I’m a blues-influenced artist, so a trip to Mali and a night-time concert in Timbuktu sticks in my mind. This was in 2000, before the arrival Islamic extremism. We sat in a square lit with lanterns, listening to this guy playing guitar like Jimi Hendrix through a little amplifier. He was in full Tuareg costume, including sword and turban, and he was slaying me with that intersection of Malian blues and rock. Then, people got up and danced. You haven’t lived until you’ve danced with somebody with just their eyes showing. It was like going back in time.
The trip had been organised by Afropop Worldwide, which meant I was travelling around villages in a 4x4, accompanied by 30 music fans from America armed with tape recorders and dressed head to toe in sun-protective gear. Local musicians threw parties and showed us how they made their instruments. One became a friend, Habib Koité, and we would play slide guitar around the campfire. The nice thing about slide guitar is that you don’t have to know the chords; you can use it like a human voice and lay your musical style over whatever they’re playing. Also, you could dance in the clubs, because there weren’t a lot of drunken men hitting on women, which was a joy. It was an incredibly rich musical experience.
We also went into the Dogon country and hiked for 2½ hours to the top of a mountain, where we saw amazing mud houses, like hobbit homes. In Bamako, I went to the market — one of my favourite things to do anywhere. I bought some fabric with the idea that I would make some wonderful African dress, but back home I realised I didn’t have a place to wear something like that.
Cuba was another great experience. Mambo was huge when I was a girl, but it was Ry Cooder releasing Buena Vista Social Club that eventually motivated me to go. So, in 1999, I went on a songwriting trip to Havana. I speak pretty good Spanish, so I had a wonderful time.
I heard music of the older style in a wonderful club called Dos Gardenias, and in the hotel a quartet played traditional romantic songs while we were served cocktails and looked at the ocean. The neighbourhoods were so picturesque, complete with those fantastic American cars that are miraculously maintained.
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In Matanzas, I experienced a Santeria ceremony, which is rare for anybody outside the religion. It was hours and hours of drumming, dancing and chanting — very powerful.
I do a lot of hiking. I sometimes write lyrics or listen to classical music, but mostly I commune with nature. Hiking is about the view, the fresh air and exercise. I’ve been to Whistler, in the Coast Mountains in Canada, and cycled around the lakes. I’m not a skier, but I love to take the lift up and walk back down the trails.
I’ve had extraordinary trips to Scotland and Ireland. Glendalough, in Co Wicklow, is a great place to hike, and there are beautiful gardens to walk and picnic in at Kilmacurragh and Mount Usher. As I have Scottish ancestry, I was excited to go to Rait Castle, near Nairn. It’s old and beaten up, but I had a powerful feeling of connection.
The beauty of the Highlands is astonishing, even for someone who loves northern California. Forests and mountains are all the church I need.