And Am I Born to Die?

Little Sadie

Down to the Valley to Pray

"Velvet Horizon" drifts in like a warm breeze after midnight — a slow, 72 BPM blend of smooth R&B, soft Latin groove, and velvety jazz harmonies, layered with the organic warmth of Appalachian Americana roots and the free spirit of a soulful jamband. Every note breathes, every beat sways, creating a timeless space where the night never ends.

’s about two people meeting in that magical, in-between space of night — where the world slows down, the lights get softer, and every glance feels like it could last forever.  The singer is drawn to someone mysterious and magnetic, describing the scene in rich, cinematic detail — the glow of the city or a quiet mountain night, the feel of a slow rhythm in the air, the unspoken pull between them.  It’s not about a wild, passionate fling — it’s about savoring the moment, where attraction is wrapped in elegance and restraint. The “velvet horizon” is both the literal backdrop (the night sky melting into gold) and the metaphor for that line between reality and dream where they’re meeting.  The feeling is sultry, romantic, timeless — the kind of song that leaves you wondering what happens when the music stops, but hoping it never does.

Velvet Horizon

The Old Playbook is a protest ballad carved out of history’s raw nerve. Written and performed by Pick’s Hideaway Players, it’s an unflinching chronicle of violent strategies, political manipulations, and the cycles of power that have scarred generations.

Drawing on real-world events — from market bombings and assassinations to forced displacements and blockades — the song doesn’t sugarcoat. Each verse is a page from the “playbook” of state and militant power, exposing how fear, force, and propaganda are weaponized to redraw maps and erase communities.

Musically, it sits deep in the shadows of Southern folk revival, soaked in outlaw grit and Appalachian truth-telling. With stomping rhythms, droning strings, and a preacher’s growl, The Old Playbook pulls no punches.

This isn’t just music — it’s a reckoning.

The Old Playbook

The Little Engine That Could is a gritty, roots-driven anthem of perseverance and determination. Inspired by the timeless children’s story, this track reimagines the uphill climb as a real-life struggle — a fight to reach the summit against all odds. With rolling Americana grooves, a touch of outlaw country grit, and heartfelt storytelling, the song paints the picture of a small but determined engine pulling its weight (and everyone else’s) toward the gold at the mountaintop.

It’s a story for dreamers, builders, and fighters — anyone who’s ever been told “you can’t” and proved them wrong. The Cedar Knob backdrop gives the narrative a real-world anchor, a symbol of the ultimate goal that’s worth every ounce of coal and every mile of track.

The Little Engine that coukld

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Electric Dad - Front Porch Dub [FREE DL]

What a joy it is to have festival season upon us once agin!  Sure, any time of the year is good for going to concerts and rejoicing in the ability of our species to extract pleasing (and sometimes emotionally bracing) sounds from all manner of objects, including their own voices.  But there is something special about summer music festivals.  As we lay out our blankets on warm grass or struggle to set up our lawn chairs, ever joyful in the sun and mildly grumpy in the rain, gathering as a community of music lovers.  (And why do I see that same old guy with the tie dyed shirt and white straw fedora at every festival?  Maybe that old guy is me...?)   So this week, I'm playing tracks from artists I saw this past weekend at the Celtic Festival in Goderich, ON, a lovely community-infused, human-scale festival with dandy music.  

I'll play songs and tunes about larks, meadows, false lovers, long houses, midnight robbers, birthdays, police requests, wild nights, Christmas Day weddings, the coming of spring, and transatlantic proposals.  From musicians such as The Kane Sisters, Fiárock, Rachel Davis & Darren McMullen, Conor Mallon, Grosse Isle, and Rachel Hair & Ron Jappy.  Get out the patchouli incense and join me.

Routes & Branches & Beyond show # 379 2025 08 14

Heart’s My Kingdom is an earthy, festival-ready world fusion anthem. It blends the mountain soul of Appalachian Americana jamband roots, the warmth of soulful R&B, the color of smooth jazz horns, the pulse of world rhythmic percussion, and the fire of psychedelic funk guitar.

This track crowns the listener with rhythm — love not as city polish, but as a river, a mountain, and a kingdom built on soul. With wide jam sections, it’s designed for live improvisation under the stars.

Heart’s My Kingdom

Lake Natron is an instrumental soundscape that channels the eerie stillness and spiritual mystery of Tanzania’s blood-red salt lake. Known for its calcifying waters that preserve animals like stone sculptures, Lake Natron holds a paradoxical energy — deathly and haunting, yet profoundly beautiful.

The music mirrors that duality: deep drones form the lake’s ominous undercurrent, while desert blues guitar bends and Appalachian fiddle phrases trace the fragile outlines of life and memory. Percussion is sparse and ritualistic, echoing like distant thunder across glassy surfaces. Layers of synth shimmer reflect the lake’s mirrored waters, pulling the listener into a trance of both dread and wonder.

