BETH WOOD

Greetings, friends and fellow music lovers! It’s hard not to wax philosopical about new beginnings on a day like this, the first day of 2016! I know this year holds adventures we can’t even imagine. What could be more fun than that?! Nothing beats a clean slate if you ask me. Of course the trick is that every day is a clean slate, but you already knew that. 🙂

As usual, January is pretty calm in my touring world. Winter is a time to go inward, wear slippers, sip coffee, write, and make big pots of soup. This winter is also a time of great change for me. More on that later. But here are January’s happenings… I hope you’ll scroll down for gratitude, news, show details, musings and photos!

1/9 – Private House Concert – Sherwood, OR
1/10 – Afternoon Songwriting Workshop – Bend, OR
1/10 – House Concerts in the Glen at Newport Hills – Bend, OR
1/15-17 – 30A Songwriters Festival – South Walton, FL

1. GRATITUDE. What a wild ride 2015 was, and I am grateful for every precious moment! December wrapped up beautifully with a songwriting workshop and two wonderful shows in Maryland. Much gratitude to Matt Meighan, Artichoke Music, and our fine group of creativity explorers; to Scott & Paula Moore and the fine folks at Moore Music, and to Jeff and Traci King and all at Deer Creek Coffeehouse for warm hospitality and for much hard work in maintaining successful concert series. Check out this awesome video created by “Out and About” about Deer Creek Coffeehouse Concerts!

2. THE NEWS.

The big news is there has been much progress on my new CD! Thaddeus over at Liquid Mastering in Eugene did an amazing job AGAIN, and we are all done with the mastering process. What we have is an intimate collection of acoustic songs that sounds like you are sitting right next to me around a fire at the beach. It is more beautiful than I ever imagined, and I’m so thankful to Tyler Fortier for once again producing an album I am very proud of. I have settled on a title: Spring Tide. And of course, we will have a spring release. I am excited to be working with Scott Docherty at Redhare on the graphic design. I’m such a fan of his work! Stay tuned for more details!

Other news…I would like to continue offering private lessons in 2016. What a great joy it has been to work on vocals, guitar, songcraft, and performance with many folks of all ages! If you are in Oregon, holler at me at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com to see if we can work out a plan! And if you are not in Oregon, I have not done Skype lessons yet but I am definitely open to it. 🙂 I generally ask $30 for 45 minutes and I am open to trades and other ideas.

Other fun news for the year, I will be teaching again at the Wood and Stone Retreat in Maryland in June with the great Scott & Jen Smith and Wyatt Easterling. We had SUCH a blast last year and I absolutely loved the intimate nature of the retreat – only 15 participants, 4 workshop leaders, and of course the great Annie, our chef. It was simple magical!  I’m also thrilled to be joining Matt Meighan in co-leading two songwriting camps on the Washington coast in July. Matt and Chris Kokesh started the Zigzag Songwriting Camp a few years ago (now called Hidden River Songwriting Camp) and it has grown into a wonderful community/creativity-exploring gathering. I am honored to be there in Chris’s stead this year, and I absolutely can’t wait to experience the magic!

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

Sat, Jan 9 – Private House Concert – Sherwood, OR. I’m delighted to be returning to the Harpers for a house concert among their gracious friends. It was a great way to kick of 2015, and I am thrilled to kick off 2016 in the same fashion!

Sun, Jan 10 – Afternoon Songwriting Workshop – Bend, OR. Hosted by the lovely JoAn at House Conerts in the Glen at Newport Hills, we will explore our creativity and engage in the craft of songwriting in this three hour afternoon workshop! All ages and levels of experience welcome. Bring something to write on and your instrument, if you like. Afternoon tea and snacks provided. $35 for the workshop only/$45 for workshop plus evening concert. To reserve your space, please contact JoAn at HouseConcertsInTheGlen@gmail.com or 541-480-8830. 1:30 pm.

Sun, Jan 10 – House Concerts in the Glen at Newport Hills – Bend, OR. Hosted by the lovely JoAn (pronounced “Jo-Ann”) Mann, BW is thrilled to return to this wonderful house concert series! You’re invited to experience a warm gathering, bringing Artists and an appreciative community together. As always, all proceeds go to the artists and community charities. In the spirit of sharing, bring something to share (appetizer/ dessert/ beverage- I’ll have BBQ Chicken…) and a donation, (suggested $15-20/ person, as you can). Seating is limited, kindly RSVP early to HouseConcertsInTheGlen@gmail.com to reserve your seat, or contact JoAn, 541-480-8830. Open to all! Potluck at 6, music at 7.

