American Elm, aka Christopher Bousquet. With a new year typically comes promises to oneself to try something they haven’t done before or to do something in a different way. A beloved local singer songwriter did just that Saturday night with a healthy dose of support from his friends.The singer, American Elm (aka Christopher Bousquet), presented ​“Resounder” a live song cycle complete with 17 original songs he had written over the course of one year, only one of which exists in recorded form.In the front room of the Space Ballroom, friends, family, and fans of Bousquet’s take on life, love, letting go, and letting oneself feel it all, gathered to hear him debut this performance and these songs along with special guests Still Rivers, with all of it hosted by the illustrious Frank Critelli.The room was abuzz way before the music began, with attendees greeting one another and the acts they were about to see, warming each other and the room up on a rather brisk wintery night. Warmth was the mode of the evening, as Critelli welcomed everyone and expressed his love and appreciation of both acts.“This is going to be a very enjoyable evening for me,” he said. ​“These are two of my favorite acts.”As he spoke about Still Rivers, he emphasized more than once that they ​“make me believe in love and in home.”“Thank you, Frank, we love you,” said Mike ​“Muddy” Rivers who along with wife Chandra Rivers make up the Hartford-based duo. With Muddy on guitar and sharing vocals, the two created a home of sorts during their six-song set, a place where one felt comfortable right away and wanted to stay. Selections from their recently released EPOur Little Life were offered including ​“The Vow,” which Muddy said was an ​“anniversary gift two years ago,” and ​“Carry the Weight,” a song that was born from an exchange between Muddy’s parents that stuck with him over the years. They also performed the title song which Muddy explained had been written with Critelli, his bandmate in The Bargain along with Shandy Lawson.“Chris makes me want to be brave,” said Muddy.Bravery was a theme throughout the set as well, for the poignancy of the music and lyrics carried through both the joys and pains of life both observed and lived and held the audience captive, a beacon in the darkness. Suffice to say Still Rivers run deep and are a must listen for anyone who appreciates sweet melodies and the beauty of togetherness. Depth and beauty also resounded through American Elm’s Resounder song cycle. Critelli introduced Bousquet as ​“an absolute poet, an absolute philosopher, probably an angel, maybe a prophet.”Bousquet offered his personal retrospection on each song, some more than others, but overall allowed the audience to take them in as their own. The songs were presented as ​“Side A” and ​“Side B” even though they have not been formally recorded as of yet (save for one: ​“Let Us Begin!”). If you followed along in the program Bousquet provided, you could see that the first seven were written in 2023 and the last ten in 2024. The program also included what could be called liner notes with thank yous as well as quotes from Rainer Marie Rilke (who also influenced one of the songs called ​“One Page of Rilke), Bob Dylan, J. Mascis, and even Dante. An abundance of influences permeated the songs, from those lofty literary and musical geniuses to family members and friends. Bousquet pointed out a box onstage that held a number of his late mother’s 45s. He spoke with a smile of growing up in ​“a cult of Willie Nelson” before sharing the song ​“What Are the Chances and So What if We’re Wrong,” which gave a stern nod to the country legend but was still wholly Bousquet’s own.One song was about birds singing his own song back to him on a solitary walk. Shared encounters that left him contemplating loneliness made their way to a song that dwelled in the realm of magical realism, but never made you forget that these were the tales of a very specific journey, one of bravery and retrospection with a resulting renewal. For no matter how personal and profound each song was, not once did Bousquet not connect on a universal level and offer hope. For example, ​“In a Little City by the Sea,” as he sang ​“Part of my charm is the weight on my shoulders,” you could feel that ache in your bones. He spoke of being someone who wants to ​“solve the problem”; then, in the song ​“The Devil Makes it Easy,” he sang, ​“These days are getting harder, but the devil makes it easy.” Many in the crowd nodded along in agreement as Bousquet not only gave multiple glimpses into his world but assured the listener they were welcome there and could share in the healing. As mentioned earlier the new year brings with it the hope for a new way, but sometimes there are still old lessons to be learned. Bousquet sang during the song ​“The Velvet Underground”: ​“I’ve been doing the best with what I’ve got.” Sometimes doing your best relates to the biggest of changes such as dealing with the loss of a loved one. Sometimes it can be something much smaller, like finding the right words for a story or a song. Either way, how fortunate we are that we have songwriters and poets to put it all into perspective in their own unique way that helps us shift our own perspective and feel less alone. That kind of togetherness helps us all be braver.