I am just coming off of a reflective "high" from having been a musical performer at the Exeter Transgender Day of Remembrance (Resilience) Gathering. It's over now, but I wanted to talk about this event for a few reasons... first, to thank the organizers Lisa Bunker and Alex Myers for putting together this incredible evening - it was... so much. So many things. So moving. So powerful. So painful. SO IMPORTANT. (At the end of the service we all lit candles while two young students read the names of all the transgender people who have been killed in hate crimes throughout the world in the last year. Let that sink in for a moment. The list was LONG, folks, and these were just verifiable-via-media-sources trans-specific hate crimes.) The event was very well-attended, the crowd was warm and proud and out and queer (more trans people than I've seen in one location anywhere in NH for sure!), and the ally-ship was inspirational. And there was media coverage! I don't have a TV so I can't watch the actual broadcast, but it seems that this will appear on tonight's NH1 10pm news, and should be on the NH1 website tomorrow. So anyway, Lisa and Alex are heroes, as was anyone who spoke or offered their voice at the event. And from a personal standpoint (I am inarticulately kvelling here, but if you're still reading at this point, yay!), this event was a powerful catalyst for me to realize that as an artist, THIS IS WHAT I CAN DO. I can, and will, offer my voice to stand up to injustice. I can, and will, bring my voice to protest, and to be an ally, and to chronicle my own experiences. I have never been more galvanized, to quote Lisa, with an "upwelling of zeal" that in this scary and dangerous time, I can use my music to give voice to protest. I can. And I will.