Meet Your Neighbor: Megan Bee finds inspiration for music in the natural world
GENOA — Singer-songwriter and Genoa native Megan Bihn, who goes by the stage name Megan Bee, says she found her voice around a campfire. She was traveling out West in the mid-2000s, sharing a campfire in the desert with friends, when she fell in love with singing.
“People started playing music, and I started singing, and I thought, ‘This is great,’” she said.
Shortly afterward, a friend put a guitar in Bee’s hand and told her she needed to learn to play since she loved to sing, so she did.
“That changed the whole track of my life,” she said. “I started performing at open mics almost immediately.”
Since then, Bee has developed into a successful singer-songwriter who has released four albums and won several awards, including The Ark of Music album of the year and The Ohio Music Awards Best Americana and Best Singer-Songwriter Albums. On July 21, she will open for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at the Peoples Bank Theatre in Marietta.
“I’m very excited. They’re a great band, and it’s a really beautiful old theater,” Bee said.
Entertainer is daughter of Gene and Amy Bihn
Bee is the daughter of Gene and Amy Bihn, who still reside in her childhood home in Genoa. Bee was a member of band throughout her middle and high school years, and she joined the choir her senior year before graduating from Genoa High School in 2003. Bee left Genoa to attend Hocking College in southern Ohio, where she studied environmental education. After graduation, she worked in environmental education camps in the Hocking Hills region.
Bee has a softly powerful and melodiously soulful voice reminiscent of the natural world she references in her Folk-Americana songs. She sings of sunsets, blue jay calls, moth wings, and moon flowers.
“I’ve been really influenced by living in the southern part of the state. There’s a lot of Appalachian Folk here, and I blended that with current songwriting styles,” Bee said. “I draw a lot of metaphors, a lot of images from the natural world. That’s where I get my inspiration.”
Bee may have found her voice in the desert and her writing inspiration in southern Ohio, but she developed her deep love for the natural world right here in Ottawa County.
“I love Ottawa County. I love that I grew up there. It’s such a rich place. Magee Marsh and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is where I forged that love of nature,” she said. “I travel all over the country, and every time I go back to visit my folks, I realize how lucky I was.”
Bee offers classes, camps for youths
In addition to writing songs, creating albums, and performing, Bee also has a passion for sharing music with children. She has performed and taught songwriting classes to kids at libraries, camps, youth centers and schools.
This year, Bee launched a new business, “Words in the Hills,” where she offers writing retreats and workshops for adult writers of all genres amidst the natural beauty of Hocking Hills. Retreats include sensory hikes, writing in the woods, and open mics around the campfire.
“I’ve been dreaming of this for years, and it kind of sparked up last year,” she said. “I love getting people outside, and I love writing, and I love teaching.”
More information on Megan Bee can be found at www.meganbeemusic.com. Information on writing retreats can be found at www.wordsinthehills.com.
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Megan Bee shares her music, writing retreats in Hocking Hills
