Paste Studio “On The Road” rambled on to the Suwannee River for the 7th Annual Suwannee Spring Reunion at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, halfway between Jacksonville and Tallahassee. The Spanish moss-draped oak and cypress trees provided a rich environment to capture a series of sessions on the festival grounds in the “Alan Lomax field recording” style. 2024 was a tough year for the Suwannee community after losing festival co-founder Randy “Big Cosmo” Judy, who passed away in spring 2024, and having to cancel the 2024 Suwannee Roots Revival due to Hurricane Helene. But festival director Beth Judy brought the festival roaring back into fighting shape in 2025, hosting a massive 4-day party across half a dozen stages, late night campground pickin’ parties (looking at you, Slopryland!), kicking off the weekend with Big Cosmo’s Celebration of Life. Please enjoy this Paste x Suwannee session below, and a dozen other unique sessions to come!
Full Session
Alabama-born and bred troubadour Paul McDonald trekked with us to a treehouse perched in a 175-year-old live oak called the Mother Tree, along with his band of aces, The Mourning Doves. They shared two songs from the forthcoming album So Long To The Dark Side, including “What’s The Point?,” and “Unwind.”
The venerable grove of oak trees provided a great backdrop for the first song, “What’s The Point?,” an existential and psychedelic pondering of the big questions. What are we doing here? Why are we doing it? If we all end up the same in the end, lights out, is there any point? If we are born again after death, would that create meaning? Or would we still just be riding a carousel? The timeworn oaks didn’t know the answer, but I got the distinct sense that they were rooting for us anyway.
Endless gratitude to festival director Beth Judy and her whole team at Suwannee Spring Reunion. Beth’s love and dedication to the music shine through every level of this festival. Special thanks to Erin Scholze for connecting the dots and the campfire hangs! Stay tuned for more Suwannee x Paste sessions on the way!
Paul McDonald – Lead vocals, acoustic guitar Mike Miz – Acoustic guitar, background vocals Dalton Thomas – Percussion Luke Saison – Hand Claps