Fri, Jan 15-Sun, Jan 17 – 30A Songwriters Festival – South Walton, FL. The 30A SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL is known throughout the music community as a destination where writers who perform their own music, and performers who write their own songs, come together for an extended weekend to perform varied genres of music ranging from country, blues, folk, soul and Americana. For audiences, it’s a rare chance to connect with their favorite artists in a more intimate, informal setting. 30A transforms amphitheaters, town halls, restaurants, theaters, bars and covered patios into unique music venues ranging in capacity from 75 to 400 indoors and 4,000 outdoors.  This year’s festival will feature headline performances from esteemed artists Jackson Browne, Grace Potter, Shovels & Rope and Wine, Women & Song featuring Matraca Berg, Suzy Bogguss & Gretchen Peters, as well as Ani DiFranco, Emerson Hart (Tonic), Kristian Bush (Sugarland), Shawn Mullins, Jay Farrar (from Son Volt),Bob Schneider, David Ryan Harris (John Mayer band), Chris Stills, Jim Lauderdale, Heather Maloney and many more! Schedule TBA…

 We had so much fun at Deer Creek Coffeehouse! Love their logo!

Jeff & Traci of Deer Creek CH, my gracious hosts! 

 This is the scientific process of deciding on song order for a CD…

Got to spend the holidays in San Diego with Mom and Dad and my bro’s family.  such a spectacular sky!

I love this, thought I would share. It is from the Brave Girls Club. Hallelujah, Amen!!

4. THE FUTURE…
2016 holds infinite possibility for us all! And it brings great change to my life. I am starting a new life on my own in Portland, OR, a community that already holds so many dear friends and memories. 2015 saw the close of my marriage and the beginning of a new chapter. Many of you have reached out and offered support, and for that I am so grateful. Please know that my spirit is light and I am exactly where I need to be!

I can’t wait to fall in love with my new city, explore beautiful places, make new friends, and find new musical cohorts. I hope to explore and create local teaching opportunities while maintaining a life of creating, performing, touring, recording, collaborating, and generally getting myself into mischief that will help me grow. I’m learning to hold on less tightly to the idea of what my life should look like and embrace what lights me up. Most people’s eyes glaze over when I say I wrote a book of poetry, but I don’t care. I just smile in wonder at how much I love that stuff, and the poems just keep coming. 🙂 Speaking of poetry, scroll down for a New Year’s Day poem…

So thank you for supporting my creative endeavors and for cheering me on. I am a very lucky woman and I know it. I wish you an amazing 2016, and I hope to see you out there on the road with new songs in tow in this new year! With much gratitude from your fan,

Beth Wood

World Headquarters: 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…

Fri, Feb 5 – Black Box Theater at Corvallis High School – Corvallis, OR               (with Jeffrey Martin and Anna Tivel)
Sat, Feb 13 – Artichoke Music – Portland, OR
Wed, Feb 17 – Folk Alliance International Conference – Kansas City, MO
Thu, Feb 18 – Folk Alliance International Conference – Kansas City, MO
Fri, Feb 19 – Folk Alliance International Conference – Kansas City, MO
Sat, Feb 20 – Folk Alliance International Conference – Kansas City, MO
Sun, Feb 21 – Folk Alliance International Conference – Kansas City, MO
Thu, Feb 25 – 4th & Main Grille – Wray, CO (with Connor Garvey)
Fri, Feb 26 – Rehmsworld – NE (with Connor Garvey)
Sat, Feb 27 – Last Minute Folk – Topeka, KS

NEW YEAR’S DAY

I am not the antelope

whose staccato steps quicken

at any sound, her very

skin etched with electricity

and dust

Nor am I the kingfisher

shaped like a blade

made to slice the surface

of the deep and take his prey

in an instant

You would think by now

I could say what I am

Instead I walk through this fog

shapeless in the unfolding

New Year’s Day

and I wonder how to tell you

what I am lonely for

and why I can’t name it

I suppose any explanation

would do, but I can’t find one

I stumble and I wait, I

muddle through in wonder,

What’s one more year in

the scheme of things