July newsy news!
Hello, friends! I hope you are finding ways to stay cool. I just got back from a wonderful Colordado vacation visiting friends and gathering with family and fly-fishing until my arm hurt. It was a glorious time of non-doing, thus the late newsletter this month! 😉 My spirit is rested and full!
Fun events coming up in July:
Wed, July 14 – Virtual Song Circle
Mon, July 19 – Feedback Song Salon (Virtual)
Wed, July 21 – Concert at Suttle Lodge
Scroll down for details!
I have lots of exciting news to share. Firstly, my latest poetry book, Believe The Bird won the San Francisco Book Festival award for poetry. WOOP!!! Thank you to every single one of you who has encouraged me, bought my book, cheered me on, made a place for poetry on your nightstand and in your heart. It means the world to me! And thank you Mezcalita Press, LLC for helping me give it wings. If you would like a copy, you can order one directly from me here. (You can also order it from your independent book store and they will have it in a couple of days! And you can order from Amazon here.)
Other good news is that outdoor concerts are in full swing! I got to play a wonderful back yard concert here in Sisters last month, and it felt SOOOO good to sing for real in-person humans again! It was during that crazy heat wave but we went for it and it turned out to be a lovely evening. Special thanks to our hosts Tally and Forrest, Jeff and Pat, to all of the generous folks who were there, and to Dennis for being a great roadie!
Speaking of outdoor concerts, I will be playing at Suttle Lodge outside of Sisters on Wednesday, July 21! They have a fun BBQ beer tasting live music series, and I’ll be playing from 5-7 pm. Be sure to come and find me in the Rustic Village once you get there (it will not be on the back lawn where many of their concerts are held). Music is free and food is available for $20 per person, all are welcome! I’m stoked that Modern Times is the guest brewery that evening…I love their Belmont Fermatorium in Portland!
I have a few slots open for my virtual song circle on Wed, July 14. Songs need to be heard, and songwriters need community! We can’t meet in person, so let’s meet on Zoom to gather by the virtual campfire and share some songs! Attendance will be capped at 10 people, and the circle will go for two hours maximum. I hope you’ll come and share a song…all levels of experience are welcome! Original songs and covers are great. Please email me at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com to reserve your spot. There is no cost to attend. Free-will donations of $5-10 will be joyfully accepted (Venmo: @bethwoodmusic or Paypal).
And I’m excited to try our first Virtual Feedback Song Salon on Monday, July 19! Feedback Song Salons are small virtual gatherings where songwriters can share new work and receive thoughtful feedback from fellow songwriters and from me. We will cap the number at 6 so that each songwriter will have ample time to play and receive feedback. All levels of songwriting and performance experience are welcome. This will be a space of non-judgment for songwriters to support their fellow songwriters. Cost will be sliding scale of $10-$25…pay what you are comfortable with – no judgment! Please email me if you are interested at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com.
And more exciting news…my baby grand piano is back! What do you say when you close off a room in your heart the size of a baby grand piano and lose the key, figuring you’ll never get back in there anyway? And then a whole long line of angels conspires to keep it safe and bring it back to you? I don’t know what to say except thank you. Thank you Ann Wood and Laura Hurt Howe & family and Do Mi Stauber & Trisha and Bob Howard and Artichoke Music and Don and crew at NW Piano Gallery and my generous landlord. Thank you all the hands that played it and tuned it and kept it safe during the years I could not have it with me. This is my childhood piano. In buying it, my mom was able to establish a credit card in her own name. I was able to practice on a stellar instrument. Even though I write mostly on guitar now, piano was my first love. This very one. Here’s a video of a song I wrote on this piano sixteen years ago. Like many songs, it seems I had to live into it. It means something entirely different now. Praise full circle. Praise friends and angels!
Special thanks to Louise Baker and Bruce Swan for hosting me and Tom Kimmel for their “Music My Mother Would Not Like” virtual concert series last month! Tom is one of my all-time favorite singer-songwriter-poets! You can watch it here in case you missed it.
And finally, guess what!? The song I sent my patrons this month called “Keep The Change” was co-written with a very special person… my dad! If you’d like to hear this song and all of the new songs and poems I have shared in the last year, I hope you’ll visit my Patreon page here! You can become a patron for as little as $1 a month or as much as you want and get access to all of my new work and be an arts-supporting super hero at the same time!
Got some fishin time in…
And some hikin…
Thank you so much for reading and for cheering me on in my artistic journey! I am sending you gratitude over the years and over the miles. Your fan,
Thank you so much for reading and for cheering me on in my artistic journey! I am sending you gratitude over the years and over the miles. Your fan,
Beth Wood
PO Box 551
Sisters, OR 97759
Holler at me: bethwoodmusic [AT] hotmail.com
Come join me on Patreon, a subcription to my music and poetry!
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