It was so exciting to see people take the August theme of “starting over” and run with it. The results are wonderful – take a look! And make sure you read to the end to see what September’s theme is.

First up, Totally Knuts knew pretty immediately that they wanted to cover “Second Chances” by Brian Ross of Draco and the Malfoys. This cover is so good – the lyrics of the song really get a chance to shine, and TK’s vocals are a perfect complement to their ukulele playing.

Next, Sagan created a brand-new Candle Wix demo! It kicks off with some awesome beatboxing and walks through a very time-turny tale about stealing a magical device to pass an exam! You can listen to “I’m Starting Over” (or download it) on DropBox. You could also loop this to play for infinity, if you wanted to.

Keeping up the trend of great music, Jen of Hallows and Horcruxes produced a whole new song! It’s a perfect post-war anthem called “Carry On,” and it features music from Jen’s husband Patrick. Towards the end, you’ll also hear backing vocals from Gina Denegri-Hamilton, Zoe Bentley, and Grace Kendall. What a wonderful team effort! You can hear the song and catch all the gorgeous lyrics in the video below.

Percy and the Prefects produced an incredible full-band song called “Start Over.” It’s hard to decide what’s my favorite part – is it the inventive percussion? The clever rhymes? The understated yet polished production that makes me feel like it’s autumn and I’m in high school again? Whatever it is, this jam that’s ostensibly about Ron lamenting his paltry attempt at an essay for McGonagall takes on surprising depth and emotional nuance as it steps into the shoes of Ron muddling his way through his fourth year. Listen on Spotify for one of my favorite tracks of 2020.

Finally, Hogwarts Therapist wrote an ethereal song called “Start Again.” It takes a look at moving forward – as a person, or even as a whole fandom. The harmonies will stop you in your tracks, and the message will leave you feeling lifted. Listen to it on Soundcloud.

For September, our theme is “houses.” You can interpret that however you wish – write about an Order meeting at #12 Grimmauld Place, make something for your favorite Hogwarts house, or maybe wax nostalgic for wizard rock shows that made you feel like you were home. Responses don’t need to be songs, either – you could write out some favorite lyrics, draw some art, or make a video dancing along to a song that reminds you of this theme. It’s all for fun, so don’t worry about making anything polished or professional. Just have a little fun and create!

Post whatever you put together in the comments – lyrics, photos, demos, anything – and we’ll highlight them in next month’s post. Have fun!