personal experiences captured in song

Susan Isaac finds an emotional outlet in her songs.

By Marcus Day

Maple Creek News

Two years ago, folk singer-songwriter Susan Isaac visited the Jasper Cultural & Historical Centre on a rainy day while camping in the Cypress Hills with her family. What she discovered was a place full of activity, with people of all ages going back and forth.

“It was vibrant,” she said. “I was so impressed.”

So impressed that she saw it as a potential concert venue, despite being more than 600 kilometres from her Edmonton home.

On Saturday, June 27, during a camping trip/mini-tour combo, her vision was realized when she brought her guitars and keyboard to the Archie Eichhorn Gallery and performed for two hours before 43 people.

Her instincts about Maple Creek were immediately validated.

She found an audience receptive to her powerhouse vocals and finger-picking guitar work, and attuned to the varying moods of her songs, which reflected such themes as environment, loss, home, belonging and parenthood.

Her two sets featured originals and covers, including If I Needed You, A Life Lived In Song, Like A Child (co-written with her mom, Carol), Any Wonder, Crooked Tree, Wildwood Flower, and These Days.

She struck up an easy rapport with her listeners as she explained the thinking behind her song selections, occasionally switching guitars or sitting behind her keyboard.

Her version of Joni Mitchell’s Coyote was a heartfelt tribute to one of her biggest musical influences.

Perhaps Isaac’s most personal song, I Didn’t Think To Tell Him, was reserved for her encore; that she would choose it demonstrated her confidence in her audience.

It was written while grieving for her dad, who died in a mountain hiking accident, and marked a return to song-writing after a 20-year hiatus.

So profound was her grief that she needed an outlet for her emotions.

During the intermission between her sets, Isaac had spoken about the song’s significance during a brief interview with the News-Times.

“Grieving brought me back to making music.”

Born in Manitoba to a folk-singing mom, she grew up surrounded by music, performance and theatre.

Although she seemed destined for a musical career, life pulled her in other directions … until her father’s death.

Now she is concentrating on her solo career, and, judging by Saturday’s reaction to her multi-instrumentalist skills and well-crafted songs, is quickly expanding her fanbase.

She ended the evening with Hank Williams’ Cold, Cold Heart, wanting a more uptempo closer – at least rhythmically – than I Didn’t Think To Tell Him.

“Thank you, you’ve been a glorious audience,” she said, before leaving the stage.

To her new fans, the question was: When will she be back?