What makes music move us and stir up our deepest emotions? In recent years, neuroscience and cognitive psychology studies have played a vital role in deciphering the mysteries surrounding music and our emotions.
But on Oct. 3, 2022 at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, there was no mystery to decipher. Legendary Talking Heads’ superstar Jerry Harrison, a longtime hometown hero in the 94941, took the stage alongside King Crimson guitar legend Adrian Belew and former members of the band Turkuaz – now called Cool Cool Cool – to perform songs from the Brian Eno-produced “Remain in Light,” the Talking Heads’ fourth studio album, released in October 1980, as well as tracks from other Talking Heads’ records.
The sheer joy onstage washed over the crowd, turning the music into a moment.
That moment is set to arrive again, this time at the Mill Valley Chamber‘s 2nd annual Mill Valley Music Festival, which expands to two days this year on May 13-14. Harrison and company perform, as Harrison, Belew and Cool Cool Cool take the stage to perform “Remain in Light” on the event’s second day.
“On that first tour, there was a joy that came over the audience that’s palpable,” Harrison told fellow legend, Marin Independent Journal music writer Paul Liberatore. “When people get excited enough it has a nearly religious feeling. It doesn’t exactly feel like a concert. It feels like something else, like reconnecting you to your core, to your youth.”
Harrison calls “Remain In Light’ the high point in his career. “Adrian and I had often discussed the magic of the 1980 tour and the sheer joy it brought to audiences. It is such a delight to see and bring that joy once again to crowds on this upcoming tour. You can’t help but dance and go home with a happy smile on your face.”
The HSB show inspired Harrison and Belew to take the show on the road again this year, booking 19 shows across the country, with one of the first dates being May 14, the second day the MIll Valley Music Fest, which also Mill Valley, Harrison’s longtime home. One of the first dates will be in Harrison’s hometown, a May 14 slot on the second day of the Mill Valley Music Festival. More information and tickets can be found at millvalleymusicfest.com. Here’s a taste:
And here’s a look at the Talking Heads’ performance in Rome in 1980:
READ THE FULL STORY BY PAUL LIBERATORE HERE.
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