Greetings, friends and fellow music lovers!
Well, spring has sprung here and the trees are bursting with promise, and the songbirds are singing at the top of their joyful little lungs. The sun has even come to visit us a few times. 🙂 April is bursting with wonderful happenings. Here’s what I’ll be up to…I hope you’ll scroll down for show details, news, and random photos and musings.
Mon, Apr 4 – Songwriters-inthe-Round at O’Connor’s Vault – Portland, OR
Fri, Apr 8 – House Concert – near Annapolis, MD
Sat, Apr 9 – Six Strings Presents at the Cary Theater – Cary, NC
Thu, Apr 14 – Isis Music Hall – Asheville, NC
Fri, Apr 15 – Live @ UUTC – Brevard, NC
Sat, Apr 16 – Fleur de Lis Acoustic Series – Louden, TN
Sun, Apr 17 – The Willow Tree Coffeehouse and Music Room – Johnson City, TN
Tue, Apr 19 – Folk at the Cannery – Dataw Island, SC
Fri, Apr 22 – Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse – Dallas, TX
Sat, Apr 23 – Concerts at Betty’s – San Antonio, TX
Sun, Apr 24 – Open Ears Concerts – Austin, TX
Fri, Apr 29 – The Bugle Boy – La Grange, TX
Sat, Apr 30 – Honey Creek House Concerts – Celina, TX
1. GRATITUDE…Special thank you to these wonderful folks for making March so much fun: Ginger & Larry, Steve & Lori, Peter & Debby and all at Fiddler’s Crossing, Tracy & Scott & Nick, Steve, Bob, and Nicholas and all at the beautiful Freight & Salvage, Richey, Anna, Kelly, Dale and all at the Peace House, Mark & Jeanne and everyone at Olympia Acoustic Concerts, and Terri & Jerry.
And a VERY special, huge gratitude shout-out to Matthew Blackmon for coming through in a huge way! A few weeks ago, I got invited by my friend Bill Valenti to perform at a benefit concert in May at Bend’s beautiful Tower Theater. The benefit is organized/sponsored by SoldierSongs and Voices, a non-profit that gives free music and songwriting lessons to Armed Forces Veterans, and it will raise money for an organization that helps wounded marines transition back in to civilian life. I REALLY wanted to be a part of this. I saw that I had the date open and free on the calendar, but I would be out on the road in Chicago with a few nights off in between gigs. So I decided I would throw it out to the universe to see if anyone had some airline miles they might be willing to donate to help me get back to Oregon for the show. What’s the worst that could happen, right? Well, within one hour, the best had happened. Matthew had responded to my call, asked for the details of the trip, and booked flights for me to be able to fly back to OR to play the benefit show. I am still overwhelmed thinking about this extremely generous act! THANK YOU SO MUCH, Matthew!! You’ve got some excellent kharma coming your way!
2. CALL TO ACTION…Thank you to all of you who help me get creative with dates I need to fill! Renee and I work really hard on stringing shows together, but sometimes it takes a village! 🙂 We’ve got a couple of southeast dates in the fall that need some love…Oct 21 & 22. GA, SC, NC, AL…all could work and I’m open to ther ideas, too. Holler at me at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com. Thanks!
3. THE NEWS…Well the big news of course is the new CD, Spring Tide!! The boxes just arrived on my doorstep and I couldn’t be more excited! I am also VERY excited to be sharing my CD release party shows with the great Anna Tivel! Anna also has a new CD coming out that is heartbreakingly beautiful (I got a little sneak preview…). Oregon peeps, please save the dates: Fri, May 6 at Alberta Street Pub in Portland, and Sat, May 7 at Tsunami Books in Eugene. YAY!
Here is the beautiful cover. Graphic art by Scott Docherty and photo by R. Dee Mairs…

And here is a little promo video the Tyler put together! Takes me back to that magical weekend in Lincoln City…

The official release will be in May but I might just have to sneak some in my suitcase for this April tour coming up! Oregonians, please save the dates for special double CD release shows with the great Anna Tivel!

