Turning the Page: Farewell to The BeeKeepers, and a New Beginning by Sylvie Abate

The BeeKeepers

The folk group I was part of for almost three years — The BeeKeepers — has come to an end.

And with it, a chapter closes.

I will miss making music with Phred and Mandy, two of the finest musicians and singers I have ever had the privilege to work alongside. Some of my sweetest memories were born on stages, in recording studios, and in the cozy warmth of rehearsals at Phred’s house in New London. Every week, we would gather — guitars in hand, laughter in the air — and weave songs from the threads of friendship and creativity.

I’ll never forget our songwriting retreat, or the way Phred’s front yard garden bloomed like a secret world, full of color and quiet magic. Man, I will miss those two women.

Endings are always bittersweet. There is sadness in saying goodbye to a band I loved —to the music we made, to the laughter that filled our late-night rehearsals, to the harmonies that somehow felt like home.

But woven through the sadness is something else: Excitement. Gratitude. Hope for the music journey that lies ahead.

I am thankful beyond words for the time we shared. For the songs we wrote, the stages we played, the countless hours of creating — and the friendship that carried us through it all.

When The BeeKeepers played our final show, I knew deep down it would be my last live performance for a long while. Not because I stopped loving music — but because another longing had been quietly stirring inside me. A dream buried deep in my soul, waiting patiently for its time. The dream to write. To create art completely on my own terms.

There is a strange, fierce freedom in stepping into the unknown. I know it won’t be easy. I’ll have to wear many hats — songwriter, arranger, producer, director of the sound I hear in my head. I'll hire studio musicians and vocalists. I’ll build these songs from the ground up. It feels daunting. But it also feels electric. Like standing at the edge of something wide and wild, knowing the road ahead, though hard, is mine to walk.

Three days after writing this...

A new song idea begins to flicker. The words arrive like an old friend — not forced, but flowing. In less than an hour, the lyrics are there, whole and alive.

I pick up my guitar. It’s been a while. The strings feel familiar under my fingers. I tune them slowly, and then I play.

And just like that, the song pours out — easy, natural, inevitable.

It’s called “You Can’t Take My Voice Away.”

A song about resilience. A song about finding strength in the spaces where things once fell apart. A song about claiming the power to create, to speak, to sing — no matter what.

A new chapter has begun. And I’m ready.

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