There is a concept that appears in nearly every ancient tradition: the idea that music doesn’t just express love — it summons it. That a song, played at sufficient depth, can call something across the threshold.
The ancestors.
The divine.
The version of yourself you forgot you were.
Krishna calling the gopis with his flute.
David soothing Saul with the harp.
The sirens calling sailors to their deaths.
And every once in a while, someone comes along who can actually do this.
Samantha Katz described hearing Maggie Koerner sing for the first time like that scene in Sinners where Preacher Boy plays and the ancestors come back across.
One thing to know about Maggie is that it’s literally her job to fall in love with people, get her heart broken, and write songs about them.
