| Greetings, friends and fellow music lovers!
As usual, February was short and sweet. March is sure to be long and just as sweet..even better. Here’s what’s going on this month in a nutshell. I hope you’ll scroll down for news, gratitude, musings, pics, and show details!
Fri, Mar 11 – Fiddler’s Crossing – Tehachapi, CA
Sun, Mar 13 – Freight & Salvage – Berkeley, CA
Sat, Mar 19 – Songwriters in the Round at 18th Ave Peace House – Portland, OR
Sun, Mar 20 – Olympia Acoustic Concerts – Olympia, WA
(And thank you, JoAn Mann for this lovely photo!)
1. GRATITUDE. I’ve got an extra big helping of gratitude to dish out today. I recently found myself under the weather on the road — not fun! I am so thankful to all the kind and generous folks who helped me and cared for me when I needed it. Thanks to Connor Garvey for being his wonderful self and stepping up and filling in for me when needed, to EJ and everyone at 4th & Main for kindness and tea and whiskey, to Tim & Bev at Rehmsworld for their friendship and understanding and for bringing gourmet dinner to my hotel room, to Deb and Dave and Bobbi and all at West Side Folk and UU of Topeka for cheering me on and taking care of me. And thanks to Renee for helping to talk me through it. It’s hard canceling shows, and I’ve only had to do so a handful of times in my eighteen years on the road. But still I felt so lucky, even though I didn’t feel well, to be out there doing what I love and to be so cared for by this wonderful community. I’m feeling better each day, thank goodness, and I’ll be ready to sing my heart on in CA soon!
And also special thanks to these fine folks for making Feb so wonderful: Jeffrey Martin, Anna Tivel, Mike Myers and the Black Box Theater in Corvallis, all at Artichoke Music, T & Chris & Gia, and Aengus Finnan and all at Folk Alliance for making it the best conference ever!
2. CALL TO ACTION... Woops! As often happens in the concert biz, we had a double booking situation (which means a venue forgot they booked you and then booked someone else). Thankfully, Renee has saved the day and sorted it out. However, it left a hole in my April schedule (there’s a hole in my schedule, dear liza, dear liza…) We are looking for a show on Fri, Apr 15 in the southeast, preferably Tennessee or north Georgia or western NC (not Asheville cuz I’m already playing there on the 14th…woop!). If you have any ideas or suggestions for venues, house concerts, etc, please holler at me at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com? Let’s face it: if I have a Friday night off in Asheville I might be forced to spend all my money shopping downtown and eating myself silly while sampling all the local brews. Not great for the ol’ pocketbook or the ol’ liver!
3. THE NEWS…
New CD update: all the artwork for “Spring Tide” has been uploaded and all the sound files have been finished! So now we’re just waiting on those little CDs to be made and shipped! I’m thrilled to have worked with Oregon photographers on the cover. Believe it or not, I did a random search and found a stunning photo of a seagull (yes I’m a birdy girl!), and when I looked it up to see who the artist was, it was an Oregon photographer! Special thanks to MaryAnn and Dee Mairs of Mairs Photography for working with me on this cover. You can check out their work here. And here’s the gorgeous photo that is on the cover…can’t wait to show you the finished product!
