BETH WOOD

I’m sitting in Brevard, NC, one of my favorite spots in the world, on a beautiful spring day. The trees are blossoming and the white squirrels are out and about doing their squirrel stuff. I am feeling very grateful for these couple days off in my old home town! There’s so much fun stuff coming up. Here’s the scoop! As usual, I hope you’ll scroll down for gratitude, the news, random pics, show details, and musings.

Fri March 31 – Creekhouse Concerts –  New Brighton, MN

Sat April 1 – Anchor Coffeehouse – Des Moines, IA

Sun April 2 – The Folk Tree on Iowa Public Radio – Cedar Rapids, IA

Mon April 3 – The LilFest House Concert – Mt Vernon/Lisbon, IA

Thu April 6 – Templeton Acreage House Concert – Roca, NE

Fri April 7 – The Old Glory Theater – Seward, NE

Sat April 8 – Green Guitar Folk House – Lexana, KS

Wed April 19 – Chemeketa Community College – Salem, OR

1. GRATITUDE…Special thanks to all these folks who made March so wonderful: Kerani, Brad, and all at the Sisters Folk Festival Americana Song Academy for Youth, to Tyler, Flood, Levon & Topper, to Coach Bob and all the familes at our PTE workshop, to James & Karen, Matt, Mike, Jim, Carole, Nessa, Jerrod & Jesse Terry and all of the Home By Dark family, to Sarah Siskind, Chris Rosser, John Felty, the DFR room and Ann for taking such good care of me!

2. THE NEWS…My 20/20 song subscription project is going strong! We’re three songs in to new unreleased material and adding new folks every day. Think of it like a song CSA…you pay a little bit and I will deliver fresh home grown music to your inbox for the rest of the year! Check it out here.

Awesome news — Ara Lee is heading in to the studio with some of Portland’s finest musicians on April 8 to record “Nasty Woman”, the song that we wrote with Jen Hajj at our Artist in Resience in January!! I will be out on the road but we couldn’t pass up this chance to get this song recorded. I will add my vocals when I get home. For your amusement, I just shared Ara’s awesome rehearsal video from our little tiny cabin on board Cayamo on to my Facebook page..check it out!

Other super cool news…after a half marathon the first weekend in May, I will be headed to Hawaii and Texas! It will be my first time to play in Hawaii (the only state I’ve never played in) — woop!! And I am THRILLED to be returning to Blue Rock Live in Wimberley for their concert series! Reservations are open now and if you can’t be there in person, you can watch the concert online! And I am so thrilled to return to the Wildflower Arts and Music Festival in Richardson. It will be a special year as we celebrate the life and legacy of Al Johnson, long time festival director and music supporter. I’ll be bringing special guests with me to both Texas shows!

Great news for our Portland music community – Artichoke Music has a new home! After much hard work by the board led by Bob Howard and many volunteers, the new 5 year lease has been signed! The properties are located at 2001-2007 SE Powell Boulevard in Portland’s Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood. Artichoke’s store, school and performance venue will all operate together in the new facility. The goal is to occupy the new space as close to July 1st as possible. There will be a special celebratory Town Hall Meeting scheduled for Sunday, April 23rd at 2:00pm pm in the Artichoke Cafe if you want to stop by and celebrate!! Also please note…my show coming up at Artichoke with Ara Lee has been moved to June 17. Can’t wait to see you there!

3. APRIL SHOWS…Life is so uncertain, please call ahead!

Fri March 31 – Creekhouse Concerts –  New Brighton, MN. Overlooking the beautiful Rice Creek in northwest St. Paul, is Creek House, the newest best kept secret in town.  Creek House is part art gallery and part sonically wonderful listening room. The musical mission at Creek House is to present the audience with the best in local and national artists playing folk, blues, roots, classical and jazz as well as storytellers, poets, and authors. BW will share the stage with the great David Stoddard! For reservations, please call or e-mail at phone: 651.633.5353 or glenn at elvig.com. He will send confirmation with address and directions.  $15-$20 suggested donation. 7 pm doors, 7:30 music.

