Sav Buist is not just part of the indie folk rock band, The Accidentals - she's a singer-songwriter, recording engineer, and multi-instrumentalist hailing from Nashville TN by way of Traverse City MI.  She's won the 2021 Kerrville NewFolk Songwriting Contest, won 1st place in the 2022 Songwriter Serenade, was the Judge's Choice Winner of the New England Songwriting Competition in 2022, a finalist in the Folk Acoustic category of the 39th Mid Atlantic Song Contest, and recently won the Overall Grand Prize and First Place in the Folk Category for the 27th USA Songwriting Competition.  

Her song Cityview and Dar Williams / Katie Larson co-write, Night Train, were semi-finalists in the International Songwriting Competition, and her song The Line was a semi-finalist in American Songwriter.  Her song Wildfire, co-written with her bandmate Katie Larson and Kim Richey, was the #1 song of the year at Folk Radio in 2021.  Along with playing violin, viola, mandolin, guitar, bass, and banjo, Sav is a certified audio engineer, string arranger, and session worker, as well a self-described problem-solver, lock picker, trailer packer-and-backer, bookworm, key lime pie baker, crow nerd, and cat parent in her spare time. 

Sav’s performances for Humanities series will center on a travelogue of Personal experience and original songs based upon Empowered Humanity — a way of interacting with the world of adversity through awareness, empathy, kindness, compassion, above fear and judgment.

As a touring musician, I often find myself an observer. When we stay in host homes we get an in-depth view of the personal lives of the people we encounter. Everyone is struggling with something. We are often privy to their stories, their struggles, their celebrations. It’s humbling and inspiring. 

Everyone has value. 

A value-centered identity is a more empowering approach than an identity based on stereotypical racial and gender categorizations. Prioritizing personal values allows individuals to define themselves based on their own merits and unique combinations of skills, experiences, and beliefs, encouraging a more inclusive and diverse society.

A dignity lens is having the understanding that every human being possesses inherent worth and value, and all individuals have the right to be treated with dignity and compassion in a time of need. In a world that is increasingly divided, the concept of human dignity has become all the more important. Society's shift from valuing individual liberty to valuing group identity has led to an increase in prejudice and discrimination, making it crucial to challenge our own biases and assumptions

By embracing inquiry and compassion-based thinking, treating ourselves and others with kindness and compassion, and cultivating self-compassion, we can move beyond our tendencies to be fearful and avoid judgment-based thinking.