Tastemaker

Folk musician Gregory Alan Isakov: ‘Working for it is the magic of life’

The US singer-songwriter, who owns a vegetable farm at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, believes heaven is in the here and now

Gregory Alan Isakov and his family emigrated to America when he was seven years old

Born in South Africa, Gregory Alan Isakov and his family emigrated to Philadelphia when he was just seven years old. The singer-songwriter’s brand of folk has clearly been influenced by country music, and he has released seven albums including Appaloosa Bones in August.

But music is not his only passion. In 2000 Isakov moved to Boulder, a small city in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, to study horticulture at Naropa University. “I’ve ...