BETH WOOD

3. January Shows in OR and TX (scroll down for more details…)

4. The Future

1. GRATITUDE…I am so grateful to everyone who came out to our Caldera Songwriters Group Concert and Benefit for the Egan Warming Center!! Tsunami Books was packed to the gills with generous, loving folks who listened to every note with appreciation and gave generously during this holiday season. Because of all of the dedicated volunteers and staff at Egan and St Vinnie’s, no one in our community will ever again go without a warm place to sleep when the nights turn frigid. Thanks to Scott, Nate and staff at Tsunami Books, to the fabulous performing songwriters – Jeffrey Martin, Della Perry, Steve Gibson, Ken Zimmerman, Lori Kats, Laura Golden, Sean McGowan, John Shipe, Ashlee Tidwell, Do Mi Stauber and Paul, Michael Kevin Daly, Joan Campbell, Melissa Ruth and Johny, Willie McEachern and Glen Saari. Thank you to KLCC, KRVM, The Eugene Weekly, and The Register-Guard, for helping us spread the word. Thank you to Shelley from Egan Warming Center for being there, and thank you to Marty Ochs for helping load and deliver 2 cars full of warm things. Together we raised over $1,100 and two carloads of warm things! You simply made my heart soar by helping to make one of my dreams come true…to harness the power of music to serve our community! YAY!!

2. THE NEWS…I’m excited to start of the year with a wonderful Portland house concert shared with my insanely talented friend Lincoln Crockett. And then I get to come right back the next weekend for a lovely private house concert before heading out to Texas for a few shows. January closes with another house concert — this time in Roseburg hosted by a new friend I met at Sisters Song Academy…life is good!! Scroll down for details about these fine shows.

I was so delighted to see this wonderful piece of news from the great Bud Johnson. Bud’s radio show, Accoustic Accents, plays all over the great state of Alaksa, and he has been such a great supporter of my music through the years. Thank you, Bud for including me in your top 13!

I’m super excited for new teaching opportunities this year. I am thrilled to be teaching this summer at the Wood and Stone Retreat in MD and also at Rivertunesin Coloma, CA!! The Wood and Stone Songwriting Retreat was started by Scott & Jen Smith (the duo called Naked Blue) and is held at beautiful Jane’s Island State Park in Crisfield, MD. Scott & Jen say, “This is a wonderful ‘music-centric’ opportunity to get away from it all and do some intensive work on your craft & skills with some of the finest and most committed musicians in the business.” Wowza! I’m honored and thrilled to be a part of this and can’t wait to meet new friends and make new connections.

Rivertunes is a music camp in July on the banks of the American River in Coloma, CA. Started by Joe Craven, this wonderful, inclusive camp celebrates music, community, nature and freindship all wrapped up in a big ol ball of fun! Here’s how the folks at Rivertunes describe their mission: “Roots Music & Creativity Camp ~ honors traditions and celebrates innovations in Acoustic Roots Music and Creative Living through individual growth and community spirit. Whether you aspire to perform, want to jam with friends, or simply and comfortably share songs with a loved one, our mission and passion is to help you do it!”  I am so excited to be a part of this and join the incredible group of folks who lead classes there!

I’ll also continue teaching private lessons here in Eugene, and I’m open to teaching on the road, too! I love working on basic singing skills, piano, guitar, dynamics and performance, and song building. If those are things that interest you and you are open to being flexible with my touring schedule, email me at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com and let’s talk!

In the creative news department, I am feeling pulled toward making simple, stripped-down recordings of my new songs. I’d like to celebrate the elemental sense of the songs as I have written them, and as I get to perform them most of the time solo. Tyler and I have already started laying some new songs down and it feels good! I will keep you posted on our progress!

3. JANUARY SHOWS…life is so uncertain, please call ahead!

Sun, Jan 4 – Doverlaff House Concerts – Portland, OR. Dan & Cheryl have created a wonderful, intimate listening room in their home! Seating is limited – reservations are suggested. Please email doverlaffhouseconcerts@gmail.com or call 503-730-3189 for info and reservations. Co-bill with the great Lincoln Crockett!! 7 pm.

