Behind the Scenes of my Album: Ancestral Songs of the Land

Northampton’s Land Grant is the newest piece added to the Ancestral Songs of the Land compilation, and it feels like it belongs there. Each track in this collection marks a place in our region where history, stewardship, and community meet. North Quabbin Hills, Nipmuc Rematriated, Pocomtuck Homelands, Spruce Hill, Druid’s Oak — every one of them grew out of a moment when a story about land protection or ancestral presence caught my attention and wouldn’t let go. When Northampton received its LAND grant to permanently protect seventy-two acres in the southern Mineral Hills, it felt like another chapter in the same ongoing story. I started sketching the melody almost immediately.

This one unfolded slowly. I kept thinking about those hills sitting just a few minutes from downtown, and how easily a place like that could be taken for granted. The Quabbin Valley Folk brought their ear for harmony and gave the song a grounded feel that reminded me of walking a trail after a long rain. Once the parts came together, it became clear the track wasn’t just a standalone piece — it belonged with the others that honor the land and the choices communities make to preserve it.

Adding it to the compilation also made me revisit the sequence of songs and how they speak to one another. The list has grown into something bigger than I expected: North Quabbin Hills, Quabbin Sings, Pocomtuck Homelands, Nipmuc Rematriated, Skhul Child, Westhampton’s Spruce Hill, Druid’s Oak, Mele E Ho‘i ka Pele i Halemaumau, and now Northampton’s Land Grant. Each one comes from its own place, yet together they form a kind of map — a reminder that land carries memory, and music can help keep that memory alive.

Listen to the album and download your favorite tracks here: https://adamsweet.bandcamp.com/album/compilation-ancestral-songs-of-the-land