To round off the third series, I've compiled this highlights episode where we will hear once again from all of my guests from throughout this series: Matilda Heindow, Curtis Stewart, Jude Rogers, Marcus Elliot, Suzie Fletcher, Si Martin, Dr Lesel Dawson, Stephen Wilson Jr, Jo Ritchie & Laura McDonagh, Turt Summers, Carly Attridge & Annie Frost Nicholson and Chris Kage. Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how their creativity has helped them heal. These...

This week my guest is Chris Kage, an artist/producer from Brooklyn New York. Through the years, Chris has primarily operated behind the scenes, as a songwriter in bands and as a backing musician, touring with the likes of Willie Nelson (and his sons Micah, Lukas) and Kris Kristofferson. In his mid-twenties, after ending up on a psychiatric ward for three days, Chris was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But rather than be totally destroyed by this, Chris decided to turn it into a collection of...

This week my guests are Carly Attridge founder of the Loss Project and Annie Frost Nicholson a multidisciplinary artist from London. Both of them have worked on projects which have focused on how we can use creative practices as a catharsis for our grief. Carly started The Loss Project (a social enterprise focused on helping people find ways of processing grief) after she reflected on her own wellbeing struggles following various losses in her life and realised there was something lacking...

This week my guest is Turt Summers, a vocalist/rapper/songwriter from South London and one half of the jazz rap group Summers Sons. They have released 4 albums as well as working with some of the UK's and Germany's finest producers. They have also toured with Children of Zeus, Melodiesinfonie & Flo filzz - solidifying themselves as one of the UK's best underground trios. Their 2019 album The Rain focuses on the grief Turt felt following the loss of his stepdad Bill. In this episode we...

This week my guest is Stephen Wilson Jr. a singer/songwriter from rural Indiana (USA). As a teenager Stephen moved to Nashville to pursue a degree in Microbiology. After completing his degree, he worked for several years as an R&D scientist at Mars until one day, faced with the prospect of a life climbing the corporate ladder, Stephen decided to take a leap of faith and pursue his dream of becoming a songwriter. A few years later his father – Stephen Wilson Sr - died at 59 and this set...

This week my guests are Jo Ritchie and Laura McDonagh, the team behind 'Projecting Grief'. Projecting Grief tells the stories of people finding comfort, distraction or hope in a creative pursuit after losing someone they love. After losing her brother Jack in 2017, the last thing photographer Jo Ritchie wanted to do was pick up her camera. But as she started to search for others who had been through a similar experience, she was intrigued to meet many whose grief had been the catalyst for a...

This week my guest is Dr Lesel Dawson, an academic at the University of Bristol. Lesel is an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of Bristol, her academic research explores grief, literature and the history of the emotions. She is currently writing a book on grief and creativity. Her work includes co-producing two short films on children, grief and creativity; partnering with charities on an article on mandatory grief education; collaborating on an illustrated...

This week my guest is Si Martin, founder and managing director of Heads Above the Waves, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to help young people deal with the root causes of self-harm. Having experienced self-harm himself as a young person, Si wanted to share his experiences and let others know that they weren't alone. As well as spending his time creating what HATW does, Si Martin is also a drummer for his band Junior and renowned Welsh act Novo Amor. In this special live episode we...

This week my guest is Suzie Fletcher, a Master English Saddle Maker and the resident leather expert on BBC One's The Repair Shop. Originally from Oxfordshire she has been in the restoration and repair industry for over four decades. She is an avid rider since early childhood, which lead to her career in saddle making, leather goods and leather furniture making. Through various commissions Suzie was offered a position in America and she soon found herself running her own business and working...

This week my guest is Marcus Elliot, a saxophonist, composer and educator from Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is the current director of the University of Michigan's Creative Arts Orchestra and his compositions and improvisations have been described by the New York Times as "convincing and confident, evolved in touch and tone...", and the Detroit Free Press has said that, "Marcus Elliot represents the next generation of jazz". Marcus has experienced several pivotal life changing moments over the...

This week my guest is Jude Rogers, a Welsh journalist, lecturer, arts critic and broadcaster. She is a music critic for The Guardian and also regularly writes features and articles for The Observer, New Statesmen and women's magazines such as Red. Rogers published her first book, The Sound of Being Human: How Music Shapes Our Lives in 2022, an account of the emotional and psychological impact that music has on us as humans but also a part-memoir of Jude's own ever-evolving relationship to...

This week my guest is Curtis Stewart, a four-time GRAMMY award nominated violinist from New York City, USA. Stewart was born into a musical family – his father is avant jazz tuba pioneer Bob Stewart and his mother was Elektra Kurtis, a soulful Greek jazz violinist. As a soloist, Curtis has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the USA. He has made special appearances with Wyclef Jean; and sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden with Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and Seal....

