Appalachian mysticism spiritual folk revival in north carolina or what the poseur An*** 3000’s LA new age spiritual jazz revival wishes they were

 In June 2023 my cousin brought me to a Floating show at a ranch in LA (walking back to the car after the show we found a horse. I shined my phone’s flash to pet her, 10/10). Carlos Niño and Friends played a spiritual jazz set that was 35% misc. percussion, 15% electric organ and 50% bird calls. We were high and spread out on a blanket like everyone else. We were eating a $5 rotisserie chicken, cucumber salad, and butter almond basmati rice like nobody else-- but I think that was ok. Sean Mendez was vibing out behind us (on a "mental health break" from touring, according to the tabloids). My cousin says this happens all the time. He’s a Floating regular. Apparently Andre 3000 is also in with the LA spiritual jazz scene after the release of his non-rap album, New Blue Sun. This release feels exciting for us, but it's just a rehash of the Pharaoh Sanders and Alice Coltrane era. They were really doing something new in the progression of American jazz and broader New Age culture at that time. In 2023 this feels like it could be at best an instance of the eternal return or maybe just nostalgia, or worse— 2003 Ariel Pink.

In the Cat’s Cradle back room, Carrboro, North Carolina— Setting plays a spiritual folk set. Maybe an hour and a half of nonverbal music— some kind of large box accordion drones, and a banjo is played with small wooden sticks processed through several unknowable metal boxes. Joe Westerlund is on drums. Legend of the scene: Joe Westerlund. First heard of him when Emily submitted pottery to a Peel gallery group show. Joe also had visual art in the show. Soon I’d see him at every show. The only drummer in the triangle it seems. I saw him play a strange one off set with Nick Sandborne in the same room I was in tonight. What started as a small-town joke between Emily and I has now become a case of true infatuation. I love to see Joe’s name on a bill. I feel like maybe he is the NC Carlos Niño, as NC is to LA-- quiet and humble and deeply rooted. The Setting show lacks much of the faux eastern mysticism of the Floating show. There are no words and no celebrities and no horses. It’s more Walt Whitman than Alan Watts to me. More John Fahey than Alice Coltrane. If I were less of a poseur I would be able to include more appropriate bluegrass and Appalachian references [here]. Then again that doesn't stop Angel Olsen, Avey Tare, and the newer generation of Appalachian aura-farmers from taking in the fresh Blue Ridge Mountain air.  

 If LA burns down completely next time, I would not be surprised if it re-emerges in NC.  This might in fact be the best scenario we can hope for.  As there is an argument to be made that remaking American society might require engagement with a rich and uniquely American mythology. American political theorist, Murray Bookchin writes, "wherever anarchism took root, it did so because it literally became a voice of freedom for yearning people and spoke in their language -- notably, their most cherished ideals, most fervent hopes, and in the idiom of their specific tongues." 

-MPB