May newsy news is here!

Hello, May!

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

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I’m so happy to see you.

Greetings, friends and fellow music lovers! Spring time in the south is in its full glory! I feel so blessed to be able to witness it.  Here’s what’s happening in May. I hope you’ll scroll down for gratitude, the newsy news, random musings and photos and show details. 

Tue, May 1 – Private House Concert – The Villages, FL

Thu, May 3 – RadioLive – Pensacola, FL

Fri, May 4 – Calmes House Concerts – Baton Rouge, LA

Thu, May 10 – Alberta Rose Theatre – Portland, OR

Fri, May 11 – Tsunami Books – Eugene, OR

Sat, May 12 – Coastal Community Festival – Cannon Beach, OR

1. GRATITUDE...Oh my heart is so full! Thank you to all of these folks for making April so wonderful…Matt Miner, Cal Scott, Richard Moore and all at O’Connor’s Vault, Vicki Ambinder and all of our wonderful workshop participants, Milo and Bryan and the Jeffs and all at Chateau Ste. Michelle, John & Gigi and friends, John and Cheri and Loie and Nora, Sarah Siskind and Ara Lee and Chris Rosser and all at Songsmith Gathering and Song School, Bailey and Scott and Sarah and all at Sundilla, Dave and Terri and friends, Ellen Buckstel and friends, and Misti, Chuck, Aaron and Emily!

2. THE NEWS…Well the exciting news is that the new album THE LONG ROAD is so close to done I can taste it!! Mastering and artwork are complete, and now were are in the phase where we’re double and triple checking everything to make sure it’s just right! I hope to get it into producion by early next week and have them in my hands by the last week of May. This has been an epic journey and I am over the moon happy with how it came out. I can’t wait to share it with you! Click here for a little taste of the title track.

Good news…the first annual Songsmith Gathering and Song School in Brevard, NC was a total success!! Sarah Siskind and I had an amazing group of 13 song schoolers for our workshop, and we laughed, cried, ate like champs, wrote, played and sang, got chased by ducks, and became fast friends in just two short days. We are already dreaming on how we can make it better next year. I will announce the dates for next year’s fest and song school as soon as I have them. If you live in the southeast (or even if you don’t), and you are interested in creativity and songwriting in a beautiful setting, I hope you’ll consider joining us next year! 

Special thanks to Billy Kopp and Bold Life Magazine for doing a feature on my work and for shining a light on Songsmith Gathering and our first Songsmith Song School! Check out the article here!

And here’s a little video from my set at Songsmith gathering with my dream team Chris RosserAra Lee and Sarah Siskind. Three part harmony…swoon!

beth wood, ara lee, sarah siskind and chris rosser easy on me

Also good news…the character creation and performance workshop with Vicki Ambinder was amazing! We had eight brave and incredibly creative women participate and we all learned so much from each other. My favorite part is that we had so much fun we forgot to take any photos. 🙂 Vicki and I will be getting together soon to dream up some more fun stuff. 

At the end of this month I will be sending out all the goodies from my Kickstarter campaign!! My mom is even flying up to help me make granola and address envelopes…I’m bringing in the big guns! 🙂 We are super excited to send out new CDs and other goodies and lots of love to all the folks who made my new album possible. I will keep you posted!

Also this month, Ara Lee and I will be writing and rehearsing for our duo album, to be recorded in June in Porland with Steven Tracy producing (he produced “Nasty Woman”!). We are excited to flesh out our duo sound with cello and percussion and the lovely Anna Tivel on fiddle. Our band will be called “Stand and Sway” and we will be working on booking shows, too. We are not doing any kind of formal crowd-funding for this project, but if you have interest in contributing, holler at  me at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com.

And finally, I am so excited be sharing a couple shows with Peter Mulvey!! If you haven’t heard Peter before, prepare to have your mind blown! He’s got a wicked blend of whip-smart lyrics, gravelly low voice, and a steady groove that never quits. Peter was kind enough to sing on a song for my new album…so I’m sure there will be some collaboration mischief going on. Come see us in Portland and Eugene, y’all! In Portland I’ll have Milo Fultz backing me up on bass and Paul Brainard playing pedal steel and we’ll be previewing some songs from the new album..woop!

 

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

Tue, May 1 – Private House Concert – The Villages, FL

Thu, May 3 – RadioLive – Pensacola, FL. RadioLive is a radio program with a live audience hosted by WUWF at the Museum of Commerce located in Historic Pensacola (205 E Zarragossa St). Tickets are $10 per person and may be purchased in advance at http://wuwf.org/radiolive or at the door if seats are available. Seating is first-come first-serve.With Ben de la Cour, The Arcadian Wild, and Callaghan. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the show starts promptly at 6:00 p.m. 

