Music has always been a trusted companion. Each summer, the Beatles, the Weavers, and Queen were my family’s soundtrack on the twenty-hour drive to Prince Edward Island; Portishead’s Dummy saved me from self-destruction while tree-planting in the post-apocalyptic slash piles of deep Ontario; DJing radio shows at CKDU-FM introduced me to Halifax’s incredible music scene, taught me how to create community and built life- long friendships. Music has saved my life more times than I can remember, and more recently, with Choir! Choir! Choir!, it’s taken on new meanings time and time again as I’ve witnessed and experienced how songs help us celebrate the great times and comfort us through the sad.

In the summer of 2017 I did a lot of festival touring with Daveed Goldman, co-founder of C!C!C! The travel schedule was exhausting. Halfway through our tour, we landed at the Newport Folk Festival. The music that has been featured there over the years was my early education, but before we arrived, I had been too busy to think about what it meant to me.

The night before our show, Daveed and I were suddenly frozen into fear, silently freaking out about our 11 a.m. set the next morning, stuck in a tiny hotel room listening to R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People. Who would be there so early? Would anyone sing?

Were we prepared to flop at one of the world’s most storied music events?

The next morning, we were surprised to see a throng of people waiting to sing with us. We taught them our arrangement to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” and by the end of the last chorus we looked out at fifteen hundred people who were singing their hearts out and, beyond them, a beautiful, expansive harbour, dotted with boats, full of music fans enjoying the moment. We got off the stage and the staff told us it had brought them to tears. It was overwhelming.

I wanted to share the moment with my family, my loved ones. My mind drifted to my father, who had passed away more than ten years earlier. He introduced me to the arts, took me to concerts, and taught me the importance of music. He also loved Leonard Cohen. And that’s when the tears started. A mix of relief that the show had gone so well, the love from the crowd, and the devastating need to share this with my dad sent me into emotional free fall. I couldn’t control myself, and, pretty much cried tears of happiness and sadness for the rest of the day. Singing that one song in that special place made me feel both connected to my past and so grateful for where I was.

I don’t care if anyone says that “Hallelujah” shouldn’t be covered anymore. They’re wrong!

Nobu Adilman is a television personality, filmmaker, and co-founder of Choir! Choir! Choir!, a drop-in sing- along that celebrates music and has held tributes to David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, and Gord Downie. In 2016, they established the Choir! Choir! Choir! Foundation, and they now tour the world to bring people together and sing.