No one is behind: A songwriter's reflection on time and presence

Spencer Lee Wilson - The Dead Poet

In the world of music, we often think of tempo, timing, and rhythm—as if life itself were a grand composition. And yet, sometimes we can feel out of sync, as though we’ve missed our cue or fallen behind in the arrangement. But what if that feeling is just a dissonance created by comparison, not truth?

I've been thinking about this since a fellow musician and songwriter at the Filey Folk Festival said, "I'm behind everybody and trying to catch up." My immediate response was to simply say, "nobody is behind." Since then I've got to thinking, well if they're behind who is in front? Who am I behind and who is in front of me? And most of all, who is 'Who'? So the next part is what I thought, and I hope it helps (and reminds me) about the journey we're on, not who is in front or who is behind.

To say “nobody is behind and nobody is in front” is to recognise that life is not a metronome ticking in unison for all. It is a symphony of individual movements, each with its own time signature. Some songs begin with silence. Some build slowly. Others erupt in a single, striking chord. But none are wrong. None are late.

Laozi, the ancient Taoist philosopher, once wrote, “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” Like a melody that unfolds at its own pace, your creative path is not meant to be rushed. The verse you’re writing, the silence you’re sitting in, the chorus you haven’t found yet—they are all part of the music.

Songwriters know that the space between notes is as important as the notes themselves. The rests, the pauses, the unresolved chords—they create tension, beauty, and meaning. So too in life: the moments when you feel “behind” may simply be rests in your composition, not failures.

Existentialist thinkers like Kierkegaard remind us that each life is a solo performance, not a cover of someone else’s track. And modern voices like Eckhart Tolle urge us to return to the present moment—the only place where true music is made.

So if you feel like you’re catching up, remember: you’re not late to the stage. You’re tuning your instrument. You’re listening for the key. You’re composing something only you can write.

And when the time is right, your song will begin—not a moment too soon, not a beat too late.

Filey Folk Festival - thank you all

Live at The Imperial, Filey

The Filey Folk Festival was an eclectic mix of styles, not only in music but in dress, each as colourful and loud as the other. From what you might describe as normal to the other end of wacky, it was a blend that came together and just worked. It worked, I believe, because where people come together to perform their music in a festival space, there is an acceptance and shared understanding of all our differences, a unifying presence of creativity.

You only need to spend a couple of hours wandering from venue to venue to realise this. If you’re there for the whole weekend like we were, then you get to feel it in full. The buildings themselves breathe it and come alive. They pulse. Sometimes with gentle noise, other times shaking at the foundations, other times with light and musical notes bursting through panes of glass.

All around outside is the hum of people, musicians with instruments strapped to their backs weaving in and out of locals and short stay seaside visitors. There are shops filled with a raft of anything you could care to name – you feel anything you want is there somewhere. And there’re chips too. A chippy on every corner, it feels like. I’m not complaining.

For my part, I played The Imperial in the early afternoon of Saturday. You wouldn’t class my music as folk, not in the traditional sense, rather more under a catch all genre of Americana. And whilst that traditional folk music is often heavy on literal storytelling, my songs are a mix of stories with a good few built on feeling, where the listener can insert their own life experiences between the lines of the lyrics. They went down well, those songs of feelings. And at the end of my declared final song, when people clapped and shouted “more, more”… Well, I can’t say I wasn’t taken aback a little. It’s a good job I had a couple more songs on my list.

On my way back to sit down, one lady gently grabbed my arm and said, “I’d have paid to watch that.” How nice.

In the early evening I was back on stage, this time at the Masonic Hall on the Fox’s Den Radio stage. A less traditional venue among the pubs, but one of beautiful acoustics. I played the same set as earlier in the day, apart from another opportunity to play an extra song. This time I went to the small vault of covers I like and played Bob Dylan’s, Girl From the North Country.

Opening minute of "Dark Side of the Moon"

What you do get with audiences big and small at events like Filey Folk Festival, is that people are there because they really enjoy the music. It’s what they’re there for. To watch and listen. It’s not always the case, when you’re playing a local pub on a Friday night for instance. So again, when you’ve packed up and people then go out of their way to speak to you, to say how they enjoyed the songs, and ‘x’ song in particular, you can trust they mean it.

A successful event for me then. And from the outside looking in, it was a perfectly executed event across a host of indoor and outdoor venues, by the organisers. It’s no mean feat to run something that big, get people involved, attract the musicians and the music fans. A proper full-on weekend of musical entertainment, laughs, conversations, meeting people, being a part of something and playing a small part in its success.  

So, a huge, huge thanks must go to the hosts of at all the venues, but particularly for me Adie Sanders at The Imperial and Bill Horncastle. Biggest thanks of all though to Chris Pemberton and Sian-Elizabeth Powell (otherwise known as Silk & Custard) for organising an amazing weekend.

Filey Folk Festival 2025

I'm really looking forward to playing the Filey Folk Festival this year. It'll be my first time there and I'll be performing two sets on Saturday 3 May. My first is at 2pm at The Imperial and my second at 6.15pm on the Fox's Den stage, at the Masonic Hall.

The Festival has taken place on the early May Bank Holiday weekend for over 20 years, with people coming from all over the UK and overseas to play.

I'm far from what you'd call a traditional folk artist, so fit more into the contemporary indie folk rock and americana genres. However you want to describe my music, I guess it does fit into the traditions of story telling, although more through metaphor and suggestions of the human condition than that of true folk music story telling.

And whilst I'm looking forward to playing my two sets, I'm excited just as much to be milling around and listening to lots of other acts, enjoying the town of Filey, the sea air, the atmosphere. We'll be making a weekend of it because... well why wouldn't you!

I've pretty much got my set lists ready, and although they'll be similar for each performance, I'll probably mix it up a bit. It'll be a mix of songs from the All My Ghosts album and some new songs due to be released this year.

Some of the newer songs I'll be playing, can be found on YouTube:

I'm also looking forward to sharing the stage with other performers. Here's a Spotify playlist, which includes some, but not all, the talent that will be performing at The Imperial.

I think it's going to be a cracking weekend, whoever you're going to see and wherever they're playing.

A massive thanks to the organisers and everybody involved in making this event happen. This is clearly no easy task.

See you all at the weekend :-)