At an Asheville concert, a rap group lifted the crowd in a way classical pieces didn’t. It reminded me that rhythm isn’t intellectual—it’s embodied. In anxious times, predictable beats ground us, entrain us, and help the nervous system settle. Music matters now because it connects, calms, and brings communities back into themselves.

Even though I’m living in the beauty of the remote Appalachian Mountains, the great thing about the internet is that I’m digitally...