Life Is Confusing, People Are Insane

Sitting on a rather large fallen tree branch, Langhorne Slim gazes out onto the grounds of FloydFest. Located just a stone’s throw from the Blue Ridge Parkway, tucked within the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, the annual late July gathering has become a haven of sorts for tens of thousands of folks seeking genuine human compassion and melodic serenity. 

The night before he finds himself parked on this branch, Langhorne Slim mesmerized an enormous audience underneath an illuminated disco ball on a large outdoor stage. He and his group, The Lost at Last Band, echoed joyously across rolling hills, a sense of warmth found in the crisp mountain air. He stands in front of microphone, preaching love for your neighbor and how we are—truly—all in this together, so why not reach out and help someone in need?

Born Sean Scolnick, Langhorne Slim takes his stage name from his hometown of Langhorne, Pennsylvania. He’s part train car-hopping gypsy, part vaudeville performer, but all truth in his presence, in-person and in performance. He’s an old soul at 37, “an ancient baby” in his own words. And Langhorne Slim carries with him a timeless message of kindness, one who seemingly finds more camaraderie with the elderly, sometime two or three times his age, where he sits and interacts, immersing in a living, breathing history that’s more alive than meets the eye. 

In his latest release, “Lost at Last Vol. 1,” Langhorne Slim present a musical canvas filled with brushstrokes of old-time Eastern Seaboard boardwalks and rural backwoods hootenannies, of whirlwind carnival rides and foggy childhood memories held closely, of an impending and often confusion adulthood, all while trying to navigate the haphazard game that is this thing called life. 

It ain’t nostalgia, it’s about seeing and embracing the beauty of the past, of simpler times, where face-to-face conversation wasn’t a lost art as it seems nowadays. Some may call Langhorne Slim the pied piper of the digital age. But, most, if not all, call him a friend—whether in passing or in their headphones. 

In terms of positivity, you really radiate that onstage. Where are we right now as a society?

With what I do for a living, as a song-and-dance man, I’m given the opportunity to step into that. And where we are, as a country and in the world, I’ve never felt the desire or the need to step into that as much as I do now. For me, a lot of things seem and feel broken, and they probably always have. But, I think if we lose hope, then we’re truly screwed. It’s difficult to have hope and to have optimism all of the time. And it’s more difficult for some people than others to travel around, to get to talk and meet with all different types of people—people that might vote a different way than you or root for a different team. But, I have that luxury through what I do. And I truly believe that most people are sweet on the inside. And we’re conditioned in many ways, in my opinion, to be hard and tough on the outside. I find that to be a societal tragedy. With what I do, through music and my life, is to try to be vulnerable, embrace the strength in connection, and in vulnerability and in sensitivity. I believe the purest strengths lie not in picking on people that might think different than you do.

It feels like we as a society, we’re in shutdown mode, where it’s, “If I don’t agree with you, I shutdown,” or you may find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning.

Well, I experience that, too. I go through modes of shutting down and modes of tuning back into some of it. I don’t know, I wish I knew. I go back-and-forth between, “Do I listen to all of this?” and I’m a very sensitive fella, so it affects me and impacts me, or do I just live my life and be kind to those who I come across, and feel the world in that way?—which oftentimes feels more real and pure than building opinions based on what you may read or see on the news.

It’s the idea being the more you poke the cosmos, the more it plays back with you.

Yeah. It’s leads to both beauty and terror, but I’ll take. I’d rather be in that boat than some other boats. Personally, for me, and everybody’s different, but [the 13th century poet/scholar] Rumi has this quote that says, “You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.” And I always connect with that and love that. And I think that’s kind of the journey of life, for me, is to try to reach the essence of something that feels sincere, that feels genuine, pure and real. 

High Spirits in Highlands

The annual Highlands Food & Wine Festival will be held Nov. 8-11 around downtown Highlands, North Carolina. Events include the Truckin’ craft beer, food truck and live music Nov. 9 with The Lone Bellow; Nov. 10 with legendary singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen performing in front of a Main Street culinary block party; Sip & Pour on Nov. 10 with Langhorne Slim & The Lost at Last Band; and Gospel Brunch Nov. 11 with Mavis Staples, among several other food and beverage activities. highlandsfoodandwine.com.