Beth Wood is a modern-day troubadour, poet, and believer in the power of word and song. Beth has been writing, performing, and creating for twenty-five years — delighting and inspiring audiences with her exceptional musicianship, intelligent writing, powerhouse voice, and warm and commanding stage presence. Texan-raised and Oregon-based, Wood has morphed from a young classically trained, folk-tinged singer-songwriter to a wailing southern rock band leader to a college-circuit acoustic coffeehouse sweetheart to a well-respected nationally-touring poet and troubadour. Through all of these incarnations, Wood has remained true to herself and to her artistry; she has done it her way.
A home-body with an ever-present wanderlust, an introvert with a passion for performing, a creative free-spirit with enough discipline to rework her dream year after year, Beth’s work has expanded to include teaching and song coaching as well as leading and facilitating workshops, classes, and retreats. In addition to releasing fifteen albums, Beth has released three books of poetry, Kazoo Symphonies, Ladder To The Light (2019 finalist for the Oregon Book Award Stafford/Hall award for poetry and 2019 Winner of the Oregon Book Award Readers’ Choice Award) and Believe The Bird (Winner of the San Francisco Book Festival Poetry Award), a collection of forthright, shimmering poems that examine the stories we tell ourselves. Beth also released Facepalm, a whimsical collection of stories recounting some of the most awkward conversations she has experienced on the road.
Beth grew up in the musically rich town of Lubbock, TX with her mom’s classical tapes playing in the car, her dad’s Willie Nelson records spinning in the living room, her brother’s Foreigner and Heart 8-track tapes blasting in his room, and her own little radio which she would hide under the covers and search late into the night for songs with women’s voices. Anne Murray’s “Songbird” broke something open in her that Bette Midler’s “The Rose” quickly filled up with tears while Karen Carpenter’s “Top of the World” and Captain and Tenille’s “Muskrat Love” delighted her to no end. Add to that mix Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt and Rickie Lee Jones, and Beth Wood’s unique sound starts to emerge.
There have been awards. Beth’s skills in the craft of songwriting and poetry have been recognized by the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award, The Sisters Folk Festival Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Award, the Billboard World Song Contest, The Oregon Book Awards, and many more. There have been incredible and surreal moments in the spotlight: opening for Steve Winwood, Michael McDonald, Shawn Colvin, Sam Bush, Chris Whitley; being a four-time featured artist on Cayamo, a week-long Caribbean songwriters’ cruise along with most of her living musical heroes; singing the national anthem for 42,000 people at a major league baseball game; discussing guitar tunings with David Crosby backstage at a festival; being featured on “Troubadour, TX”, a nationally syndicated documentary-style singer-songwriter reality television series airing in almost 40 million households and 140 U.S. markets.
During the challenging year of 2020, Beth co-founded She’s Speaking along with friends and fellow Oregon singer-songwriters Bre Gregg and Kristen Grainger. She’s Speaking is a collective that creates forums/spaces for women’s voices and women’s stories to be heard, and on International Women’s Day, they launched a YouTube channel showcasing over 50 original songs a by women artists about inspirational women. Fast forward to March of 2023 where She’s Speaking Live, featuring eight amazing women songwriters and backed by a killer band, took their show on the road to sold out houses all over Oregon. In 2020, Beth also created a livestream concert series called Joyful Measures and a vibrant and growing community of supporters on Patreon, a membership platform that makes it easy to give direct support to your favorite artists.
Beth says, “It is my dream to make art, live simply, and be of service to my community and to the world. To move something with my art, whether it’s a swirling emotion or a curious mind or tapping feet, is the most glorious feeling, and I can never get enough.” It’s what keeps the songs coming and the words turning. It’s what keeps her dreaming in music at night.
Beth lives in Sisters, Oregon with her rescue dog Hannah and is continuously writing and rewriting her artist’s manifesto. Beth believes that creativity is its own reward and that music belongs to everyone. Her musical philosophy is that there are no wrong notes.
CREATIVE WORKS…
2022 LOVE IS ONTO YOU – album of original music
2021 LONELY, GO EASY – album of original music – exclusive release for Patreon members)
2020 BELIEVE THE BIRD – poetry book (Mezcalita Press)
2020 HOME BY DARK LIVE – album of original music with the Home By Dark band
2019 DEEP BLUE – album of original music (as duo Stand and Sway)
2018 THE LONG ROAD – album of original music
2018 FACEPALM: Stories from the Merch Table – book of stories (Mezcalita Press)
2017 LADDER TO THE LIGHT – poetry book (Mezcalita Press)
2016 SPRING TIDE – album of original music
2015 KAZOO SYMPHONIES – poetry book (Mezcalita Press)
2014 SOMETIMES LOVE – album of original music
2011 THE WEATHER INSIDE – album of original music (Blue Rock Artists)
2008 BEACHCOMBER’S DAUGHTER – album of original music
2005 MARIGOLDS – album of original music
2003 YOU TAKE THE WHEEL – album of original music
2001 GHOSTWRITER – album of original music
2000 WOODEN COYOTE – album of original music (as trio Wooden Coyote)
1999 LATE NIGHT RADIO – album of original music
1998 NEW BLOOD – album of original music (Autonomous Records)
1997 WOODWORK – album of original music (Autonomous Records)
AWARDS…
Winner – Sisters Folk Festival Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest
Winner – Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Contest
Winner – 2nd Place – Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriters Contest
Winner – Wildflower Festival Songwriting Contest
Finalist – Telluride Troubadour Contest
Winner – Top 20 Acoustic/Folk Category – Unisong International Songwriting Contest
Honorable Mention – Mountain Stage Newsong Contest
Honorable Mention – Billboard World Song Contest
Finalist – Oregon Book Awards – Stafford/Hall Poetry Award (2019)
Winner – Oregon Book Awards – Reader’s Choice Award (2019)
Winner – San Francisco Book Festival – Poetry Award (2021
WORKSHOPS/TEACHING…
Staff Director/Co-leader – Sisters Folk Festival Americana Song Academy
Director/Facilitator – Sisters Songworks Intimate Writing Retreats
Co-founder/co-leader – Harris Bridge Song Camp (Philomath, OR)
Co-founder/Co-leader – Songsmith Gathering Song School (Brevard, NC)
Co-Leader/Instructor – Hidden River Songwriting Camp (Long Beach, WA)
Leader/Instructor – Women, Nature and Song Virtual Songwriting Retreat
Co-facilitator – Threads of Light: A Virtual Winter Solstice Retreat
Co-facilitator – Paddling in the Dark: A Virtual Winter Solstice Retreat
Instructor – Moab Folk Camp (Poetry/Songwriting)
Instructor – Sisters Song Academy (Voice, Songwriting, Dynamics in Performance)
Instructor – Rivertunes Music Camp (Songwriting)
Instructor – Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers (Songwriting)
Instructor – The Wood and Stone Retreat (Songwriting/Voice)
Instructor – Songwriting for Poets – Oregon Poetry Association
Instructor – Songwriting in Community – 6 week class
Instructor – Writing the Songs Only You Can Write – 6 week class
Instructor – Songs Forever! – 6 week class
Instructor – Dynamics in Performance – 6 week class
Songwriting Residency – Black Butte School (K-8) – Camp Sherman, OR
Poetry Residency – Black Butte School (K-8) – Camp Sherman, OR
Poetry Residency – Sisters Middle School (Grade 5) – Sisters, OR
Co-Leader – Sisters Folk Festival Creativity Camp (grades 5-8) – Sisters, OR
Instructor – Sisters Song Academy For Youth (Grades 9-12)
