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Greetings, friends and fellow music lovers –
Summer is here! Here’s what I’ll be up to in June… click on the links below or check out the tour page on my website for full details, y’all.
Sat, June 1 – House Concert – Lowell, OR
Fri, June 7 – Poetry Reading at Darvill’s Bookstore – Orcas, WA
Sat, June 8 – Stand and Sway @ Orcas Island Grange – Eastsound, WA
Sun, June 9 – Stand and Sway Workshop – Eastsound, WA
Fri, June 14 – Stand and Sway @ Vashon Center for the Arts – Vashon, WA
Sat, June 15 – Stand and Sway @ Al’s Den – Portland, OR
Fri, June 21 – Stand and Sway @ Tsunami Books – Eugene, OR
Sat, June 22 – Stand and Sway @ Women, Nature & Song Workshop – Veneta, OR
Sun, June 23 – Stand and Sway @ Women, Nature & Song Workshop – Veneta, OR
1. GRATITUDE…Special thanks to these folks for making May so wonderful: to Bill & Sue and all who took part in our Open Song Workshop at the Peninsual Arts Center; to Susan Moore and Literary Arts and Newport Public Library for hosting our Oregon Book Awards author tour; to John Felty and Brevard Music Center and all the wonderful song schoolers and folk who came to support Songsmith Gathering; to Alberta Street Pub and Ocea and Scott Cook and all who helped us celebrate birthday and our new album!; to Audrey and Milton and friends who supported our house concert, and to PJ for making us feel at home!
2. THE NEWS…As you can see from all the dates above, June will be filled with Stand and Sway shows and workshops! (If you haven’t heard, I started a duo with my dear friend Ara Lee James and we recorded an album and we’re having a blast singing and stomping and giggling all across the land!) Ara and I are having so much fun bringing these new songs from our DEEP BLUE album out into the open. We will be doing an official online launch of the album in October, so we’ll keep you posted on that. In the mean time we are working on finding listening rooms and concert series that would be good fit for our music along with places we can offer our Open Song workshops. Built on the underlying principle that everyone is musical, we joyfully help people rediscover (or discover for the first time) their musical selves. We write, sing, share and play and just have fun with music! We had a blast with the good folks at Peninsula Arts Center spending the day playing, and we are thrilled to be offering an afternoon workshop this month at a beautiful home on Orcas island. If you know of a place that would be a good fit for our workshop or a concert, holler at me at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com.
We had so much fun in Brevard, NC at the Songsmith Gathering and song school this past month! It is so inspiring to be in a community of creative exploration with other songwriters. I am looking forward to growing and building on that community and can’t wait for next year! On that note, there are some very special opportunities coming up for nurturing your creative self in an inspiring setting. In addition to the Open Song workshop I mentioned above, Ara and I will be leading a songwriting retreat called Women, Nature and Song at the beautiful Stillpoint farm in Veneta, OR on June 22-23. There will be lots of singing, writing, sharing, quiet time, song circles, and performance coaching on this beautiful and sacred land.
And in August I am so thrilled to be co-hosting the first Harris Bridge Songwriting Camp with Clara Baker! Clara is a light bringer and extremely talented singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and I’m so excited to co-host with her. Harris Bridge Vineyard is a gorgeous, quiet spot right outside of Philomath next to a river and flanked by a covered bridge. I had the good fortune if being invited to sing at their eclipse party a couple of years ago. It was a transendent experience. Since then Nathan and Amanda have become good friends, and their values and enthusiasm for community and art and music resonate so deeply with my own. We will lead songwriting exercises, take time in nature, share songs around a campfire, and have one-on-one mentoring sessions. Nathan and Amanda have hosted the Harris Bridge Folk Festival the last two summers, and I’m thrilled to be kicking off this year’s festival (right after the songwriting camp) as a Stand and Sway duo show!
Speaking of Songsmith Gathering and NC, we had so much fun playing a few songs and visiting with Heather Anders on 98.1 FM The River in Asheville, NC! Click here to listen to Stand and Sway’s songs and interview!
