Arts & Culture
“The words didn’t really fit what I believed:” New seasonal music release reclaims Pagan roots
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Adrianne Blanks, a relative newcomer to the Asheville area, releases a new Pagan version of a beloved holiday carol.
Featured
An interview with an Appalachian songsmith
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IRONSBURG, Tenn. – Whether he is tending the land on his farm in the mountains of eastern Tennessee or performing his songs at a Pagan gathering, Louis Garou is a man who is truly grateful for all that he has and all that he can do. “Every morning, without fail,” he explained, “when I wake up I thank the Goddess, and whatever wayward god that might care, for all the blessings I have received. And the biggest blessing is living on this land, in these mountains.”
He refers to himself as, “just a witchy, mountain farmer,” and he takes his calling as a steward of the land seriously. “It is a privilege and a responsibility to care for this sacred ground.
Culture
Yule Blessings from The Wild Hunt
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It’s our tradition here at The Wild Hunt to do a round-up of events that occur around this time of year. It is a busy time between Samhain and the close of the calendar year culminating in Yule known also as Alban Arthuan. They range from ancient festivals celebrating the darkest time of the year like Saturnalia, Tekufat Tevet and Yalda Night to the more recent traditions like Festivus and Burning the Clocks. It is a joyous time of the year celebrating the cessation of the growing dark and the promise of a returning light. In Rome, solstice festivals merged to become the festival of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the days of the birth of the unconquered sun.
News
Todd Alan returns to music with Earth Changes
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CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. – Earth Changes, the new album by musician Todd Alan, includes a dire warning in his song “We Can Unite.”
“It really is so simple, the end of the road is near,” Alan sings as his plaintive, John Denver-ish tenor meanders over his mellow banjo playing. “The way we’ve run our politics, we’ll just increase the fear, and fear will breed more violence. The killing will go on until some really foolish man ignites the atom bomb.”
Alan obviously penned the song while watching the news crawl on CNN one recent night, right? Er, no. The singer/guitarist/banjoist recorded the 10 songs of Earth Changes in 2006.
News
CalderaFest is cancelled
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LAFAYETTE, Ga. — CalderaFest, a beleaguered Pagan music festival scheduled for May 2019, has been cancelled according to a statement released by festival founder David Banach. The festival debuted May 2016 in LaFayette, and a second one was scheduled there for Oct. 5-9, 2017. On Aug.