Saturday, September 27, 2025
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Sat, Sep 27, 2025, 5:30 PM
So, this is Moorland, I’ve loved Country since been a kid after hearing Hank Williams and Woody Gutherie and have always had a soft spot for the tradition of this music. Similar to the Blues, and also bards of medieval Europe, and the spoken word story tellers of ancient Persia and Mesopotamia……The path of the country singer is one that is deeply rooted in honoring the tradition and history of this form of music. Often the path means the musician walks the Earth for a while picking up songs and melodies and lyrical contexts. It’s absolutely true that Country music has been commercialized, sanitized and co-opted to promote values that are inconsistent with its deep heritage. ‘Outlaw Country’ was artists such as Waylon Jennings’s, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and others rejecting the ‘Nashville’ recoding industry scene and staying true to the heritage and there’s Artists today’s continuing that tradition. For me Country music is and needs to be the music of the people and not for the purpose of drinking the most bland beers of the world while line dancing….. but when your driving home from your second job to your family who you love and your inability to provide more for them breaks your heart ever day….and you watch your friends fall into addiction……your parents and elders struggle with medical needs and alcoholism and blind faith God will provide….Your younger siblings struggle at school because what hope do they have beyond staying out of jail….your gay friends are on the verge of suicide or having to move away…..businesses continually shutting as the Walmart 50 miles away becomes the only place you can buy anything….. And while this ache deepens as the lines on your face become imbedded in a sun squint you sing this music….you hear this music and feel slightly proud you can continue….you hear this music and know the struggle goes beyond yourself and your town and for a short while you know you’re not alone….you’re part of a class of people that’s struggling…… Then sometimes you hear the Blues, Billy Holiday, John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson or the amazing Nina Simone and hear their voices coming from knowing their struggle…. And you know it’s not just you, it’s not just your town, it’s not just poor white folk but it’s everyone beneath an income bracket and that you’ve always been part of this class….that this music always existed and it’s the same song wether you were in England in 1620 or Afghanistan in 200 BC or in Ethiopia or Sudan in 2000BC it’s the music of regular people trying their best to live their lives and love and take care of their families. Having said all that Ela’s music is going to be so much fun and such a great vibe….when we leave the park I’d encourage you all to ride on her ride and drop into modern pop country…. Why? Because as long as music of the people has existed so has music for the people to get down too existed and to kick of the worries and weight of the day and instead have fun, dance, drink, eat and move, As with all our rides we practice consent and non-violence. The expectation is to respect fellow riders and also other road users. If you’re a banned rider and can’t post rides you’re also banned here.
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