Come Back To Earth | Music & Mental Health

Elle Indigo has been finding words for things most people leave unnamed. She started in poetry, the private kind, written for no one in particular. Then the words started needing music underneath them. And somewhere in that transition she discovered something about the difference between writing to process and writing to connect. This conversation goes into that space. The vulnerability of making...

Some stories don’t change. We do. In this episode, J.D. sits down with Brittney Jenkins to discuss her song 'Bend to Break' from her album 'Faultlines'. Brittney explores themes of identity, distance, generational trauma, and the power of reframing the past after growing up in a conservative North Carolina community and building a life in the UK. This conversation covers music as a tool for healin...

Grief doesn’t always arrive as tears. Sometimes it arrives as instinct, the sudden, sharp reflex to call someone who isn’t there anymore. I’m sitting down with Canadian folk-pop songwriter Joe McLeod to talk about his single, “ARROWS” the first release from his upcoming album TORN . Written over years of reflection following the loss of his father at age 22, “ARROWS” explores the weight of becomin...

Some songs are written during the day. Others are built in the quiet hours, when no one is watching, when exhaustion meets inspiration, and when something inside refuses to let you sleep. I’m joined by Danish pop artist Emilie Thorsby to talk about her single, “Late Night”—a vibrant celebration of hardworking musicians in an era increasingly shaped by AI and automation . From global radio play (in...

Some songs are written to be heard. Others are written to be seen. I’m joined by singer-songwriter Lavender Fire to discuss her debut album, From Shadows to Light . Her work is a four-year journey of reclaiming parts of herself and stepping fully into her identity. Built primarily around piano and voice, the album traces a profound arc from self-realization to radical self-acceptance. Connect with...

Growth isn’t always about finding a voice; often, it’s about the decision to stop softening the one you already have. Today, we sit with Germany-based artist Alex Loeb to explore the shift from genre-controlled narratives to the raw clarity of direct expression . Connect with Alex Loeb HERE Go backstage HERE Theme music by: Lincoln Parish

What happens when the song you’re singing no longer fits the person you’ve become? Growth isn’t always a loud breakthrough; sometimes it is the quiet act of stepping out of the center to see the entire picture. Today, we sit with returning guest Charlie Void to explore the messy, honest alchemy of reinvention . We follow the thread from being dropped by a label to finding a new rhythm with Golden...

In this episode of Come Back to Earth , J.D. reflects on how a familiar melody can suddenly sound different when something within us shifts. He sits down with artist and producer Anthony Church to explore his creative evolution from a background beat-maker to a front-facing artist releasing instrumental music . In This Episode: Finding your voice through the discipline of daily practice. Shifting...

What if music wasn't an escape, but a way to stay present? We explore the joy of making music and how songs build a music community when we need it most. Not every song is written to last forever. Some are written simply because they feel good in the moment—because they sound like a crowded room when you’re alone, or because they make the silence feel a little less heavy. In this episode, J.D. ref...

In this season premiere of Come Back to Earth , host J.D. Murgolo reflects on the early Saturday mornings of his youth, music drifting down a hallway, a house quietly breathing, and the inheritance we don’t recognize until it’s already part of us.  J.D. sits down with Michael Gilas to explore the songwriting inspiration that moves beyond the spotlight and into the lived experience of the listener....

A new season is arriving. Come Back to Earth returns this March with a new season of conversations at the intersection of music, memory, and mental health. Season 3 sits with artists as they reflect on the songs that steadied them, the moments that broke them open, and the music that helped them find their way back to themselves. These are quiet, honest conversations about creativity as survival a...

In our Season 2 finale, we sit with D.K. Lyons, a singer-songwriter whose artistic journey has been shaped by personal tragedy, unwavering advocacy, and a fierce commitment to using music as a tool for both healing and social change. Born in Massachusetts, D.K. began writing songs as a way to process profound loss, discovering that music could hold what ordinary language couldn't carry. But his ar...

