Musician Kate Lahey — aka Weary — is Feeling Things

"Music is about  healing, empowerment, access, communication, and supporting one another" says Kate Lahey, who records under the band name Weary.  

"And feeling things."

Like many new musicians in Newfoundland and Labrador, Lahey got her feet wet a couple of years ago by taking the RPM Challenge, a project to create and record an album of original music during the month of February.  

Lahey said that experience, plus some local community changes, inspired her to keep going.

"This year we saw a big shift in [St. John's] city council, we had Girls Rock N.L., and about six months ago I  started St. John's Women in Music with my best friend [singer/songwriter] Joanna Barker," said Lahey.

"So I had incredible role models and a support system."

Lahey had been writing poetry for years, and leaned on her musical friends to help her improve her musical skills.   

The result was the album Feeling Things.

Lifelong learner

Lahey said she thrives on constant learning. Along with her music and poetry, Lahey has had a long and productive academic career. She is currently working on a PhD at the Women's Studies Institute at the University of Toronto.  

Lahey has been researching intergenerational trauma in rural Newfoundland, examining objects such as artifacts, letters and songs to study how the things families don't talk about affect their lives.

,"A lot of my work seeps into each other," said Lahey.  

"The things that I make, whether it be academic work, or it be music, poetry, or community organization, they all come from my personal experience."  

Have a listen to Kate Lahey`s conversation with Weekend AM's Heather Barrett.  

Do you have a new album of music that Weekend AM should know about for First Listen? Email us [email protected] and tell us about it.

You can hear First Listen on Sundays on Weekend AM from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. (5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Labrador) on CBC Radio One.