My name is Leslie Hudson, and for the last decade music has been my career. Although I started out as a teacher, I took a year off in 2012 and started thinking seriously about making music for a living. Terrified at the thought of switching career paths in my mid-30s, I went to my first open mic one Tuesday night, and weekly for the next 4 years.

In 2009 I joined the FAWM community and started collaborating with musicians all over the world, online and in person. For the last 15 years I've been a part of the Filk community, attending conventions across North America as a Guest of Honour, Special Guest, and as an attendee. In both of these circles I've made friends for life.

In March 2017 I was the Interfilk Guest at Consonance, San Jose CA, and in June of that year I embarked on my first ever tour - 6 months across the US and Canada - playing with friends and bands I'd met through FAWM, Filk and Fae communities, playing solo, and learning how to tour like a boss from other bosses like S. J. Tucker.

As a recording artist I've been releasing albums since the age of 20, including 15+ full length recordings, plus EPs and singles, about everything from Star Trek to faerie journeys to folklore. My songs are often introspective, deep-dives into psyche, full of rich storytelling and gleeful genre-hopping, supported by my ever-faithful piano.

Music has always been my life. I've written 100s of songs over the last 37+ years. But making a living at it has been more recent, and it's been a roller-coaster road.

My world fell off its axis in 2020. I had black-hole depression, we had the pandemic, I lost my mom, and I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to tour again or what it would like if I did. Slowly I began to rebuild, like we all did, and gained some momentum. Then SPLAT. Another tilted axis. A sudden back injury, and a decision to no longer tour in the US while what is happening there, continues.

React, recover, regroup, rebuild. AGAIN. I can do this. We can do this. Repeat.

Instead of focusing on the US, I pivoted to Europe where I'll be the Guest of Honour at a wee filk convention called Millcon in Peterborough UK, August 28-30. Because of their small size they understandably can't afford the airfare to bring me over - and when I booked my flights and saw the prices, realized, neither can I. YIKES.

To make the most of my time in Europe while I'm there, I'll be staying for another European con held in Wernigerode Germany, called Filkontinental, October 2-4. Back in 2018 I was the Guest of Honour there, and Steve Macdonald recorded and engineered an album of my concert which we released May 1 2020.

It's tradition then to release a live album on May Day! Presenting Chambanacon Live - recordings from 3 of my concerts at Chambanacon, Bloomington-Normal IL, November 2017, 2022 & 2023. Most of the tracks are live-room recordings by Michael Frasca, while others came through the soundboard via Bill Sutton and were later mixed by me.

Anyone who donates any amount here will get a free download code for the 24-track album, including the musical talents of Dr Mary Crowell (vox, clarinet), Amy McNally (fiddle), Jen Midkiff (vox, harp, bass), Brenda Sinclair Sutton (vox, bodhran, percussion), and Bill Sutton (acoustic guitar, mandolin, engineer), as well as mine (vox, piano, songwriter, engineer).

Because it's a Bandcamp Friday on May 1 2026 artists get to keep what you pay for our music without the platform taking a cut. Everything I make on May Day will go toward this trip. The album price will be whatever you choose. It all helps, and you'll have 3 concerts to listen to!

Breaking down the airfare cost

This all adds up to $5500 CAD and this is what I'm hoping to raise.

I am very lucky to have hosts for the entire time I'll be across the ocean, so at least I can cross accommodation off my budget list. Thanks to Mike, Kristian, Katy, Steve, Bine, Michael, Billy, Eva, Rafael, and Franklin, for all their help so far, and for giving me so many places to land. There will be extra expenses - like travelling between countries - but if I can get the bulk of this raised I'll breathe a HUGE sigh of relief.

Trips like this feel impossible until they're not. For a long time this winter/spring I wondered if it was worth the risk, if I'd be able to conquer my fears, or if this trip would even come together. It was hard to see what could be possible if I reached out. It felt hard to reach out.

Then I went to Filkontario, my local filk con, and sold art and hugged friends from across the border who made the trip to Toronto. I got to perform with Amy McNally for her Hall of Fame concert - the first time I'd been on stage since June 2025 - and even though I was petrified and rusty we made magic happen. I came home full of joy and hope and belief that we can still travel to see one another. I want to. I want to share my music.

So I'm asking for help. Please help me get on that plane so I can keep up the Work of stitching together our communities that lie so far apart. When I tour, this is part of my magical practice: reminding folks they're not alone in the fight. We're not alone, even when we feel that way. Others, elsewhere, are fighting forward too.

As I wrote in a song for a new project coming in 2027

place to place

boundaries and edges

stitching pockets of home

across lonely stretches

face to face

your hand in mine

for as long as we have

till next time