I was performing at Fibber Magees last week and during one of my breaks a man said he loved the stories but he wasn’t sure if they were “in”. As if storytelling is a fad or a trend. Something that could be “in” or “out” depending on the season like a fall sweater. Can storytelling be considered something even worthy of a trend? I don’t think so but if you were going to say that they were, I would say that stories are simply always “in”.

Why? Because everyday of our lives is a story. Everything that happens is a story and people love it. News programs on television wouldn’t exist if people weren’t interested in stories. Movies would do horrible and most importantly, if people weren’t interested in stories, we would have no idea who we are as human beings.

If we didn’t know our history, we would have no idea how we have grown as a species. We also would not have such strong cultures since cultures and communities are built off of stories. This is why storytelling can never seriously be considered as a fad or trend. We need it. It makes us human and separates us from other species on Earth. As far as we know, animals can’t tell stories to the extent that humans can. Would it be cool if dolphins could tell us folk tales of a legend dolphin who revolted against an oppressive hammerhead shark government? Hell yeah it would. And I want to be first in line to hear it but as far as we know, they don’t pass stories like that through dolphin generations.

So, getting back on track, storytelling can’t be a trend because it’s with us everyday and it makes us human. That’s why I’m so proud of incorporating stories in my songs. There’s nothing trend about it. It can never be considered “in” or “out” because they’re stories. Could the music accompanying stories be a fad or a trend? Sure but with a story at the core, a song will still outlast a trend because of the story it tells.

What do you think? Can storytelling be a trend? Let me know in the comments.