This week my guest is Matilda Heindow, an artist and mental health advocate based in Stockholm. She founded the much-loved Instagram page @crazyheadcomics, using it as a creative outlet for her colourful cartoons that cleverly skewer our collective experiences of mental health. She has shared over 700 unique pieces of art to her global following, which now totals over 500k, and her work is often used by mental health professionals and schools. In 2021, Matilda delivered a TEDx talk on 'The...

To kick off the third series of Feels like Healing, here's a taster of some of the conversations you can expect to hear over the coming weeks. Featuring Matilda Heindow, Suzie Fletcher, Marcus Elliot, Jude Rogers, Curtis J Stewart, Jo Ritchie and Laura McDonagh. Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've turned to creativity as a way of healing. These conversations are here to inspire and to show how we can find comfort and solace through the act of being...

To round off the second series, I've compiled this highlights episode where we will hear once again from all of my guests from throughout this series: Frank Turner, Carmody, Sam Genders, Jamie Lawson, Carys Eleri, Hannah Daniel, Gavin Porter, Jamie Adams and Tara Bethan. Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief and trauma has shaped their art. These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act...

This week my guest is Tara Bethan. Born in North Wales, the actress, singer and presenter started out on the West End at the age 13 in Bugsy Malone. In 2008 she found herself in the final 10 of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for “Nancy” in BBC One’s “I’d do Anything”. Her latest musical incarnation is as 'Tara Bandito' a name she borrowed from her Dad's career as a wrestler nicknamed 'El Bandito'. We talk about the origins of her song "Six Feet Under" which she wrote in the aftermath of losing...

This week my guest is Welsh film-maker Jamie Adams. A British Independent Film Awards [BIFA] nominated director and writer best known for his films Black Mountain Poets (2015), Love Spreads (2021) and Wild Honey Pie! (2018). Black Mountain Poets was nominated for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film and screened at SXSW in Austin, Texas. His latest film 'She is Love' was a BFI London Film Festival Official Selection for 2022 and is out now on general release. We talk about...

This week my guests are once again the Welsh actresses + writers Carys Eleri and Hannah Daniel and director/documentary maker Gavin Porter. This is the second part of our conversation recorded live at St John's Church in Cardiff on the 25th January 2023 in front of a live audience. Carys Eleri is a Welsh actress, singer, writer, composer and presenter. Her debut show - Lovecraft (Not the Sex Shop in Cardiff) – described as a one-woman science comedy-musical about the neuroscience of love and...

This week my guests are the Welsh actresses + writers Carys Eleri and Hannah Daniel and director/documentary maker Gavin Porter. This is the first part of our conversation recorded live at St John's Church in Cardiff on the 25th January 2023 in front of a live audience. Carys Eleri is a Welsh actress, singer, writer, composer and presenter. Her debut show - Lovecraft (Not the Sex Shop in Cardiff) – described as a one-woman science comedy-musical about the neuroscience of love and loneliness...

This week my guest is the award-winning singer-songwriter Jamie Lawson. Jamie has so far released five studio albums and his single, "Wasn't Expecting That", became a word-of-mouth success firstly in Ireland before its popularity then began to grow further afield in 2015, when he became the first signing to Ed Sheeran's Gingerbread Man Records. The single went to number 3 in Australia and number 7 in New Zealand. The single hit the number 6 chart position in the UK on 8 October 2015 and was...

This week my guest is Carmody, a singer-songwriter from South-East London. Carmody has collaborated with artists such as Tom Misch, Alfa Mist and Nick Leng. Her EP ‘Out to Sea’, written with Misch, gained a number of supporters - from DJs such as Annie Mac and Zane Lowe to one of YouTube’s biggest music channels, Majestic Casual. The track ‘With You’ was also crowned iTunes single of the week. Her debut album “Imperfect Constellations” was released in 2022 and adds to her catalogue which...

This week my guest is the English singer/songwriter Sam Genders. Sam alongside Mike Lindsay founded the folktronica pioneers Tunng in 2005. His other songwriting and co-writing credits include artists such as John Smith, Mr Silla (Múm), Liam Bailey, Cibelle, Ben Ottewell (Gomez) and Kate Stables (This is The Kit). Amongst various other projects and collaborations Genders has released several albums and singles under the name Diagrams, including his 2017 album ‘Dorothy’, the lyrics for which...

This week my guest is the English punk/folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner. Having made 2 albums over four years with post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner decided to go-it-alone in 2005. He released various EPs and albums while touring and building his profile. In early 2011 Turner released his fourth studio album, and made the step up to the main stage at Reading & Leeds later that year. Spring 2012 brought Frank Turner’s sell-out headline show at Wembley Arena to a 12,000 strong...

This week my guest is the record producer/guitarist/songwriter Hugo White. Hugo was one of the founding members of the Mercury prize nominated indie rock band The Maccabees. They released four albums between 2007-2015: Colour It In, Wall of Arms, Given to the Wild and their final album Marks to Prove It. Hugo has since gone on to work as a record producer, including on the latest #1 album by Jamie T 'The Theory of Whatever'. We talk about how Hugo used songwriting to help him process the...