Episode 282: Song of the Garden

This week my guests are Northern California based musical duo Misner & Smith. Sam, who is Misner, and Megan, who is Smith comprise one of the most acclaimed acts in the Americana world. Blending elements of that genre with bluegrass, traditional folk ballads, and more pop leaning ideas, they’ve been described as making music that is gloriously nonconforming. Aside from their musical chops, Sam & Megan are expert gardeners who focus on pollinators, sustainability and community gardening. Listen on to find out how their connection to nature feeds into their music. What We Talk About Sam & Megan’s gardening backgrounds Gardening sustainably and for the community Gardening as a creative outlet? 
How gardening inspires when you are looking for creative prompts How gardening factors into their music? The garden soundscape About Misner & Smith Northern California based unclassifiable duo Misner & Smith treasure the unpredictability of their band. Technically precise songwriting mirrored with an improvisatory spirit and soaring harmonies have made the band consisting of Sam Misner and Megan Smith one of the most acclaimed acts in the Americana world. Blending elements of that genre with bluegrass, traditional folk ballads, and more pop leaning ideas, Misner & Smith makes music gloriously nonconforming.  The duo first met at a Shakespeare festival as professional actors in California in 2002 but began working as a musical duo two years later when Sam and Megan discovered a mutual love of roots music, Woody Guthrie, and in particular, harmony singing. Before the release of their career defining sixth LP ALL IS SONG, the duo had released five critically acclaimed records, including Halfway Home (2004), Poor Player (2008), Live at the Freight & Salvage (2010), Seven Hour Storm (2013), and headwaters (2017). It was that 2017 release that found the group stripping their sound back down to where it began, two voices and two instruments. headwaters was recorded live in the studio and features the duo doing what they do best. On ALL IS SONG, they build upon that momentum and turn in their finest work to date, an album of inspired declarations to the power of music, song, and, most importantly, collaboration. www.misnerandsmith.com YouTube  Other episodes if you liked this one: Natural Fibres - This week’s guest is multi-media artist Hanna Varga. Hanna incorporates the natural world into her work and her current projects involve foraging for fibres she turns into both useful and beautiful items. The conversation began with Hanna talking about her work past and present and developed into a really important conversation about the value of items at their more than fiscal level. 
Soundscapes & Landscapes - This week I’m speaking to Dr Mike Edwards, Chief Listening Officer at Sound Matters, a company focussed on using sound and listening to create more sustainable and resilient futures. Sound Matters provided the soundtrack to the Rewilding Britain garden that one best in show at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. Mike recently spoke passionately about climate change, soundscapes and landscapes at the Beth Chatto Symposium and wowed a lecture theatre full of rapt listeners with his prowess on the didgeridoo. Support the podcast on Patreon