Fri, May 4 – Calmes House Concerts – Baton Rouge, LA. Calmes House Concerts promotes songwriters and performers of traditional and contemporary folk music in a living room setting. Public is welcome. Please email or call Robert for info at calmeshouseconcerts@gmail.com or 225-241-3172. $20 suggested donation. Music starts at 7 pm. 

Thu, May 10 – Alberta Rose Theatre – Portland, OR. 3000 NE Alberta. 503-719-6055. The Alberta Rose is a mid-size, seated listening room where the audience can enjoy excellent lines of sight, outstanding acoustics and where every seat feels close to the stage and the artist. With the great Peter Mulvey! $19 in advance/$24 day of show. 8 pm. All ages are welcome. 

Fri, May 11 – Tsunami Books – Eugene, OR. 2585 Willamette St. 541-345-8986. BW returns to Eugene’s beloved independent book store/community center/living room stage with the great Peter Mulvey! $17.50 in advance/$20 day of show. 7:30 pm. 

Sat, May 12 – Coastal Community Festival – Cannon Beach, OR. Cannon Beach City Park (207 N. Spruce Street). Cannon Beach’s first ever Coastal Community Festival is scheduled for May 12 with an outdoor marketplace featuring arts and crafts, food vendors, a farmer’s market, live music and a unique Blue Barrel chef’s cook-off planned for the daylong event at Cannon Beach City Park. The festival will feature a farmers market with arts and crafts as well as home/garden vendors. Haystack Rock Awareness Program will be selling their handmade jewelry as part of their “Trash Talk” project. Fashioned from micro-plastic marine debris, the unique jewelry pieces tell a story and inspire HRAP support. Visitors are encouraged to collect beach debris and bring it in to make a necklace for themselves. Artists from the coastal area will be giving classes on using unique mediums to create beautiful works of art throughout the day. Music throughout the day — BW plays from 3-5 pm. The Coastal Community Festival is free, sponsored by the City of Cannon Beach, and will be open to the public from 9:00 am- 7:30 pm.

 um…this was our green room at Chateau Ste. Michelle winery. I’m impressed that they trusted us in there with wine barrels with spigots. 🙂

oh my GOSH the flowers were exploding in Brevard, NC…

calm before the storm…the beautiful Brevard Music Center on the day before the Songsmith Gathering…

our amazing group of the very first Songsmith Song schoolers!

there was lots of porch pickin’ going on

Meanwhile the attack ducks lurked in the shadows. Despite his innocent appearance, that white duck chased down and bit every person who walked by. I chose to interpret it as a love nibble. 

A dream trio set at Songsmith Gathering with Chris Rosser and Ara Lee!

There was SO much amazing music all day long at the Songsmith Gathering. It was so good to see and hear Aaron Burdett again! If y’all haven’t heard him check his music out…he’s sooooo good!

 this is Ara after she saw Darrell Scott for the first time. Girl, I feel ya! 

 Ivy Jane contemplating what to throw on the grill later…

 It was so fun to return to the Shack in the Back, but this time in High Springs, FL… 

 And um…this guy. Unfortunately Tucker won’t fit in my suitcase so we will have to have a long distance relationship. He’s fine with it. 

 

4. THE FUTURE…So many exciting times ahead! I can’t wait to share my new album with you — it will be ready soon! And I hope to see you out there on the road. Thank you for reading and cheering me on and supporting my musical dreams all these years! With much gratitude from your fan,

 Beth Wood

PO Box 10141

Portland, OR 97296

 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

Find me on Instagram! @bethwoodmusic.com

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

DOWN THE ROAD A PIECE…

Jun 15 – Eurosports – Sisters, OR

Jun 29 – Private Event – Denver, CO

Jun 30 – House Concert – Colorado Springs, CO

Jul 1 – Big River Music – Creede, CO – w/Bob Hemenger

Jul 11-15 – Summer Fishtrap – Joseph, OR

Jul 19 – House Concert – Rapid River, MI

Jul 20 – House Concert – Big Bay, MI

Jul 21 – Acoustic Fest – Manitowoc, WI

Jul 22 – 1st Annual Gergkin Festival House Concert – Crystal Lake, IL

Aug 3 – Home By Dark at Chukkar Farm – Alpharetta, GA

Aug 4 – Home By Dark at Chukkar Farm – Alpharetta, GA

Aug 17 – Harris Bridge Folk Festival – Philomath, OR

Aug 22 – Bellevue Downtown Assoc. Live at Lunch – Bellevue, WA