One of our top favorite musical groups is The Arcadian Wild (their official “about” page; my previous post). They’re “newgrass,” neither bluegrass nor pop nor country. We heard them in OKC a couple years ago, and went again a week ago at Beer City Music Hall for their OKC stop this year.
A few years ago we drove to a Bruce Cockburn concert in Des Moines. We were among the youngest folk there, and everyone had chairs. This time, we were among the oldest folk there, and almost no one had a chair. But just as with the Cockburn concert, the music was incredible and practically everyone could sing along.
Welcome
They opened with Welcome, a theme song to make every day of the year Thanksgiving (lyrics; cf. “Grateful“).
Welcome, friend
I’m so glad you came
It wouldn’t be the same without you here
Step inside
Sit down for a while
Drink in all the smiles and the tearsHelp yourself
It’s all on the house
Pass your plate around and don’t be shy
Have your fill
There’s plenty here to share
Everything prepared with us in mindEvery night we wonder “Who..?”
How we hoped it would be youWhatever you brought here tonight
We will feast and find the light
Draining every cup of joy and grief
Only God knows why we all
Stumbled in this dining hall
Searching for the food that we all need
Let us gather round the table
Come and eat…
“Maybe you’ve brought home a baby girl…”
(Update summer 2025: Lincoln and his wife Shelby have a newborn girl.)
“This our meal, it is an act of war…”
In The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, the White Witch happens upon a merry meal being shared by foxes, squirrels, satyrs and a dwarf, who have just been cheered by a visit from Father Christmas (ch. 11). The Witch, enraged, regards the meal as an act of war, and so it was, undoing the very fabric of her evil reign. Sharing the meal together declares that Aslan is on the move.
The photo on the cover is so wonderful. This is a perfect song to open a concert, to sing whenever a group may gather whether in the living room or around a campfire, or to play before a thanksgiving meal (on any day of the year). The allusion to the “host” in the last verse also suggests that it’s a song about Jesus welcoming us to his table. It goes to the heart of the eucharist. “Welcome” portrays the true nature of the church, loving and welcoming others just as Christ welcomes us.
“For dark and death
They’ve had their part to play
They will make way for another HostWhatever you brought here tonight
We will feast and find the light
Drink in every cup of joy and griefOnly God knows why we all
Stumbled in this dining hall
Searching for the food that we all need
Let us gather round the table:
“Come and Eat.”
Big Sky, MT
Big Sky, MT exemplies the beauty of harmonies, rhythms, musicality, and poetry which to me are the magic touch of The Arcadian Wild. And of course I will love a song about watching Orion in the mountains.
Meet me where
The sweetgrass dances in the mountain air
Near the old ponderosa pine
I found our future hidden thereWith the light on by the door you can see
A welcome mat is waiting on the porch
Climbing ivy up all the walls
And errant tea leaves on the floorOn our hill
We watch the hunter string his starry bow
Imagining he’s aiming at the dark
Fighting for the sun to showThen the sky becomes a fire we sit by
Making up a story, taking turns each one word at a time
The morning light cuts through the mountain air like a knife
To carve our names on the old ponderosa pine…
Shoulders
Their playlist included Shoulders, a song Lincoln Mick, the lead singer, wrote about his Dad (lyrics). Many people were singing along; probably not a dry eye in the house. I was thinking of my Dad throughout. I saw a vision of Ethan (born last Christmas Eve) riding on the shoulders of his papa, Stephen, and thought of Ethan singing this song for Stephen a few decades hence.
[Chorus]
I’m standing on your shoulders
You turned my green to golden
It still comes as a surprise
Whenever I look in your eyes
Without fail, I always find the man I want to be
I’m standing on your shoulders[Verse 3]
I watched you bear that cross upon your back
All along an ancient path, ah
You showed me how to find my way back home
And I have never walked alone, ah[Bridge]
I cannot count the times you’ve caught me from the fall
I hear your voice when my back’s up against a wall
When the darkness makes
me feel I’m far away from you
You gently remind me that this never was nor will be true
With never a hint of disappointment, Stephen has caught Ethan from a fall going on 1,000 times, and my Dad has done the same for me my entire life.
Corner
Isaac Horn sings this beautiful song from a corner.
From day one you pushed me forward
Never once stopped to take a breath
When I look for you, you’re standing in my cornerI woke up to the wind and you came running
You whisper through the noise
It’s looking like the storm is worse than we thought
it’s time to goBut what about everything?
You said, “I’m already holding you…”
In the Middle
As an encore, they unplugged, came down from the stage, and (joined by Oh Jeremiah) they sang right in the middle of us a cover of “The Middle,” by Jimmy Eat World: Arcadian-encore.mp4. Magic.
It just takes some time
Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything’ll be just fine
Everything, everything’ll be alright, alrightHey, you know they’re all the same
You know you’re doing better on your own (on your own)
So don’t buy inLive right now
Yeah, just be yourself
It doesn’t matter if it’s good enough (good enough)
For someone elseIt just takes some time
Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything’ll be just fine
Everything, everything’ll be alright, alright
No one between us and their incredible harmonies. We were glad there had been no chairs for us after all. As we limped to our parking spot, we rejoiced at having been gifted such a beautiful, lovely, encouraging evening.
Thank you, Lincoln, Isaac, and Bailey.
Album
Update
A new Christmas album will be coming in November! What an autumnal treat!
November 1: Happy Golden Days is out! I’ve made a separate post about it.