I am super excited about collaborative shows and new venues this month. These two Portland songwriters-in-the-round shows will be stellar! I’m excited to be playing with some of my favorite songwriters: Anna Tivel, Kelly Bosworth, Richey Bellinger, Cal Scott, and Richard Moore. If you’ve never been to an in-the-round show, it’s a really fun way of hearing lots of songwriters share stories, harmonies, and spontaneous moments of improvisation as they go around the circle swapping songs. Also I’ll be playing a California series that is new to me…Fiddler’s Crossing in Tehachapi (can anyone teach me how to say it?!?). Looks like it is right up my alley and I can’t wait to meet and sing for the good folks there. And I am thrilled to be playing the legendary folk club Freight & Salvage in Berkeley with my good friend Steve Meckfessel! Not only is this going to be a great show…this will be an evening of community gathering and support as proceeds will benefit four local non-profit organizations: Bread and Roses (Bread and Roses is dedicated to uplifting the human spirit by providing free, live, quality entertainment to people who live in institutions or are otherwise isolated from society), California Coast Music Camp (CCMC envisions a world that treasures and supports people of all ages making music. CCMC inspires people to bring music and creativity into their lives and communities through educational and related activities.), Crowden Music Center (Crowden combines music and education to nurture, develop, and inspire students of all ages, and provides essential support to the musical life of the community.), and Freight & Salvage (a nonprofit community arts organization dedicated to promoting public awareness and understanding of traditional music—music that is rooted in and expressive of the great variety of regional, ethnic, and social cultures of peoples throughout the world.) Plus there’s a pre-show wine tasting event in the lobby at 6 pm. Did I mention great music AND free wine AND community support? Bay area peeps, invite all your friends because his is a win/win/win! Scroll down for details…
Last year, I had the opportunity to play on Bozeman, MT radio station KGLT’s show “Live from the Divide” with the great Sarah Sample. Sarah is one of my favorite humans, singers, and songwriters. We had so much fun and I am so delighted that we can all hear it now. The show is posted here… thank you, “Live from the Divide”!
This year’s Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City was epic! Thousands of musicians, presenters, radio DJs, industry folks and music lovers gathered in a swanky hotel to bask in the love of music and tiny soaps and shampoos for a few days. Judy Collins gave a wonderful keynote speech. It was so inspiring and humbling to consider her long and successful career, and I was surprised to learn how downright funny she is! I really treasure my fellow artists for our friendship through the years. I love how we lift each other up and support each other in this community. And I love this gathering because it reminds me of this very thing that I can lose sight of as I rack up the miles driving solo across this great land.
Renee and I are SO excited to announce that I have been invited to play at this year’s Moab Folk Festival…woohooo!! This festival has been on my wish list for many years, and I so so thrilled that I will be heading to this stunning desert spot in November.
Also, here’s a super cool video about house concerts put together by friends and Cayamoans and house concert hosts Giles and Jacqui McCrary. They are mindfully and artfully making a documentary about house concerts, and I’m so honored to be a part of it! If you’ve ever wondered what house concerts are about, or if you already love house concerts, check this out!
4. MARCH TOUR DATES. Life is so uncertain…please call ahead!
Fri, Mar 11 – Fiddler’s Crossing – Tehachapi, CA. 206 E. F St. 661-823-9994. Fiddlers Crossing is an intimate acoustic music “listening room” in the mountain town of Tehachapi, in Eastern Kern County, CA., presenting traditional and contemporary Folk music, Bluegrass, singer-songwriters, Americana, Country, Western, Blues, Celtic, World and other styles. It has a distinctly “coffee house” feel but without all the noise and other distractions. Based on the house concert model, freshly ground and brewed coffees, teas and a variety of “goodies” are included in the ticket price. The vibe is cozy, friendly and warm. Come join us! $20. 7 pm.
Sun, Mar 13 – Freight & Salvage – Berkeley, CA. 2020 Addison Street. 510-644-2020. The Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse is a nonprofit community arts organization dedicated to promoting public awareness and understanding of traditional music—music that is rooted in and expressive of the great variety of regional, ethnic, and social cultures of peoples throughout the world. The Freight is an all-ages performance venue located in Berkeley, California. Coffee, teas, sodas, desserts, light snacks, beer, and wine are available for purchase. Youth are admitted at reduced price. Senior discount is $2.00. BW shares the stage at this legendary venue with the great Steve Meckfessel! This is a special evening of community gathering and support as proceeds from this concert will go to community non-profit organizations! When arriving to the show, audience members will be asked to put their ticket stub in a can to benefit one of the following non-profits: Bread and Roses, California Coast Music Camp, Crowden Music Center, and Freight & Salvage. Each non-profit will receive the ticket value plus an approximate 4x matching donation, so the organization would receive a total donation of $100 per ticket stub! Also, come early for a free pre-show wine tasting event in the lobby at 6 pm. Music at 7. $20 in advance/$22 at the door.