And finally, I am thriled to be teaching at some incredible workshops this summer and there are still a few spaces left! East coasters, the Wood and Stone Retreat in Crisfield, MD is such a wonderful, intimate gathering of song-lovers. Jen and Scott Smith (our gracious hosts) and Wyatt Easterling are the other instructors and it is going to be an amazing four days. Also I will be co-hosting the Hidden River Songwriting Camps with the wonderful Matt Meighan in Long Beach, WA in late July. The first session is filled up but there are still a few spots left for the second session (July 28-31). I hope you will join us!
4. APRIL SHOWS…Life is so uncertain, please call ahead!
Mon, Apr 4 – Songwriters-inthe-Round at O’Connor’s Vault – Portland, OR. 7850 S.W. Capitol Hwy. Matt Miner presents: Songwriters in the round with Cal Scott and Richard Moore! Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door. For info: mattminermusic@gmail.com or 503-484-8196. 7 pm. (This show is sold out but there may be a few seats available at the door.)
Fri, Apr 8 – Susie’s House Concert – near Annapolis, MD. A lovely house concert in Gambrill, MD. All are welcome! For info and reservations, please email susieshcs@aol.com for RSVP for info . Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share. BYOB. Co-bill with ellen cherry! $20 suggested donation. 8 pm.
Sat, Apr 9 – Six Strings Presents at the Cary Theater – Cary, NC. 122 E Chatham St.919-462-2055. Six String Presents presents live music at select venues from the best in singer songwriters, bluegrass, country, folk and acoustic music. BW will share the stage with Mary Johnson Rockers for an incredible evening of song at the town of Cary’s beautiful theater. 8 pm. $20. Mary’s website: http://www.maryjohnsonrockers.com/
Thu, Apr 14 – Isis Music Hall – Asheville, NC. Haywood Rd. 828-575-2737. Isis Restaurant and Music Hall is a west Asheville favorite combining great cuisine with a beautiful listening room. This will be BW’s first time to play at ISIS! Co-bill with the great Chris Rosser! 7 pm.
Fri, Apr 15 – Live @ UUTC – Brevard, NC. 24 Varsity Street at South Broad. 828-877-6121. Join us for an evening of story and song at beautiful UUTC! $15 suggested donation/$10 students. With the great Robby Hecht! All ages welcome. 7 pm.
Sat, Apr 16 – Fleur de Lis Acoustic Series – Louden, TN. Come join us for a wonderful evening of music and food. This is a potluck, BYOB event. $15 suggested donation. 5:30 gathering, 6 pm music.
Sun, Apr 17 – The Willow Tree Coffeehouse and Music Room – Johnson City, TN. 216 East Main St. The Willow Tree is a listening room, coffeehouse, and art gallery in beautiful Johnson City. A co-bill Sunday afternoon with the great Robby Hecht!
Tue, Apr 19 – Folk at the Cannery – Dataw Island, SC (private concert series)
Fri, Apr 22 – Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse – Dallas, TX. 9555 North Central Expressway. Uncle Calvin’s is Dallas’s long-running listening room concert series presenting live music on most Friday nights at Northpark Presbyterian Church. BW is thrilled to return with her favorite musician/poet Nathan Brown. 8 pm. info@unclecalvins.org or 214-363-0044 for info. $15 adv/$18 door.
Sat, Apr 23 – Concerts at Betty’s – San Antonio, TX. A lovely house concert hosted by Betty! For info: wwwsumrdays@yahoo.com. $15 suggested donation. 8 pm.
Sun, Apr 24 – Open Ears Concerts – Austin, TX. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 14311 Wells Port Drive. Open Ears Concerts presents live music performances that explore the intersection of Art, Spirituality, and Activism, since 2005. We present diverse genres and styles of music in an alcohol free, family friendly, listening room environment. BW returns to Open Ears for an afternoon show with Nathan Brown! $15 suggested donation. 1 pm.
Fri, Apr 29 – The Bugle Boy – La Grange, TX. 1051 N. Jefferson St. (Hwy 77). 979-968-9944. The Bugle Boy takes its name from the Andrews Sisters’ 1940’s hit “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Best little listening room in Texas! BW is thrilled to return with her favorite musician/poet Nathan Brown! $20.
Sat, Apr 30 – Honey Creek House Concerts – Celina, TX. For reservations and directions please contact Bill and Pam at honeycreekhouseconcerts@gmail.com. Potluck is at 7:00 PM, concert begins at 8:00 PM. Well behaved children are welcome. $20 suggested donation.
What a blast it was to play at Fiddler’s Crossing in Tehachapi…in a monsoon, no less! Thanks Mark La Ciura for the awesome pics, and to everyone who braved the storm!

oh man. playing at the freight & salvage with steve meckfessel and nicholas leahy was a thrill! this iconic venue was one of the most gorgeous places i have ever played.

the beautiful peace house in portland. the peace was palpable. 🙂 the harmonies were soaring…

and i loved returning to olympia acoustic music concerts…just over my left shoulder is a breathtaking view of the water…i kept hoping for an orca sighting!

the trees are so happy here. here’s the one by my house doing its happy dance

5. THE FUTURE…I am so overwhelmed with gratitude looking at the rest of this year’s calendar. It is shaping up to be the best yet. Thank you to all of you for reading my musings, attending shows, telling your friends about my music and poetry, and cheering me on along the way. It is not always an easy ride, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
A very happy spring to you and I hope to see you out there on the road soon! 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
Here I am with my face on Facebook.
I barely know how to use it but I’m tryin’ on Twitter
Does anyone go to Myspace anymore? Seriously. I haven’t been there in years. I think I just saw a tumbleweed.
For the love of Pete, somebody please help me with Youtube!

Down the road a piece…
5/6 PORTLAND CD RELEASE @ ALBERTA ST PUB
5/7 EUGENE CD RELEASE @ TSUNAMI BOOKS
5/13 Downers Grove, IL – Two Way Street Coffeehouse
5/14 Chicago, IL – Folkstage
5/15 Chicago, IL – Windy City House Concerts
5/17 Bend, OR – Soldiersongs Benefit Concert @ Tower Theater
5/21 Marquette, MI – House Concert
5/23 Rochester, MN – Harmony for May
6/2-6/5 Crisfield, MD – The Wood and Stone Retreat
6/16 Volcano, CA – House Concert w/David Stoddard
6/17 Mendocine, CA – House Concert w/David Stoddard
6/18 Redding, CA – House Concert w/David Stoddard
6/19 Bend, OR – Songwriter Series House Concerts w/David Stoddard |