So let me just step into the confessional here and say - I’m a closet bluegrass fan. My first formative Bluegrass moment happened on a sunny Sunday a.m. at the Vancouver Folk Festival where buddy from Kentucky drawled “We’re not havin’ church, we’ve havin’ bluegrass”. It made no logical sense, but I was with him in spirit.

And then there was the time drinking beer in the funky Adams Morgan area of DC where i looked up, and realized I was listening to dudes play things like the mandolin. It was Bluegrass and I was really liking it. But taking the step to purchase that sweet genre of music was another thing entirely. Where do you start? What if a friend sees you at the till?

But then I heard good things about a trio of Vancouver homegirls called the Be Good Tanyas . I got their Chinatown album and wore it out. There’s nothing better than bittersweet tunes about neighbourhoods you’ve lived in. And then a fave of mine, Sarah Harmer, came out with her bluegrass album, The Mountain and it rocks (figuratively of course).

I’ve used “In Spite of All The Damage” from the Chinatown album to wind down at the end of the yoga class. I wasn’t sure about it, because I always try to find positive music for yoga, and this song is all about relationship trouble. When someone in class said they really liked the song I confessed I’d had doubts about using it for yoga.

But the class decided that it’s ok, it’s not sad, it’s Bluegrass.