Guess what y’all, great news! Mount Tabor Music School, the school where I have my studio for private lessons, is a finalist in the Willamette Week‘s Best of Portland 2019! Let’s cast our votes for this wonderful neighborhood gathering and learning place! Congrats to Sarah Collins for building her vision of Mount Tabor Music School and for nurturing music within people of all ages. I’m so delighted to be a part of this community, and I am envisioning leading workshops and songwriting classes for the fall, so stay tuned!
Here’s a song I have been working on for a while and it finally came together right around Mother’s Day. I wrote this with my mother and my grandmother in mind. The older I get, the more grateful I become for having these two gracious, generous, beautiful role models in my life, and I have also come to learn that they are with me always, even when we are not together. Plus Bailey stars in this video so…bonus!
Here’s some random pics y’all..
Circled up at the Open Song workshop at the PAC! I believe in the magic of the circle when leading creative workshops because everyone’s voice is equal!
My favorite view/foggy morning coffee and writing spot at the Brevard Music Center…
They rolled out the welcome mat at 98.1 The River in Asheville
We had so much fun visiting with Heather and playing ‘Nasty Woman’ because it felt just right.
These ladies rawk.
Circled up again… this time at Songsmith Song School with Sarah Siskind in the middle improvising a song from words we threw out there. My favorite line from her impromptu song: “Sneeze with confidence.” hahaha It was pure magic!
I love me some circle time…
Brave group of song schoolers!
The Songsmith Gathering was pure joy.
AND Sarah joined us for a few songs, launching us into the 3 part harmony stratosphere..
AND we were joined by Noel Felty on drums and Patrick Smith on keys for a few songs!
Thank you to everyone who came out to help celebrate my birthday and our album at Alberta Street Pub! I love this pic so much. See Steven’s face? That’s one of the many reasons we love playing with him. He’s dailed in!
The best Merch Queen ever Ocea… AND she made rice krispie treats that spelled out Nasty Women!
Best tour manager ever. Super low stress management style.
And here’s a postcard from Portland…
3. THE FUTURE…I am so excited for this summer with time for writing, road tripping, and songwriting retreats in this beautiful part of the world. And I can’t wait to take Bailey swimming when she gets her cast off. 🙂
Thank you for being a part of my creative journey. You are the reason this works. I hope I’ll see you out there at a concert or retreat or workshop.
With much gratitude from your fan,
Beth Wood
PO Box 10141
Portland, OR 97296
www.bethwoodmusic.com
www.standandsway.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
Find me on Instagram! @bethwoodmusic.com
For the love of Pete, somebody please help me with Youtube
down the road a piece…
July 20 – Stand and Sway @ Hayloft Barn Concerts – Salem, OR
July 25 – House Concert w/David Stoddard – Fergus Falls, MN
July 26 – House Concert w/David Stoddard – Orntonville, MN
July 27 – Farm to Table Concerts w/David Stoddard – Amery, WI
Aug 2 – Point Richmond Acoustic w/Claudia Russell & Bruce Kaplan – Point Richmond, CA
Aug 3 – Private Party – Walnut Creek, CA
Aug 10 – Eurosports Beer Garden – Sisters, OR
Aug 13-16 Harris Bridge Songwriting Retreat w/Clara Baker – Philomath, OR
Aug 16 – Stand and Sway @ Harris Bridge Folk Festial – Philomath, OR
Aug 24 – Home By Dark @ Brooke St Park – Alpharetta, GA
Sep 3-6 – Americana Song Academy – Sisters, OR
Sep 8-9 Stand and Sway @ Sisters Folk Festival
Sep 9 – Sisters Folk Festival Community Celebration – Sisters, OR
Oct 4 – Wildwood Sounds – Del Norte, CO
Oct 5 – Chuck Pyle Tribute Concert at Swallow Hill – Denver, CO
Oct 6 – Chuck Pyle Tribute Concert at Avo’s – Fort Collins, CO
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