Sat, Mar 19 – Songwriters in the Round at 18th Ave Peace House – Portland, OR. 2116 NE 18th Ave. A special evening of Songwriters-In-the-round with Richey Bellinger, Anna Tivel, Kelly Bosworth, and BW. To reserve seats, email richbell@spiritone.com or call 971-400-3718. $20. 6:30 doors/7:00 music.
Sun, Mar 20 – Olympia Acoustic Concerts – Olympia, WA. Olympia Acoustic Music is a house concert series bringing outstanding nationally touring singer/songwriters to Olympia. All concert donations (suggested donation: $20) go directly to support the artists. Performances are intimate and seat about 25 people with a lovely view of Budd Bay. We serve potluck refreshments; most people bring an appetizer, dessert or beverage to share. Because seating is limited, advanced reservations are necessary for all concerts. For more information, email olymusic_at_comcast.net (substitute @ for _at_). Hope you will join us for this Sunday afternoon show! 4 pm.
Ohmygosh, the loveliness quotient for this show is very high. These are some of my favorite people, let alone musicians, in the world. And we live in the same city now. So we’re practically neighbors!
I can’t wait to sing my heart out in Tehachapi and hopefully I’ll figure out how to say it between now and then…
Hmmm…I wonder what inappropriate song I might have just sung by request at Artichoke?? Thanks, Elizabeth Campbell for your wonderful photos, as always…
We had so much fun at Folk Alliance turning hotel rooms into little concert venues. I loved swapping songs with the great Johnsmith here in The Warming House showcase room, hosted by my friend the lovely Brianna Lane. Brianna and her hubby have created a listening room in Minneapolis, how cool is that?!! Can’t wait to play there!
Ran into my buddy, heart-breakingly good singer-songwriter Robby Hecht at the hotel bar…hmmm, I wonder how I ended up there? thanks Neale for the great pic!
Well I did it. I amazon ordered some string lights for my office here at the new BethWoodMusic world headquarters. and I must say, it defintely makes sitting at the computer more fun!
This Kansas sky gave itself over to me as I drove away from the Folk Alliance conference. It looked like a big, long sigh.
And this was waiting for me when I got home…so lovely to come home t0.
5. THE FUTURE… It’s about to get real crazy in April. The whole month is jam packed with great shows from Portland to the southeast to Texas. I’ll be racking up some frequent flyer miles and doing my songbird thing all over the place! And May is pretty much the same thing with 2 BIG CD RELEASE SHOWS in Portland and Eugene, and a very nice midwest swing.
I feel so blessed every day to get to do what I love. Thank you to all of you who support that dream through your words of encouragement and feedback and applause! And thank you for reading. 🙂 Hope to see you out there on the road! With much gratitude from your fan,
Beth Wood
PO Box 10141
Portland, OR 97296
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…
4/4 O’Connor’s Vault – Portand, OR
4/8 House Concert – Annapolis, MD
4/9 Six String Presents @ Cary Theater – Cary, NC
4/14 Isis – Asheville, NC
4/16 Fleur de Lis Acoustic Series – Louden, TN
4/17 Willow Tree Coffeehouse and Music Room – Johnson City, TN
4/19 Folk at the Cannery – Dataw Island, SC
4/22 Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse – Dallas, TX
4/23 Concerts at Betty’s – San Antonio, TX
4/24 Open Ears Concerts – Austin, TX
4/29 Bugle Boy – La Grange, TX
4/30 Honey Creek House Concerts – Celina, TX
5/6 PORTLAND CD RELEASE @ ALBERTA ST PUB
5/7 EUGENE CD RELEASE @ TSUNAMI BOOKS |
