In Tune

Jamming with nomadic Nepali performers, Justin Goldman discovers the common ancestry of folk music around the globe

I’M ON A BRICK PATIO at Northfield, a popular café in Katmandu, strumming “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” on my guitar alongside Les Thompson, a founding member of the pioneering SoCal folk and bluegrass act the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I’ve spent more than a decade going to bluegrass festivals, buying bluegrass records, and learning to flat-pick much of the American bluegrass canon; playing with Thompson anywhere would be a dream. But this is extremely special. We are surrounded by more than 20 Nepali Gandarbhas, who follow us on fiddle-like sarangis, bamboo bansuri flutes, and madal drums. Gandarbhas are a nomadic musician caste who for centuries have wandered the hills here, playing songs to earn a living. After the last note, our Nepali friends launch into their folk anthem “Resham…

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Conde Nast Traveler (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

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