Can I Eat This? is a brand new series from accomplished singer-songwriter and avid forager Sean Rowe. In each episode, Rowe is joined by a different musical guest with whom he ventures out into woods surrounding the artfully designed grounds of AutoCamp’s Catskills resort where wild food abounds. In addition to finding, harvesting, and preparing their haul, Rowe and his guests record a song together. Emphasis is placed on making sure the content is accurate but dialog is loose, humorous, conversational, and real.
The developing interest in foraging can be attributed to a number of factors including a flood of popular books and documentaries detailing the alarmingly negative health and environmental impacts of America’s fast-food/factory-farmed-based diets. Also, after more than two years spent in an emotionally-charged state of isolation, many are seeking out the space and quiet serenity of nature. Taken in combination, the series is a gentle and inviting respite from modern life and provides viewers with relatively simple methods of making positive changes in their lives.
Among other wild foods-based programs, which tend to be serious in tone with an emphasis on survivalist themes, Can I Eat This? stands out. Rowe’s enthusiasm is infectious and welcoming to anyone who wants to learn more about this increasingly popular pursuit. In the teaser below, he performs “Look at Miss Ohio” with Taylor Ashton.
“I had been listening to Gillian Welch a lot while on tour on the west coast recently, helping me get through some of the long drives,” Rowe says. “When it came time to decide what would be the first cover song choice for the show, I heard ‘Look at Miss Ohio’ playing in my head and I knew that was THE one.”
Sean Rowe is known for his earth-shaking baritone voice and talent for songwriting. He’s recorded five critically acclaimed albums (four on the label ANTI- and his most recent on Fluff & Gravy Records) along with several EPs. His music has been used widely throughout film and television. Rowe’s song “To Leave Something Behind” was one of two non-score tracks to be featured in Ben Affleck’s hit feature film, The Accountant. The song accompanied the film’s final scene and has since received over 10 million streams on Spotify alone.
Upon reading the book The Tracker by renowned naturalist Tom Brown as a teenager, he discovered a passion for nature and the wilderness that would continue to parallel and complement his musical journey. Attending courses at Brown’s Wilderness Survival School, his exploration of nature and foraging began to take shape. In 2007, Rowe spent a year dedicated to the arts of “primitive living skills” at Hawk Circle wilderness center in Cherry Valley, New York, where he strengthened and honed a commitment and belief in foraging.
Of his passion for foraging, Rowe says, “Harvesting plants, turning them into nutritious meals, making usable utilitarian items, and procuring medicines from wild plants has been my doorway to a dynamic connection with nature that hiking and camping alone could not give me. Every day I look forward to eating something that is near, if not impossible to find in any grocery store. The lifestyle of a modern forager is one of adventure seeking, thrift, minimalism, the unknown, and optimal health.”
