It was nearing midnight last Saturday when I found myself in a circle of friends in the small, cozy sitting nook between the front door and the bar counter of The Scotsman in Waynesville. 

Any live music fan knows the feeling of the energy in a crowd before a show begins. And, despite its newness in only its second year of existence, that energy was in full effect at AVLfest this past weekend in Asheville. 

Hello from Room 813 of the Cambria hotel in downtown Asheville. It’s Sunday night, nearing 10 p.m. Warm air outside on the patio overlooking the skyline of a city I’ve orbited for the last 12 years, a place near and dear to my heart and soul, thoughts and visions.

Wednesday morning, June 12, I left my sister’s house in Sapphire for my very first music festival. 

I’d been to plenty of other concerts, raves and shows but had never dedicated more than a few hours to live music at any one time.

Hello from Room 202 at the Holiday Inn Express on the outskirts of the small town of Lake Wales, Florida.

Hello from Room 6102 at the Sonder motel on the edge of Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s 80 degrees outside in the late morning, with the dry heat of the Southwest steadily rising like the hot sun above the high desert prairie surrounding this vast, metropolitan area.