Sat, Jan 10 – Private House Concert – Portland, OR

Wed, Jan 21 – Hondo’s on Main – Fredericksburg, TX. 312 W. Main St. 830-997-1633. Songwriters Showcase hosted by Kevin Higgins. 7:30 pm.

Thu, Jan 22 – Private Party – Dallas, TX

Fri, Jan 23 – House Concert – Coppell, TX

Sat, Jan 24 – Open Ears Concerts – Austin, TX. Open Ears Concerts presents live music performances that explore the intersection of Art, Spirituality, and Activism. We also strive to present diverse genres and styles of music in a family friendly listening room environment, and to provide a fair and reasonable payment to the artists for their work. The concerts are held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, a fully inclusive and progressive Christian community. We are located on Wells Branch Parkway, just west of IH-35, at the corner of Wells Port Drive. We have a potluck meal before the show, so feel free to bring a dish to share. Potluck starting at 6 PM, music at 7 PM, and $15 suggested donation. The wonderful organization Spirit Reins will be there to tell us abotu their great work with kids and families! Co-bill with Tom Faulkner!

Sat, Jan 31 – Casa Campbell House Concert – Roseburg, OR. $10 suggested donation.  Bring a dish to share. Please contact Joan at 541-530-6923 or jlwade@hotmail.com for details and info.

I love the stage at Tsunami Books! The poetry section is right there by my left knee so it’s kinda distracting! thanks for the pic Joan Campbell…

here’s the giant pile of warm things everyone donated at our Caldera Songwriters benefit concert!! Woop!!

When I was visiting my folks in TX, we were cleaning out some old boxes. Check out this letter we found!! It brought tears to our eyes. John was a friend of my parents — they went to Texas Tech at the same time, back when he was John Deuchendorf. 🙂

Beautiful susnet sky in Eugene. Any winter day with sun is a gift here!

Happy new year from the top of Spencer’s Butte! 

cool flyer for our Doverlaff House Concert on Jan 4!! 

4. The Future…2015 is looking very bright! I hope it can be a year of joy, celebrating community, creativity and connection. I hope the music will wrap around our hearts, make us shake our booties, bring us laugther and release our tears, and inspire us to celebrate!! With much gratitude for your continuing support,

Beth Wood

World Headquarters: BethWoodMusic, PO Box 864, Eugene, OR, 97440

Holler at me: bethwoodmusic [AT] hotmail.com

Here I am on Facebook.

I barely know how to use it but I’m tryin’ on Twitter

Does anyone go to Myspace anymore?

For the love of Pete, somebody please help me with Youtube!

p.s. One more piece of non-music news, our little family just got a little bigger! On Christmas Eve, we adopted two labs from the Greenhill Humane Society!! We think their person had to go to the hospital and might not have come home. 🙁 But we are thrilled to have them with us and can’t wait to have heaps of fun together! The young chocolate lab is around 2 years old and is a bundle of sweet energy. We have decided his name is Timber! And the older black lab is around 10-12 years old. He is a spry fellow who loves to cuddle as much as he loves the ball. He is particularly enamoured with Marty and likes to sleep on a pile of Marty’s clothes. 🙂 His name is Coda. I love the name because it is a muscial term and it means the ending of a song, after the main theme has already been played. Much like his life here with us!!  We haven’t been able to play with them much yet  because they both just had their surgeries, but it’s gonna be a tennis ball fest around here!!

Meet Timber and Coda!!

Down the road a piece…

Fri, Feb 6 – Sisters, OR – Sisters Folk Festival Winter Concert Series

Sat, Feb 7 – Bend, OR – Music in the Glen at Newport Hills

Thu, Feb 26 – Zumbrota, MN – Crossings at Carnegie

Fri, Feb 27 – Nisswa, MN – Grassroots Concerts- Live Well Nightclub and Coffee Bar at the Journey Church

Sat, Feb 28 – La Crosse, WI – The Pump House