Missy Higgins

There have been four important musical moments in my life, and each one has influenced me in ways I cannot even begin to describe.

Moment number one was when I first heard Sarah McLachlan. At that moment, I knew my life would never be the same. I had found a musician who seemed to be speaking directly to me. Sarah's music has gotten me through some tough times, and I continue to come back to it.

The second moment was when I saw Melissa Etheridge in concert. She played that Ovation until the strings broke. Then, she traded it in for a new one and kept on playing. Without a doubt, it was the best concert I've ever attended.

Moment three happened in the spring of 2007, when I first saw the video for Brandi Carlile's "The Story." By early summer, I owned both CDs, and I spent most of July and August on my front porch, strumming along to the songs and wishing I could move to Seattle.

The fourth moment took place a month ago, when I decided to download "Where I Stood" by Missy Higgins. I had heard of Missy, but I never took the time to check out her music. After listening to "Where I Stood," I immediately ordered both albums and downloaded several songs from the EPs. Then, I found the guitar tabs for those songs. For the past four weeks, I have spent most of my free time listening to the 34 Missy Higgins tracks that are on my iTunes playlist. And the great thing is that I haven't grown tired of listening to any of them.

Missy played Harrisburg in October, before I started listening to her. I really, really hope that she decides to come back to the area in 2009. I've heard that she's amazing in concert, and I'd really like to see for myself.