Overview: Mescalito Riding His White Horse was inspired by several interviews conducted with Peter Rowan, legendary bluegrass musician, over a period of a few months during 2021.

Verdict: As is told by the author himself, Peter never really followed the path of rock superstar - he was more interested in the alchemical process of music. In discovering this magic, I have felt myself projected across time, place, and identity and tried to put that experience into words.

Except for the quoted interviews, which were transcribed as spoken, what follows is a combination of autobiography mixed with my visions and dreams. Some were imagined. All were real.

A book where where Buddhism and bluegrass mix seamlessly with the Mind, boy, soul of spirituality, Mescalito Riding His White Horse: Inspired by The Musical Adventures of Peter Rowan by author Mike Fiorito is a small, yet nonetheless sumptuous collection of Rowan’s spiritual meetings with such mentors as Bill Monroe, Harry Smith, Buddha and beyond.

A narrative completely driven by a bespoke musical consciousness that may, or may not have now brought forth their spiritually informative jewels in quite the same manner as to how they were originally perceived, regardless, these either lost in time gems or re-sculpted tidbits, now free flow together seamlessly.

Inclusive of chapters such as I Have Sung Illusion’s Songs, Sailing on the River of Time, And Who Is Mescalito?, Who Will Live Will Love, and amongst others, both The Vortex and The Gourd Really Tied Everything Together, the idea for the book first came to Fiorito after some random conversations with Rowan (and the listening to his music), and he instantly decided that he wanted to write a book on how bluegrass had give birth to the universe (or, as he himself says, something like that).

In closing, Mescalito Riding His White Horse is a beautiful, touching, poetically-hued storytelling, from psychedelic rock to the history of bluegrass, from Buddhism to the intelligence of birds, which not only showcases just who Peter Rowan truly is, but also allows us to bathe in, and understand, his, at times, profound thoughts, vibed observations and elegant narrative in such a way that we might not see things around us in the same way ever again.

About the Author - Mike Fiorito is an Associate Editor for Mad Swirl Magazine and a regular contributor to the Red Hook Star Revue. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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