Most musicians dream of touring the world. Bee Appleseed actually did it—then came home to Los Angeles to document what happened next.
The Oregon-born singer-songwriter has spent years as what he calls a “seasoned vagabond,” performing upwards of 800 DIY concerts across nearly fifty countries in Europe, North and South America. Between gigs, he’s accumulated more than 40 albums worth of home recordings and a book of poetry. It’s the kind of prolific output that led Goldmine Magazine to call him “a musical mastermind worthy of wide recognition.”
What sets this psychedelic folk rock artist apart isn’t just the volume of work—it’s the approach. His shows blend improvisation, experimentation, comedy, and audience participation, ensuring no two concerts are identical. Folk Radio UK conjured an unlikely fantasy lineup to describe his sound: “A psychedelic jamboree at which special guests might include Allen Ginsberg and Burroughs, Ken Kesey, Karen Dalton, and Devendra Banhart.”
From Couch-Surfing to Cosmic Soul
Appleseed’s 2020 album “Starflower’s Cosmic Soul” grew from an unexpected source. After years of homelessness and global travel, a chance encounter with an elder Native American shaman—whose couch Appleseed crashed on—sparked what he describes as a spiritual awakening. The resulting ten-track album features a backing band of more than fifteen musicians.
“All Is Forgiven,” a standout single, caught attention for blending ’60s psych-pop with garage rock and indie-folk. Spill Magazine praised the accompanying video—shot around Los Angeles with puppets and masked characters—calling Appleseed “a 21st Century cosmic ambassador” with “contagious, eccentric charisma.” Relix described the album as “a quest for inner peace; a lantern to brighten the dark path towards the temple inside.”
Archiving the Post-Pandemic Scene
These days, Appleseed has traded constant touring for a different kind of documentation. He now runs the Appleseed Archive, collecting nearly 1,000 live concert recordings by various artists to document Los Angeles music and culture after COVID-19. He’s also co-founded Elf Freedom, an eight-piece improvised psych rock band with creative partner Nora Keyes that appeared in a 2022 Super Bowl commercial for VRBO—alongside Kermit the Frog, no less.
His upcoming album “21st Century Prayer” expands the collaborative spirit even further, featuring nearly 40 musicians and singers. The poet and recording engineer continues exploring what Elmore Magazine called his role as “a definitive voice in modern youth counterculture.”
For an artist who organized hundreds of shows himself across multiple continents, the path forward involves letting others help carry the load. The goal is to keep touring, keep creating, and keep inviting audiences into what V13 described as songs that feel “poetic, exploring universal themes like life, death, love, philosophy, politics, and spirituality, with community in mind.”
As Magnet Magazine noted, when this traveling musician and songwriter sings about journeys, “he knows of what he speaks.”