Are You Ready for the Country?

By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Jan 18, 2010

Before many of you were born, Western Massachusetts was dotted with communes founded by city kids who’d decided that back-to-the-land was the best idea going. At that moment, farming seemed like a reasonable use for my English Lit degree, so I grabbed a chilly bedroom overlooking the back 40. Turns out I like central heat and a favorable male/female ratio, so I moved on. Patty Carpenter and her old man — I think that’s what I’m supposed to call my pal Chuck Light — stayed. And she’s spent decades making music about her life. Now, writing with Verandah Porche (no, not a typo), she’s released a 12-song CD that’s wood smoke and open fields, long dinners with friends and cold mornings by mountain streams. Feel free to Come Over — and to be surprised: Patty’s a grown-up pro who just happens to live far from the bright lights.