In this episode, we sit with Jody Cooper, a D.I.Y. artist and full-time father whose music emerges from the intersection of creative necessity and lived experience. Jody's story isn't about chasing musical success in traditional terms — it's about using songwriting as a tool for processing mental health struggles, pandemic reflections, and the complex realities of modern parenthood. The conversati...

In this episode, we sit with James Snelling, a neurodivergent singer-songwriter whose journey into music began not in youth but in midlife, after losing his job and facing the kind of life upheaval that forces you to reconsider everything you thought you knew about yourself. James's story challenges conventional narratives about when and how artistic careers begin. His path to sharing his music pu...

In this episode, we sit with Perfect Cadence, a band whose music serves as a lighthouse for anyone navigating the complex terrain of mental health, isolation, and the ongoing work of healing. Their approach to songwriting isn't about offering easy answers or quick fixes — it's about creating space for difficult emotions and transforming them into something that can be shared, understood, and held....

In this episode, we sit with Mars Hendrik, a musician and coach whose journey from Costa Rica to international stages is really a story about learning to climb — not just toward success, but toward the fullest expression of who you're meant to be. Mars grew up immersed in a rich blend of musical influences, from Santana's guitar mastery to Sublime's laid-back rebellion, and these early sounds beca...

In this episode, we sit with Lepani, an artist whose journey through the music industry reads like a map of what it costs to lose yourself — and what it takes to find your way back. Lepani's story begins in the bedroom studio, creating the kind of honest, experimental music that emerges when no one is watching and nothing is at stake except the pure joy of making something beautiful. But as his ca...

Some love stories begin with fireworks. This one began with a railroad conductor, a circus artist, and a song. When Michael and Kayo met online, they were each carrying a lifetime of stories—some beautiful, some heavy, and all still echoing in how they showed up in love. Instead of running from their pasts, they did something brave: they wrote through them. Together, they left the familiar behind...

What happens after you’ve already grown up… but your heart still has some catching up to do? Composer and songwriter Adam Schumaker calls this next chapter “the second growing up” —a quiet reckoning with love, loss, and the slow understanding that we never stop becoming who we are. From his roots in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to the haunting beauty of his new album Love, Death, Sleep, Money , Adam has l...

There’s a kind of silence that follows grief — a space where music can both vanish and return in unexpected ways. This week on Come Back To Earth , Aaron Weafer shares his deeply personal journey: growing up around music, stepping into the spotlight late, and then stepping away from it all as mental health struggles and loss took their toll. But where some might have given up, Aaron found a fragil...

When the world shut down, Mike Messer opened a door — or rather, a live stream. This week on Come Back To Earth , Mike shares how during the uncertainty of the pandemic, he created Adoraborealis , a recording project and a digital sanctuary where “cooped up concerts” became a source of light and community. With a catchphrase that felt like a warm hug — “I see you and I love you” — Mike spoke his o...

There’s a certain kind of quiet that lives in grief — especially when you’re young. Especially when you’re already feeling like the outsider. Especially when no one’s listening. This week on Come Back To Earth , I talk with singer-songwriter Alexia Avila , who started writing music as a teenager — not for fame or attention, but for survival. After losing her father, navigating bullying, and dealin...

In this Deep Dive bonus episode, we take a deep breath and step into Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car , a song that quietly reshaped what a story song could be. With themes of generational struggle, caretaking, dashed dreams, and the difference between freedom and just motion , this track hits harder the older you get. It’s not just a song about getting away, it’s about what happens when you don’t. In thi...

There’s something quietly defiant about starting over in your late 30s. Picking up the sticks, joining a band, going on tour — when you thought maybe those days were behind you. But sometimes, reinvention is exactly what saves us. This week, I talk with drummer and podcast host John Huff , who started pursuing music seriously at 40. What followed was a wild ride — performing, recording, even touri...

We talk a lot about music as healing. But we don’t always talk about how long it can take to even begin that healing. Or how fear can sit in the body like a bruise for years — until something shifts. Until you decide you’re ready to tell the truth. Kat Button was supposed to release her first single 17 years ago. But fear is its own kind of delay — one that doesn’t always look like resistance. Som...