Parenting Panel with Jill Barber
Having spent the last 20 years playing nearly every folk and jazz festival in Canada and captivating audiences across the globe in Japan, Europe, Australia, Mexico, South America, the USA and the Middle East, Jill Barber delivers ten quietly profound songs about the complexities of motherhood, marriage, and the struggle to feel at home in one’s own identity with Homemaker. Homemaker is a return to Jill’s folk roots. Whereas her most recent albums have been bathed in lush string arrangements, Homemaker sees emotions laid bare, with a stripped-down production style reminiscent of her acclaimed debut Oh Heart and double Juno Award nominated follow-up For All Time.
Homemaker is a statement about the humility and strength that it takes to do the meaningful work of creating a home for others, while still holding space for your own dreams. We got a chance to speak with Jill about her music and motherhood in this edition of our Parenting Panel series. Let’s dive in:
How many children do you have? And what are their names and ages? (only if you are comfortable with naming names)
My son Joshua is 9 years old and my daughter Grace is 6 years old.
Did you have fears or concerns about how becoming a parent would interfere with your artistic endeavors?
Oh yeah. In fact, the fear that it would negatively impact my career was my foremost concern. Time and time again I had seen women in music fade into the background or even disappear when they became mothers. Perhaps sometimes it was by choice, but more often than not I think it was simply because the demands of motherhood are at odds with the demands of being a touring musician- and the “industry” is not designed to support us at all.
Have those fears come true, or no?
I was very determined to be a working touring parent, and I took both of my babies on the road with me, but it wasn’t easy, and I leaned hard on my amazing mother, who thankfully was willing to come out as “tour nanny” in the early breastfeeding years.
Since then family obligations have inevitably pulled some focus away from my career ambitions, but I’d like to think that wherever parenthood has slowed me down, it’s also given me more meaning, purpose and a deeper experience to draw from as a songwriter and performer.
In what ways has parenthood helped your creativity, if any?
This is a tough one for me. Prior to kids I had way more freedom to be endlessly creative at will. I no longer have that luxury. So I’m forced to channel my creative energy into shorter intentional bursts, which is not always a bad thing, but requires more planning and discipline.
What has parenthood taught you about yourself, your music, or your creative process? I think if parenthood has taught me anything, it’s how to surrender completely to love and life in all its imperfection, to embrace the messy chaos of it all, and that with deep joy, comes vulnerability and grief. It’s taught me to live the experience, rather than try to control it. It’s made me a better performer I think. Motherhood has allowed me to feel okay about being un-polished in life and in art. That’s where the good stuff lives.
How do you juggle your family and your career? Who’s your support system?
My husband Grant is my greatest champion and biggest support system. He is such a great Dad… and I believe he’s an even better Dad because he gets lots of opportunities for one-on-one time with the kids when I’m away. I also have an incredible sister-in-law Heather who is an amazing caregiver to our kids. Plus, we have great friends that often step in and help out. It would be impossible without all of them.
How have you been managing parenting during the pandemic? What has been the hardest part and what is the silver lining?
Parenting is such a wild trip at the best of times. Parenting in a pandemic for me was really challenging… mostly because, like so many musicians, I had the rug completely pulled out from under my career. I realized that my role as a wife and mother was always offset by my identity as a musician and artist. For me, being reduced to “just a homemaker” during the pandemic resulted in not only a career crisis, but also a kind of identity crisis. It’s this tension that inspired me to explore what it means to create a home for others, and to celebrate, uplift and reclaim power in the role of Homemaker for myself (and hopefully others) on this record
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