BETH WOOD

Greetings, friends and fellow music lovers!

These are rich, long days of sunshine, new avenues of connection, finding ways to lift each other up. And they are also richly complex days of uncertainty and change. I hope you are finding beauty and meaning wherever you are. 

Here are a few things coming up I’d like to tell you about. Lots more details are below…

Sat, Aug 1 – Sisters Folk Festival Presents: Close To Home Concert – Sisters, OR (this event will be livestreamed on SFF’s Youtube and Facebook…details below)

Fri, Aug 7 – Back Door Coffeehouse Virtual Concert 

Mon, Aug 10-Fri, Aug 14 – Sisters Folk Festival’s Creativity Camp for Kids – Sisters, OR

Fri, Aug 28 – Roundabout Books Virtual Local Author Night on Zoom

But first, gratitude…

Thank you to all the brave souls who joined for my Zoom dynamics/performance workshop and to Portland Folk Music Society for hosting. I never knew we could have so much fun gathering virtually! I hope to offer more of this kind of musical mischief soon!

Thank you to the Audrey and Milt and to Charles and Sandy and to Paul and Donna for trying new things and for making my music part of your lives. We are getting so creative! 

Thank you to all of you who ordered a copy of my new CD, a collaboration live CD with the amazing Home By Dark band! And thank you for tuning in to our virtual CD release celebration, and to Matt Blanchard, Carole Ford and Vanessa Conner for bringing their beautiful music and generous spirits to the party! It meant the world to me to share that with you. If you missed the online CD release celebration and you’d like to watch it, you still can! Here is the link to watch. And if you’d like to order your copy, you still can! Here’s the link for that. The album is called “Home By Dark Live Vol 1 with Beth Wood” and it is on all the streaming platforms as well. THANK YOU to James Casto for making this happen!

Thank you to my wonderful Patreon community for partnering with me in my creative work and for cheering me on! I had a blast sharing a new song, with special guest David Jacobs-Strain sitting in on slide guitar, and a new poem about girls and horses. If you’d like to have access to my new songs and poems, I hope you’ll join us here! For as little as $1 a month you can become a member! There are many levels of support and  you can choose what feels right for you. You can always change your pledge or bow out if things change for you, no judgment! I am supporting several of my favorite artists now on Patreon — David Lamotte, Ellis, Naomi Violette, and I love getting a window into their creative lives! I also love being a patron of Artichoke Music! I figure our creative community is stronger if we support each other!

And now, for some fun stuff coming up! On August 1, Sisters Folk Festival is presenting a small, outdoor, responsible and socially-distanced show called “Close To Home” on their lawn at the Artworks Building! I applaud everyone involved for all the thought and planning and work they have put into creating this safe space for us to enjoy some live music. I am honored and excited to be playing some music with the great David Jacobs-Strain! And my heart is bursting just thinking of getting to hear Jeffrey Martin with Anna Tivel, Haley Johnsen, and Ron Artis II and The Truth. Our community must really need it because it sold out in a day! But the cool thing is that Sisters Folk Festival will be live streaming the whole event as a love offering!! You can watch it here on YouTube! Or here on Facebook! Music starts at 5 pm Pacific. DJS and I will play at 7:15.  hope you’ll join us in your living rooms. It truly is a phenomenal group of artists and a special offering for our thirstly little isolated ears and hearts. 

I am so grateful to my friend and wonderful singer-songwriter-poet Tom Kimmel for connecting me with the gracious folks at the Back Door Coffeehouse in Hattiesburg, MS! You see, they have been hosting listening room concerts for their community for 28 years! And they are continuing on this season with virtual concerts. I was so delighted when they reached out and asked me to be a part of their series! So, here’s the scoop: I’m videoing myself playing a concert here in my home, and the Back Door Coffeehouse will present it on their YouTube page on August 7 at 5:30 pm Pacific (7:30 Central). This is a gift to their community and donations are gratefully accepted. Here is the link to watch! 

And I am thrilled and delighted to be co-leading a day camp for 10-14 year old kids on August 10-14 in Sisters! I will be co-leading “The Nature of Expression: A Creativity Camp” with wonderful artist Judy Fuentes. We will investigate animals and nature through sounds and color and explore storytelling and self-expression through art, creative writing, and music. Monday-Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM. Strict adherence to safety guidelines in place during COVID-19 will be observed. There are still a few spots left, so if you know a 10-14 year old who loves being creative, I hope you’ll send them our way!

Roundabout Books is a beloved independent book store in Bend, and I’m excited to be part of their local author’s night on August 28! Each author will speak for approximately 15 minutes and then be available for questions. Other featured authors are Denise Holley, Lauren Melink, Alisha Crebbin and Robert M. Vancil. Please contact Roundabout Books at www.roundaboutbookshop.com or call 541-306-6564 to order these books. Zoom link to be posted on their website soon!

If you are looking for a contemplative, community offering, I will be the special guest for the UU Fellowship of Central Oregon’s Sunday virtual service on August 16 at 10 am Pacific time. I am very honored by this invitation! I’ll be sharing a few songs and a poem or two. If you’d like to learn about the UUFCO and/or tune in, please visit their website here. 

And finally, my next book of poetry, “Believe The Bird” is in production right now. Whaaaaaaat?!?! So I’ll be dreaming and scheming on what kind of fun virtual celebration I can cook up for that. Stay tuned!