A&E
Julia Weldon performs for Q-Week
By Alexa Merriam ’17
April 24, 2015
For college students during the latter half of the spring semester, it is often hard to find time to truly celebrate and relax during the week. On Thursday April 16, Julia Weldon treated Hamilton with her soulful voice and string playing in the barn. Rainbow Alliance’s annual Q-Week (Queer Week) events consisted of a documentary screening, critical discussions in collaboration with other organizations and academic departments and a talk by CeCe McDonald. Julia Weldon’s performance embodied Q-Week’s dual purpose to educate the Hamilton community about Queer issues as well as celebrate and show support for LGBTQ culture.
Weldon usually plays with her band, but listening to the stripped down version of her own original songs was an intimate experience. She opened the show with “Meadow,” the raw, yet gorgeously lyrical, first song off her newest album “Light is a Ghost,” produced by Saul MacWilliams (notable for working with Ingrid Michaelson and Dan Romer) and featuring Adam Christgau (notable for playing with Sia and Tegan & Sara) on drums. From the moment Weldon asked the audience for input on what type of song she should play next, it was clear that she was no ordinary musician.
She engaged with the audience between songs as if they were close friends of hers whom she could trust with precious stories. Through music and naturally comedic song introductions, Weldon told stories. The electric acoustic guitar and ukulele sounds that filled the barn took the audience from the streets of Brooklyn, where she was raised and currently lives, to Nebraska, the home of a woman she was entranced by at a bar, in “Marian.”
Perhaps the most touching part of the concert was when Weldon performed “Sharp Like a Knife,” a song about her dad who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease. “My dad is in a lot of my songs,” she said. “But it’s been a struggle for me to write one entirely about losing him until [this song].”
However, she was quick to lighten up the mood with her “Johnny Cash song” called “Round Again,” in which she sings through gritted teeth: “I want to write like Bobby Dylan and go to jail like Johnny Cash” over rhythmic guitar inspired by the roots of folk music.
From a young age, Weldon was involved in the performing arts. She taught herself guitar from the age of 12 and wrote songs since high school. However, being a professional child actor took up most of her focus until she got to college. Acting alongside Meryl Streep in Before and After (1996) and other TV and film projects only helped her realize her love for performing and expressing herself. Now, she performs all over the country and has two albums out.
Weldon’s voice coupled with her instrumental prowess created music that was so big that it stayed with listeners even after the music stopped. Her warm presence, and the fact that she, too, attended a liberal arts school (graduated from Vassar in 2005), drew the audience to want to talk to her after the concert and take selfies with her to remember the great night. Surprisingly, Weldon did not talk much about her experiences about being a queer androgynous musician, and the audience felt no need to ask about it. Her vivacious young energy spoke for itself, imparting that one’s sexuality or identity in general should never hold one back from doing what they love and living out their dreams.