Hello friends,
Nothing lightens my heart, brightens my soul, and makes the day beautiful more than music.
Music is the language of the spirit.
It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”
—Kahlil Gibran
I spent a glorious day with family for our annual trek to the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival. I cherish those trips sitting under the clear, but rather warm, blue skies with the people I care about most, listening to music of all genres.
We underestimate the power of the music that surrounds us every day. Music can soothe a fretful baby or calm a rambunctious toddler. Imagine a horror or adventure movie without a soundtrack. The music draws us into the scene, creating intense emotion.
Daniel Levitan, in This Is Your Brain on Music, found that “all of us are musical experts. We’re all expert listeners, able to make subtle discriminations about the music we know.” His research revealed that “music engages every portion of the brain that scientists have mapped so far.” Why is this important?
As it turns out, music is good for the brain. Listening to music stimulates those neurons and connections that help us become better thinkers and doers of all kinds of tasks.
I’ve also heard it will keep you young. I’m definitely in favor of that!
A few ACL favorites:
The Revivalists, a rock band from New Orleans, had us tapping our toes to “Keep Going.”
Gamer-turned-musician, David Burke, aka d4vd, started writing original music to accompany his Fortnite videos when he kept getting flagged on TikTok for copyright infringement. “Here With Me” went viral, and the Houston artist took his talent to ACL and is now on tour.
The multi-instrumentalist, Vincent Fenton from Tours, France, who goes by FKJ (French Kiwi Juice), astounded us with his musical versatility. In his solo performance, he does live looping of himself playing various instruments—an amazing technology feat. Enjoy “Different Masks for Different Days” and remember this is one person.
The Lumineers topped off our evening of music with “Ophelia,” but I do love the solitary guitar in “Nobody Knows” from “Pete’s Dragon.”
“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”
—Aldous Huxley
“Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.”
—Leonard BernsteinFind a little wonder this week.
Find a little wonder this week, listen to some music, and if you can, go to a live musical event. You won’t regret it, and your brain will get a boost.
With gratitude,
Kathryn
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