Sat April 1 – Anchor Coffeehouse – Des Moines, IA. 4114 Allison Ave, Corner of Beaver & Franklin, located in Westminster Presbyterain Church. The Anchor coffee house is a listening room patronized by people who love live acoustic music. We offer a variety of flavored coffees & teas and an assortment of desserts to enjoy during the show. Tickets are available at the door, or at Uptempo Music, 2714 Beaver Ave, 515.277.0145, or by stopping in or calling the church office, 515.274.1534. We can take credit card orders over the phone & either mail your tickets or you can pick them up at the door. Free child care is available at each show. Tickets are $15 advance and $20 at the door.  Doors at 6:30, music at 7.

Sun April 2 – The Folk Tree on Iowa Public Radio – Cedar Rapids, IA. KUNI studio is located at University of Northern Iowa, 322 Communication Arts Center. Host Karen Impola features music that is rooted in tradition, but spreads out in a variety of modern directions, including blues and bluegrass; singer-songwriters new and old; rockers getting back to their acoustic roots; plus excursions into Celtic and world music. The show also features exclusive recordings made at venues throughout the IPR listening area, and occasionally, live musical guests in IPR’s very own studios. BW will play with the great David Stoddard! Taped live with a studio audience so come on by! 2 pm. FREE — it’s radio!

Mon April 3 – The LilFest House Concert – Mt Vernon/Lisbon, IA. Please call Nancy in advance at 518-576-9513 to hold seats and to be given the address of the concert.(Knowing what you are bringing to the pot luck, if you chose to do it, also helps with planning the treats.) With the great David Stoddard! Suggested contribution: $12. 5:30 pm gathering for optional BYOB and shared goodies; 6:30 music.

Thu April 6 – Templeton Acreage House Concert – Roca, NE. Admission $15 – all proceeds go to the artists. Light refreshments will be served. Please call 402-421-7678 for reservations and info. With the great David Stoddard! 6:30 pm doors, 7 pm music.

Fri April 7 – The Old Glory Theater – Seward, NE. Goehner Centennial Players Present: BW and David Stoddard! Call Lloyd Schulz for tickets at 402-523-5025 or 402-641-5525. $10. 7 pm.

Sat April 8 – Green Guitar Folk House – Lexana, KS. The Green Guitar is a music series featuring nationally touring singer-songwriters. The music styles include folk, Americana, country, roots, bluegrass, and international roots music. Main stage performers are professional musicians who tour nationally and internationally. Green Guitar Folk House events are held in the sanctuary of the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church. The venue is sponsored by SMUUCH, but is not a church event. The series is open to the public. BW will share the stage with the great David Stoddard! Make a reservation by email at mike@greenguitarfolk.com or call 913.304.4816, all tickets are paid for at the door. $15 with a reservation, or $17 without; Students $3.00; kids through 8th grade Free. 7 pm.

Wed April 19 – Chemeketa Community College – Salem, OR. Details TBA…

we’re gonna have so much FUN!! 

Coach Bob leading our family music workshop at Portland Tennis & Education. I led a songwriting workshop next door where I helped a student write her first song. It was about a panda and it was awesome!

Tyler and I got so excited when I recorded some new songs at his studio that we might have had a beer at lunch.

Getting stuff sound checked at Home By Dark at Roswell Historic Cottage, a beautiful venue that I learned used to be the old post office. It was so gorgeous with exposed brick, glass chandeliers, and a balcony. Super classy joint!

Here we are..the Home By Dark band for March 23-25: Jesse Terry, Vanessa Connor, Matt “New Dad” Blanchard, Mike Shetler, lil ol me, James Casto and Carole Ford. What a killer band!!!!

This is my coffee companion every day at camp Casto…her name is Peabody but I like to call her Sweetpea cuz I mean come on, just look at that face! Her sister Dora (equally as cute) was probably busy during this picture licking pastry crumbs off the floor.

 All for…

Couldn’t resist capturing these beauties on my run in Brevard…I’m ready for ya, spring!

4. THE FUTURE…it’s gonna be a great summer with some shows and some fly-fishing in OR, CO, GA and more are shaping up every day. I hope I can take time to stop and smell the roses a little bit this summer and explore the beautiful area I live in. I also look forward to some writing time alone and with Ara Lee as we would love to do more shows together…woop! There has even been some talk about working on a new book of poetry this summer. I’m so excited!

THANK YOU for supporting my twentieth year in music. I am so grateful and I couldn’t do it with out you! With much gratitude from your fan,

Beth Wood

World Headquarters: PO Box 10141, Portland, OR 97296

www.bethwoodmusic.com

Holler at me: bethwoodmusic [AT] hotmail.com

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