Singer/songwriter Ron Sowell embraces that getting older doesn’t mean getting old. Now in his seventies, Sowell just released his third solo album, “Dance Till the Music Stops,” which encourages people to live in the moment, appreciate life, and stay young no matter how old they get.
Sowell was born in New Mexico, where he fell in love with the guitar in his teenage years. He studied political science in college and intended to enroll in law school, but decided that wasn’t for him.
“Believe in yourself, trust your intuition, and do what you love,” Sowell said. “Find out what you’re passionate about and commit yourself to that, and you’ll never regret it.”
Sowell decided he wanted to be a professional musician. After college, he traveled around the United States playing at college coffeehouses, and one of his stops was West Virginia. Sowell intended to only stay there for the summer of 1974, but he remains there to this day.
“It’s been a long summer,” he said.
Sowell said he never thought he would be able to make a living playing music in West Virginia, but the state has proven him wrong.
“I have two original bands and my radio show ‘Mountain Stage’ that grew up in my backyard, and I have been with it for 40 years,” Sowell said. “It’s amazing that I’ve thrived here, and in a place that you wouldn’t think that a musician would thrive professionally or musically, but I certainly have.”
Sowell has fallen in love with the people, land, and rich musical culture of West Virginia. As the musical director of NPR’s radio show “Mountain Stage,” Sowell has celebrated the local music scene and has gotten to play alongside some of his musical idols, including Gordon Lightfoot and Danny O’Keefe.
Sowell said that before making “Dance Till the Music Stops,” he felt songs “welling up in him,” and he knew he had to create another album. Being at home during the COVID-19 pandemic gave Sowell an opportunity to begin writing “Dance Till the Music Stops.”
One of the songs on the album, “It’s All Up to You,” emphasizes having a positive outlook on life. Sowell made an uplifting music video with his close friends to go along with it.
Sowell said that an album is a snapshot of where you are in your life, and while he was writing this one, he was thinking a lot about aging. The message of the album was inspired by his dear high school friend, Dusty Huckabee. After Huckabee was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, someone asked him how he was going to handle it. He simply responded by saying: “I guess I’ll just dance till the music stops.”
Sowell said those words “just hit me like a ton of bricks.” So much so, that he built the entire album around them. “Dance Till the Music Stops” is a tribute to Huckabee’s courage and a reflection of Sowell’s own outlook, embracing joy and purpose even while facing challenges.
“It’s just about living in the present and appreciating every moment that you’re here. Don’t obsess with the past and feel guilty or regretful about what’s happened,” Sowell said. “Don’t project yourself into the future and be anxious and fearful about what’s going to happen, but stay right here, just like Dusty did for the time he has.”
Sowell’s new album “Dance Till the Music Stops” is available on all music platforms.
