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A brain injury took away her speech. Music helped bring it back

Published 4:29 am Thursday, May 24, 2018

By Alex McCarthy

Mindy Rowland performs with her Fishermen at the 44th Annual Alaska Folk Festival in Centennial Hall on Monday, April 9, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
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Mindy Rowland performs with her Fishermen at the 44th Annual Alaska Folk Festival in Centennial Hall on Monday, April 9, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Mindy Rowland performs with her Fishermen at the 44th Annual Alaska Folk Festival in Centennial Hall on Monday, April 9, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Mindy Rowland performs with her Fishermen at the 44th Annual Alaska Folk Festival in Centennial Hall on Monday, April 9, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Wearing a purple sweater, purple skirt, black leggings and purple nail polish to match, Mindy Rowland bounded onto the stage on the first night of Folk Fest.

“Everybody having fun?” she asked the crowd, which whooped and clapped its response.

Like many Folk Fest performers, Rowland and her band (called Mindy Rowland and Her Fishermen) had been preparing for months for their 20-minute set on the stage at Centennial Hall.

For Rowland, this was more than just a few months in the making. This performance came four years almost exactly after she suffered an injury that altered the course of her life and nearly took away her ability to speak.

For the rest of this story, visit the Juneau Empire.

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