Meet Win Miranda F: Former Iowa City Songwriter Festival Scholar

When I first arrived in Iowa City, I had no plans on moving here. A few days earlier, I’d packed up my car and drove halfway across the country, hoping to find out if someday I might like to be a full-time touring musician. I’d never taken a long road trip by myself. Receiving a scholarship to the Iowa City Songwriters Festival provided me an opportunity to road test my ambition.

The first night of ICSF kicked off with a welcome dinner at the Trumpet Blossom. Brian, the Englert’s Programming Director, gave an inspiring speech with one sentiment in particular that really resonated with me. He said that he imagined there would someday be a songwriting program at the University of Iowa, regarded just as seriously as the university’s poetry and prose programs. No one at the festival knew it, but I’d dropped out of a poetry MFA program about a year earlier, after realizing that as much as the literary form inspired me, I was using poetry as a way of hiding from my true love which was songwriting. There at the Trumpet Blossom, it occurred to me that I’d finally found my people.

On the last day of the festival, I had a one on one mentor meeting with the singer-songwriter Willy Tea Taylor. I won’t repeat exactly what he told me, but in our meeting, he affirmed that I was on the right path. It was a hard decision to make, but I decided that even if I wasn’t ready to go on tour just yet, I couldn’t drive back to my hometown of Las Vegas. Then by chance, a friend I’d made in the lobby of the Graduate Hotel texted me. She said that if I decided to move to Iowa City, I could stay in her guest room until I found my own place. It took me about two weeks to find a full-time day job as a housekeeper. And a few days later, when a part-time position for the Englert’s box office opened up, I applied for that, too.

When I was in college, I listened to the singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten’s early records on repeat. In interviews, she would talk about how, after she finally committed to doing what she loved, the universe seemed to open up. Suddenly, she had opportunities to learn more about the music industry and to make her art not just a hobby but a top priority. I feel that I’ve been granted a similar gift, the Iowa City Songwriters Festival and working in the Englert box office being two of the first steps in what I hope will be a lifelong career as a musician and ambassador of the craft. 

Being invited to perform a song at last month’s fundraiser at the Wildwood was another unexpected gift. It was an honor to contribute something that could raise funds for this year’s scholarship program. Although I’ve written quite a bit here, I really can’t put into words how grateful I am for the ways last year’s ICSF helped catapult me into a community where I can grow and thrive as an artist. I hope at least a few more scholars get to have as meaningful an experience as I have had. 

Many gratitudes.

Win