Shannon Lay - Awaken and Allow ⧸ Geist

What this video is

Released July 14, 2021, this double-video arrived during the fragile reopening of live music culture after the COVID-19 pandemic. Shannon Lay explicitly framed the 'Geist' portion as a tribute to the behind-the-scenes workers who sustain live venues, filming at Zebulon — a beloved Los Angeles venue that survived the pandemic shutdown. The video thus operates simultaneously as personal artistic statement and…

Why it matters

This video is a document of the 2021 revival of intimate folk aesthetics within the Sub Pop indie ecosystem. It demonstrates how singer-songwriter artists used music video as a vehicle for post-pandemic community affirmation, not just artistic promotion. The dual-song structure — rare in standard…

The director

Kai MacKnight is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who served as Director, Editor, and Director of Photography on this video. MacKnight operates independently, maintaining a personal website at kaimacknight.com and an Instagram presence (@kai.macknight). The…