A quick search of folk songs that mention food brings up Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant, Guy Clark’s Homegrown Tomatoes, Jimmy Buffet’s Cheeseburger in Paradise, Hank Williams’s Jambalaya, and (insert your favorite).

Talk with enough traveling troubadours and they’ll tell of struggling to afford to eat at some point in their careers – or of being fed a steady diet of deep-fried bar food likely to clog their arteries faster than they can change strings. That’s “Sing for Your Supper” in a whole new light. Yet, when a need arises, folkies, rockers and pop artists step up immediately and volunteer their time and talent for everything from Farm Aid to thousands of local food or emergency benefit concerts. So, they sing and play for others’ suppers as a gift.

Thankfully, since Victorian times, the house concert scene has united audiences and performers through food and drink – everything from a potluck spread to nosh and sip soirees. Start your search at the Listening Room Network. Camaraderie, casseroles, and conversation build relationships much faster than passively buying a ticket, sitting in a dark auditorium and then going home without an opportunity to connect with the artist. Bravo to every house concert host and hostess and every audience member. Community enriches and feeds everyone in it.

This month’s thesis statement: music is food for our mood, our endorphin top-up, and boost to our general well being. For me, the folkier the music, the better. A 90-minute live music concert – and a visit with the performer(s) – at a local venue will juice me for days replenishing my emotional reservoir. I’m grateful for my life as a semi-pro audience member. No matter where I’ve lived, I have perfected the art of finding listening rooms, either by following the musicians who play them, or by showing up at one and asking for more recommendations. I’m fortunate to average 1.65 gigs per week for 80+ gigs and visits with musicians who’ve become dear friends. That’s some banquet!

As an aside: to bolster my thesis, I suggest reading or listening to Daniel Levitin’s 2025 book, Music as Medicine (he’s the guy who wrote This Is Your Brain on Music in 2006). Also, highly recommend checking out Michael Rossato-Bennett’s 2014 documentary, Alive Inside. Music as food and medicine for our mind, body, and soul. Documentable.

A final note – when weather, budget, or logistics prevent attendance at a live gig, spend hours viewing live performances of favorites through the magic of YouTube. We can also take a chance on an artist or group suggested by the algorithm – sating our hunger for musical food.

Consume with abandon and glee, dear friends, with or without food in the lyrics or title. Happy Thanksgiving. Indulge.