Bluegrass

I love Steve Martin. I love Steve Martin so much that I’m willing to listen to bluegrass music. His songs anyway. It isn’t about good and bad music. I know music is simply a matter of taste. For me, bluegrass—and most country—tastes like bluegrass. Bluegrass that was clipped, bagged in a garbage sack, and cooked in the sun until it decomposed into compost wine.

My wife and I were invited to a concert. The band was Beatlegras—a bluegrass-infused Beatles cover band. The Beatles are great, but I wasn’t sure why someone would want to ruin their music with bluegrass.

From the first song, it was clear the artists were talented. The first couple of tunes they played were exceptionally well performed, but it was off for me. The essence of the song I loved was there, but it was weird. I finally warmed up to it. I appreciated the trio’s effort.

Earlier that same day, I interviewed with a CEO. He was a surprising person—both as an individual and as a CEO. It was obvious he was a nerd. We can quickly spot our own in the wild. We talked about the role I was interviewing for and then moved on to his experiences at the company. While he’d been engaged for our entire discussion, his energy changed when he talked about the cool things he “got to be a part of” at this company. He was excited about chicken strips, the seasoning technique on fries, and pickle jars. Mostly, he was excited that these ideas came from listening to various team members. His energy was infectious. I felt excitement about a restaurant I hadn’t been to in years.

Twice in one day, I was swept by the ripple of others’ passion for their work. The Beatlegras trio won over the entire theater. The crowd sang along to every song. They did the thank you and shout-outs that accompany the announcement of “one more tune.” As they started playing Hey Jude, everyone in the crowd stood up. We all sang along to their touching rendition of the song Paul wrote for John’s son Julian. They took a sad song and made it better.

It is infectious to see people share the work that excites them. Infectious enough to listen to bluegrass music. Infectious enough to get excited about salt and pepper. Infectious enough to want to seek out the things that excite me and get to work.

When was the last time I got excited about my work? When was the last time I got excited by someone else's work? “What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?”¹

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.

1. Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear