Post by Misha, photo by Tina Chiou

When I spoke with The Wild Honey Pie founder Eric Weiner a few months back about the dinner series they had started, he talked about the importance of fostering relationships in the music space – not only between fans, but between artists and fans – and of doing so in physical places where people where people can talk face-to-face and create meaningful friendships. In this case, over dinner, drinks, and a show.

There’s something about that idea that feels almost quaint, right? A difficult thing about being a music blog in 2019 (or anyone in 2019, I suppose) is that while online community is everywhere, opportunities to translate the time spent online in these communities into genuine, rewarding connection are rather hard to come by. People become Twitter handles, artists become their album art, and conversation is confined to clipped characters and the occasional heart emoji. The disconnect between real life and online life is frankly exhausting.

When I arrived in Highland Park to attend one of The Wild Honey Pie’s Los Angeles gatherings, I felt a jolt of nerves that I don’t usually get before events I’m attending for “coverage.” I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with going to shows solo, but as I walked in it occurred to me that this wasn’t just a show, but an entire 3-course dinner that I’d be going into completely alone. The dinner portion of the evening was scheduled to begin at 7, with the performance not scheduled until 9. I imagined myself sitting at the bar for two entire hours, eating chicken and trying to look engaged with my phone.

“the folks at the wild honey pie have risen to the challenge of creating community among strangers in a really thoughtful, lovely way.“

It’s just not often that we encounter spaces where the point is not only to engage with the communities and friendships you already have, but actually to build new ones (and even rarer to find ones that manage to create an environment conducive to doing so). It’s unfamiliar, scary even. But I shouldn’t have worried; the folks at The Wild Honey Pie have risen to the challenge of creating community among strangers in a really thoughtful, lovely way.

First-come-first-serve tables were set to accommodate four or five guests each – in most cases more than any one party had come in with – ensuring that everyone sat with at least one or two people they didn’t already know. The bar was pouring Slow & Low (a kind of bottled Old Fashioned approximation which, since having it for the first time at a SXSW event this year, is quickly becoming my favorite booze sponsor), served over mint and crushed ice for an eminently refreshing, nerve-smoothing cocktail. Even the way dinner was served (one large platter in the center of the table) encouraged interaction, making everyone pass plates to each other between anecdotes, almost like at a family dinner.

I ended up at a table with two friends and a USC student who had, like me, taken a chance and come by herself. We talked through the two hours I had thought I’d be spending alone with my phone without even a break in conversation. As we talked about bands and jobs and school we realized that we shared many of the same mutual friends and had almost certainly crossed paths at various shows throughout the years – though we would likely never have connected if not for an occasion like this one.

By the time Miya Folick took the stage I saw a lot of these friendships blossoming around the room. Her commanding performance is perfectly capable of filling up a large venue; to an intimate room of a hundred it is nothing short of devastating. It felt as though her voice cemented something between us all, something that would stick this evening to us.

“let’s find more places in the world to do things you love with other people”

As our table waited for cars to come whisk us back to our respective corners of Los Angeles one of the guys mused, thoughtfully and unprompted, “You know, tonight was really amazing. I came here thinking I would just have some food and a show and I ended up making new friendships. How often does that happen?” It was a very pure and uncynical observation and it made me think back to the original mission statement behind the event, which was to create a little more connection and a little less loneliness in this community. Heading back into the night I felt recharged in a way I hadn’t in some time.

So from my digital nook to yours, let’s find more places in the world to do things you love with other people. That’s really what it boils down to. And if you’re looking for a place to start, The Wild Honey Pie’s excellent dinner series is ongoing – the next LA event is on August 26th with Hazel English (details here).

Finally, here are two songs to leave you with – the new single from Miya Folick, and one track from the recent EP of Mortimer, one of my delightful tablemates from the night: