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.

“ There's something happening here What it is ain't exactly clear There's a man with a gun over there A-telling me I got to beware ” - Stephen Stills and Buffalo Springfield In 1966, these words didn’t feel all that much different than in present time – some 60-years later. And here we are, doing it again. Really? What is it exactly, that we are doing again? Oh yes, we’re outraged and in the streets, “ Singing songs and a-carrying signs, mostly say hooray for our side ,” but

When emotions need a balm and life gets really messy, music and sound are a solid antidote.