Video Premiere: Goodness Shines in Valerie Lighthart's “The Journey”

It's rare that there's a truly touching story behind a music video – one that might even go so far as to strengthen your faith in humanity a little. The six-year story that culminated in Valerie Lighthart's new video for “The Journey” is one such story.

The 3 minutes and 39 seconds you spend enjoying this mini-movie offer only relative insight into its real-life inspirations: a bus that becomes a home, a passionately supportive family member, and the general goodness that exists in most people. So let's start with what you see in the music video and go from there.

The basic idea is that a young lady is sitting alone at her own birthday party and has no guests to celebrate with. A pair of artists arrive to provide entertainment and, given the situation, take them on a fairytale adventure with cake and candles, sing-alongs and a balloon-filled disco/recording session.

Okay, so… with that out of the way, let's dive into the emotional rollercoaster that took six years to develop.

There was a lot going on at Lighthart in 2018. She worked with Will and Kevin Bush of Immortal Girlfriend on her debut EP. She helped her bandmate and longtime friend Lauren Bahr convert an old bus into a house on wheels. And she just landed a gig on the Johnson Controls stage at Summerfest.

“It was my first opportunity to play on such a big stage, and I was shaking in my boots – I desperately wanted to hold my tone, muster all my resonance, and not cry,” Lighthart told us. “My whole family came. My grandma wheeled my grandpa up to the raised platforms so he could see, my mom and siblings took the front row… and then a few rows over, this little girl in the corner beams up at me.”

That was Bahr's cousin Lucia Bahr-Garcia, who a year later was still feeling the effects of the experience and was given the opportunity to share how much it meant to her, just when Lighthart needed it most.

The Milwaukee artist has always made it clear how hard she has to work on her singing voice, and in 2019 she was plagued by doubts and became increasingly critical of herself. In stepped Lucia.

“[Her] The enthusiasm for the summer festival show and for the music itself was infectious,” remembers Lighthart. “I felt like I could see my voice through a new lens – an enthusiastic, uncritical, celebratory lens. It helped me fall in love with singing and creating again.”

It turns out Lighthart's biggest little fan had her own performance dreams, albeit acting ones. That's why Lighthart and Bahr vowed that one day they would give Lucia the chance to appear in front of the camera. “The Journey” proved to be that opportunity, even if it wasn’t easy.

Bahr had moved to Oregon in 2023 and Lighthart had to cross a few time zones to once again disrupt a family gathering for a video shoot with all the main characters: Lucia, Bahr, Lighthart and of course the bus. Local cinematographer and director Spencer Ortega shot the project with the help of George Sande, and the final product is a video of which Lighthart said, “It feels like I felt when I was 20: so full of wildness and childlikeness.” Hope that the world would be different one day. Bright and beautiful place where I could enjoy every facet.”

It's a beautiful story for a beautiful video that you can watch at the top of the page. Check out everything the tirelessly creative Lighthart has brought to the world, including a no-budget, feature-length musical(!), on her YouTube page and keep up with their many pursuits follow her on Instagram.