Ep. 34: Live From Sierra Meadows, a Special Episode of Select Five

November’s been a rough month, to say the least. But Team Select Five was able to take a field trip to Sierra Meadows—a cool glamping resort near Yosemite National Park—to find a little peace of mind. Pam, Kate, and Brian joined about 50 other people at a private retreat focused on creativity and community, in which every attendee contributed to the weekend programming by sharing knowledge, teaching a craft, putting on a performance, or volunteering for the event. It was the perfect opportunity to do a live podcast taping with a group of bright, open-minded folks! Instead of doing our usual thing with one guest talking about five songs, we decided to talk to as many people as we could. What resulted was five discussions with five volunteer guests: college English professor Tara Lockhart, tech journalist Walter Thompson, composer Stacy Fahrion, musician Scott Manke, and Ty, an ad tech exec. Whether it was a personal anthem or a tune that pushed them in new creative directions, each one of our guests shared one life-affirming song of their choosing, taking the conversation to wildly different places and reminding us of the power of music to create meaningful human connections.

Photo courtesy of Eric Slomanson

Selector 1: Tara Lockhart

Tinariwen - “Iswegh Attay”

Selector 2: Walter Thompson

Paul Weller - “Hung Up”

Selector 3: Stacy Fahrion

Michael Harrison - “Vision in the Desert”

Selector 4: Ty

Diddy & Faith Hill - “I’ll Be Missing You”

Selector 5: Scott Manke

Boston - “Peace of Mind”