As part of Songs of the Sacred Earth, this track becomes a meditation on time suspended — a reminder that even in silence and stillness, the Earth carries songs of power, reflection, and transformation.

Lake Natron (Tanzania)

Whispers of the Lake is an instrumental meditation that captures the mystery and stillness of a sacred waterscape. The piece flows with subtle textures — drones that hover like mist, gentle guitar lines that ripple like reflections, and light percussion that echoes like footsteps along a silent shore.

Rather than movement or climax, this track is built around presence. The instruments breathe in open space, speaking in hushed tones as if carried by the wind across water. Each note drifts and fades, leaving silence as part of the composition, creating a soundscape where the listener can hear what lies beneath the surface.

It is not a song of declaration, but of invitation — an offering of atmosphere, mood, and spirit. Whispers of the Lake evokes the quiet power of still water at twilight, where voices seem to rise from the depths and dissolve into air, leaving behind a sense of reflection and awe.

Whispers of the Lake

Desert Mirage is an journey that drifts between illusion and reality, echoing the trance-like visions born from heat and silence. Where Whispers of the Lake and Lake Natron move with watery reflection, Desert Mirage carries the listener into arid vastness — a soundscape of shifting sands, wavering horizons, and hidden spirits that appear and vanish like smoke.

Built on deep drones and hypnotic percussion, the track weaves desert blues guitar bends with Appalachian fiddle cries, blending roots with mysticism. Subtle synth textures ripple like heat waves, while the rhythm locks into a steady trance groove that pulls the ear forward. Every layer is both real and unreal — a melody that rises only to dissolve back into haze.

At its heart, Desert Mirage is a meditation on perception: the line between what is seen, what is felt, and what is imagined. It extends the journey of Songs of the Sacred Earth into the endless desert, reminding us that sometimes the truth lies in the shimmer, not the stone.

Desert Mirage

"what'll it be, fellas?" ahh beat

Lyrics: Jore
Music: Suno

Karskin miehen ilon pitoon kuuluu karhunraudat,
Kaksi viikkoo vapaata, rynkky, juoksuhaudat
Viinaa pari korillista, iltaisin ois sauna
Autollinen kavereita, poissa kaikki kauna 
(Juu saunaan mentäis! Ilman muuta!)

Kukaan mies ei käyttelisi harjaa taikka luutaa
Kuntosali, oma järvi, saisi paljon huutaa
Desibelimittarikin pikku kisaa varten
Juomanlaskijoina pieni joukko kaunotarten 
(Aah, kauniita naisia!)

Siksi emme keskitykään nyt moiseen turhuuteen
Iloa voit löytää satsaamalla vanhuuteen
Menet vapaaehtoiseksi hoitolaitokseen
Kuulet sekohorinoita päivästä toiseen
(Joo, horinoita, jee)

Ilonpitoa - Jore w/Suno

A letter to Gaza from Appalachia.  Pictured is Razan Al Najjar, a nurse and medic who was killed while tending to the wounded and trying to help others.

Track features banjo and guitar and vocals by me, minus live drum tracks which at this time are only played for live shows.  Original everything else.  I hope you listen deeply, close your eyes and feel.  Go there in your mind, and send a prayer each time you listen or dance.

Razan

Song of Cedar Knob

It's another day on the range here at Routes & Branches & Beyond.  Saddle up and join us for Atlantic Coast blues, middle-aged musicians playing tues from the Middle Ages, Donegal neo-pioneers, the dark soul of Americana, the community of Klezmer, Ukrainian nu-folk from former street buskers, Estonean accordian-driven folk orchestras, bluegrass from the Cloak and Dagger, Cape Verdean island blues, Appalachian friends, everyday kindnesses, and Venezuelan harp from Newfoundland.  All from musicians such as Altan, Hot Toddy, Ensemble Anonymus, Mary Gauthier, Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, Ludy Dobri, Tuulelõõtsutajad, The Barrel Boys, Gabriela Mendes, Si Kahn, Joël Fafard, and Gayle Tapper.  Get your sunglasses and join me.

Routes & Branches & Beyond show # 382 2025 09 04

This site can be seen as a musical tale of the members of the band called The Mescaline Smugglers: Davy McGowan, Jore Heikkila and Tuomas Laitila. But it also includes their other bands, and bands in which they play together in different combinations or solo projects, before and after The Mescaliners. Listen to one track a day and maybe you'll have heard everything after 5 or 6 years. That should make you feel better - money back guarantee!

You Will Really Like This Guy

Join my discord! https://discord.gg/wCNjRw9q9h

Joseph Bergstrom is a multi-instrumentalist folk and bluegrass artist from Southern Oregon. Raised in a rustic log cabin, he grew up fully immersed in the traditions of mountain music and was performing at county fairs and festivals by his teenaged years, bringing an authenticity to his music that only comes from a lifetime in the mountains.

i make shitty music in my spare time
idgaf if u use my music as long as im aware of it & u tag me

New tracks tagged #Appalachian