our Story

“From Oil City to New York City… and Back Again” 

by Alison Beck

Most small-town girls dream of someday living and working in New York City. Elizabeth and I were never those girls.

We certainly fit the small-town description. Oil City, Louisiana has one stop-light and directions are usually given according to one’s proximity to the gas station. We are fourth generation residents, meaning that most of the town’s more colorful stories involve our relatives. We had visited the Big City on occasion; happily drinking in the energy and the lights and the amazing music scene. But the idea of actually moving to NYC seemed as foreign to us as moving to Tolkien’s Mount Doom, only with more smog and even fewer manners. 

Fast forward to early 2020: Elizabeth and I had been living and working in New York City for nearly 7 years as Liz was finishing up her degrees at the Manhattan School of Music. We had become seasoned city-dwellers; dashing through the labyrinthine subway system carrying music and instruments to our next gig, expertly dodging tourists and rats (New Yorkers would say there is little difference), all while politely saying “excuse me, y’all”. New York, with its boundless energy and drive coupled with its unique struggles for survival and recognition had somehow imprinted itself in our hearts and in our music. We had actually begun to feel at home and were making plans continue our life there. Then Covid-19 happened. We left the city on March 1, 2020 for a normal spring break and never returned. 

We watched on the news as the deadly virus shut down a planet; realizing that, in addition to many other things, the ability to earn a living making music in New York City would never again be the same. Like all the rest of our NYC musician friends, Elizabeth and I watched our jobs disappear and realized that music would be the very last thing to get going again. We had to let that life and dream go. When our apartment lease was up, we hired packing crews, moving crews, and piano movers. From Louisiana, we watched via a friend’s video-call as our apartment and our entire life in New York was dismantled, stuffed in boxes, and prepped for shipping. We ached for the loss of our friends, our neighbors, and our livelihood; not even getting the opportunity to say goodbye in person. In the game of Life, we had drawn the card that put us back at the starting gate. However, because of our Christian faith and belief, we knew that it was not only okay; but that it would be good. Eventually! 

We may have journeyed ‘There and Back Again’ (a J.R.R. Tolkien reference for those who haven’t read ‘The Hobbit’) but the next part of our tale is just beginning. Our surroundings might be different now, but some things haven’t changed at all… Elizabeth and I love making music for others and it doesn’t matter if the audiences are in New York City, Oil City, or somewhere in between; we will always share our music with anyone who wants to listen.