This Ancient City

Nolan Baker, Haley Thompson, Sam Shin & Matthew Kirkland of Salt & Pine

Receiving an assignment that involved music was beyond exciting. Before developing my personal taste in music, I was exposed to a lot of classical and French music the likes of Mireille Mathieu as a small child in Brooklyn. This implanted an appreciation for both genres to this day.

The Salt & Pine piece was going to be my longest to date. I got in touch with Matthew initially. He’s their resident string maestro Matthew is a veritable multi-instrumentalist. We all met at an uptown coffee shop called Dos. At the time, a full-time musician named Sam Shin was their cellist. I saw him perform with Sea Floor Explosives once before.

In no time, the five of us were carrying on like old friends. Reasons for hearty laughs came often as we drank kombucha and I nibbled shyly on a hot pressed sandwich. Our conversation was so rich. I couldn’t wait to get going on my draft. Salt & Pine had a show coming up ahead of my deadline, so I went to the intimate venue. It was a fitting way to add a personal touch to my assignment. It didn’t hurt that I love their Americana folk style music. Their “Strawberry Wine” and Chris Stapleton covers garner real respect from their wide-ranging audience.

They were so genuinely happy to see me at the show. I got to meet Matthew’s wife Missy, who is as sweet and friendly as Matthew. We’re both former Long Islanders. That night, I bought their debut album, Sinking In and proceeded to play the CD on loop in my car until I finished the article. Who remembers those days by the way? Buying a new CD at Target, breaking open the plastic wrapping and transporting into a musical realm for weeks on end? Special times, am I right?

I posted a few videos and pictures from the show. They caught my friend Sandro’s attention. Sandro is a total creative. He’s introduced me to some rad music over the years. You could say I returned the favor by inadvertently introducing him to Salt & Pine. Around this time, Sandro was launching a podcast called The Road Less Traveled. He had Salt & Pine on as guests and uses their upbeat track “Two Feet” as an intro and outro for the pod. The day he recorded the show, we hopped around downtown St. Augustine. Matthew met us first at the Castillo. As many of you know, strolling the Castillo with the lighthouse and Bridge of Lions behind you never gets old. Then there’s the breeze coming off the bay. It’s perfectly scenic and makes otherwise mundane activities feel cinematic and important. When Haley and Nolan arrived, I left them to their recording session and headed to South Ponte Vedra Beach in search of the “Spring Break Wreck.” About 47 feet of an ancient ship’s hull washed ashore earlier that week. Par for the course in a city dating back upwards of 450 years.