December’s Newsy News
Greetings, friends and fellow music lovers,
I hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are. Our mountains are covered in snow, and I never tire of their magnificent beauty. There are some special things coming up this month. Most of all I wanted to send you warm wishes for this holiday season. This will not be like any other holiday, but still I am grateful for every moment. I’m grateful for you, too.
If you would like to stay up to date on all my new music and poetry, come join us on Patreon! Patreon is a subscription to my work and it is super easy to join. For as little as $1 a month, you can have exclusive access to new songs and poems that I don’t release anywhere else, and even join us for patron-only Zoom gatherings. I’ve got a special Christmas Eve song that I am excited to share with patrons soon!
It’s not too late to sign up for our first virtual Winter Solstice Retreat (Paddling in the Dark: A Virtual Winter Solstice Retreat) coming up this Friday and Saturday (Dec 4 & 5). This is a new adventure for me, and I am honored and delighted to be co-facilitating this special retreat with friends Alan Claassen and Kirstin Anglea. Kirstin and Alan are both amazing humans and facilitators of Center for Courage and Renewal retreats. We will share a time of quiet reflection, renewal, writing, singing, connection and celebration. Please click here for info and registration. The Dec 11-12 retreat is sold out.
I’m honored to be a part of a virtual benefit concert organized by my friend Joe Werne. Some of you might know Joe as the host of Little Tree Acoustic House Concerts and tireless advocate of independent musicians. Little Tree Acoustic House Concerts and Unite the Parks are hosting an online benefit concert to save the Pacific Fisher, a newly listed endangered species living in the Southern Sierra Nevada. Thank you Joe for all that you do. Here are details…
Sunday, December 6 – Benefit Concert to Save the Pacific Fisher. Participating musicians and poets include Ellis Delaney, Beth Wood, Gabrielle Louise, Nicolò Spera, Karl Werne, Jack Williams, Mitch Barrett, Strangebyrds, Chris Hoffman, Justin Evan Thompson, Connor Garvey, and more. The area where the Pacific fisher lives is unique; it is part of a region designated as a biodiversity hotspot, and there are only 35 such places worldwide. Unite the Parks has been working to protect this area for the past seven years. The show is available everywhere, so invite your friends, and make sure to correct for your friends’ time zone(s)! Can’t make the performance time? Not a problem – a recording of the show will be available afterward for viewing, at a time that fits your schedule. Also, we will have a real-time Zoom afterparty with some of the performers and Unite the Parks staff immediately after the show, which will begin about 6:30 Pacific time/7:30pm Mountain Time. Join us! All donations are tax deductible; Unite the Parks is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to keeping our wild places wild. Make a donation to attend the concert here.
And I am THRILLED to be hosting my friend, mentor, and favorite singer-songwriter Chris Rosser for a livestream concert and song swap on Tuesday, December 8. If you have not heard Chris, please do yourself a favor and tune in! His music is the medicine we need. Here are the details:
Tuesday, December 8 – Joyful Measures: A Livestream Concert with Beth Wood and Chris Rosser. Desperate times call for Joyful Measures! In fact, all times call for joyful measures. The intent of this offering is to create a space for beauty, solace, connection, and celebration through word and song while also getting to hear my friends! Chris Rosser is my favorite songwriter in the world and dangit, I miss my friend! We’ll swap songs and tell stories, and I’ll even ask Chris to share a few of his beautiful winter songs. Plus we’ll have a little conversation about what is bringing us joy right now. Click here to tune in on my Facebook music page (you don’t have to have a Facebook account to watch!) It’s free to watch and donations are joyfully accepted. 5:00 Pacific/6:00 Mountain/7:00 Central/8:00 Eastern
I am honored to be a part of Artichoke Music‘s virtual Holiday Concert and benefit for Transition Projects inc. The incredibly talented and generous videographer and friend Gary Furlow came to Sisters to film my songs for the holiday special. We set up at the gorgeous Fir Street Park bandshell here in Sisters and had such a blast doing it. It felt good to sing in to a microphone again! Here’s the scoop, I hope you’ll join us!
Sunday, December 20 – Holiday Concert: Return the Light. Artichoke Music is honored to present this virtual concert and annual holiday benefit to support Transition Projects (tprojects.org) and its tireless relief efforts for the homeless in the Portland metro region. Tom May will be your host for the evening with performances by Beth Wood, Tom May and Doug Smith, Espacio Flamenco, Martin Zarzar, Luther’s Boots, Chasing Ebenezer teachers and students of our school of music, interviews and and many more surprises that you will just have to tune in and see. 8 pm Pacific time. You can watch here on Artichoke’s Facebook page (you don’t need a FB account to watch).
And finally, I’m sorry to have to share some sad news. We had a beautiful Thanksgiving, and then a rough one. Miss Bailey passed away unexpectedly and we’ve been in a fog in the days after. My heart is sore but I am filled with joy and gratitude for that sweet being and all she gave to me. Even though someday came before I was ready, I am ever grateful and I’m still gonna go on loving an old dog. 🙂 Thank you to all of you for loving her from afar! She was truly a rock star. My friends and family and loved ones have lifted me up and it has been so comforting and hopeful. Thank you to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and sent hugs and loving words our way. Here is Bailey’s tree all lit up with Christmas lights and a shining full moon. Seems about right considering her bright smile!
Every day I grow ever more grateful for every precious moment. Thank you for your belief in me and my work in the world. I wish you peace and joy and creativity in this newly imagined holiday season. There is much to celebrate.
With love from your fan,
Beth Wood
PO Box 551
Sisters, OR 97759
Holler at me: bethwoodmusic [AT] hotmail.com
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