This post first appeared on Kelsey Dundon’s Substack.
Been thinking about music festivals a lot lately. Because of Bieberchella obviously, but also because the last two Mays we took our whole family to Just Like Heaven, a one-day Goldenvoice festival in Pasadena featuring bands that would have headlined Coachella 15 years ago. (Though this year the Strokes are at both.)
It felt a little like travelling back in time to the days before we owned a Toyota Sienna because we used to love going to music festivals. Coachella especially.
I wish I’d really written about going to Coachella all those years ago, instead of just posting photos of a dude who shaved “Coachella 2012” into his chest hair. (Though it has occurred to me that it would be incredible if the internet were to track that guy down—I think about him every year. Who was he? Who is he now? PTA president, probably.)
But when you’re in your 20s you’re swimming in experiences like that alongside party heroes like that. I used to take them for granted to the point when Pemberton Festival was happening (Coldplay! Jay-Z! Tom Petty!) and I was in Whistler!!! (which, for those of you who aren’t from Vancouver, is a mere 25 minutes away) I couldn’t even be bothered to go.
It makes me want to go back in time and give my young blasé self’s head a shake.
Speaking of going back in time…
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is everywhere right now and for good reason; its premise is hilarious: a tradwife influencer wakes up in 1855 and must figure out how to survive in a brutally real version of the idealized world she’d been selling to her followers.
My friend Mahsa interviewed the author about writing Yesteryear almost two years ago, making this episode of the Have You Heard? podcast a sort of literary deep cut.
Speaking of cutting deep…
I first met Meghan Nesmith a few years ago and she’s been a guiding light on my journey through the publishing industry ever since (my messages to her read something like: Edits? Pitches? Ack!).
Her latest Substack piece has gone viral—it’s raw and relatable and you should read it, especially if you’ve read (or listened to me talk at you about) Belle Burden’s Strangers. Meghan’s debut novel A World Apart is coming out this November and you can pre-order it here, btw!
Worth the Wait
- Everyone I know is going to Honolulu right now. And it’s making me really wish I’d taken my own advice.
- My most recent girls trip was to Mexico City (though I suppose it was technically a work trip), but that city has been on my mind a lot during the lead up to the FIFA World Cup.
- Took my two youngests to Carousel Theatre’s performance of the Paper Bag Princess and it was 10/10—if you’re in Vancouver and have young kids, highly recommend. Though all I could think of the entire time was this heartbreaking/heartwarming piece about Robert Munsch in the NY Times.
Thanks, y’all!
Kelsey
P.S. “Was that about me?” and “I feel personally attacked!” are two things I heard after my Saltburn piece.
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