BETH WOOD

Hello, friends and fellow music lovers and greetings from a chilly morning here in Sisters. I can’t believe it’s almost September! Time moves in funny ways these days.

We had a blast doing our concert from the front porch for patrons! If you’d like to get in on that fun, join me and this wonderful group of music lovers on Patreon! I release new music and poetry each month here, and you can join for as little as $1 a month. Considering that I just got my 2020 royalty checks for YouTube and Google Play and they were $.16 and $.01 respecitvely, it’s clear that streaming works great for the customer and for big tech companies, but it leaves us the artists out of the equation. Music lovers are often shocked to learn this and ask what they can do. My answer is to give direct support to artists you love! Patreon is a great way to do that. Ok, enough soapbox, y’all… on to some more things I’m excited about!

On Monday, August 30, She’s Speaking is teaming up with FAR-West (the western regional of Folk Alliance) to present a livestream concert! We’ll be celebrating women’s voices and stories through song, and best of all we’ll gather these AMAZING artists and songwriters to sing live for you and for everyone on the interwebs!  With the great Bre Gregg (Redbird), Kristen Grainger (True North), Shireen Amini, Gabrielle Louise, Aireene Espiritu, and lil ol me hosting! We’ll also be making a big announcement about the future of She’s Speaking so don’t miss this! 7 pm Pacific time downbeat. This event free to watch and donations will be joyfully accepted and distributed among these hard-working artists (Paypal: https://tinyurl.com/bfp24tvt, Venmo: @shesspeaking).  Tune in here on the FAR-West YouTube channel! 

Wednesday, Sept 8 will be my monthly virtual song circle. You can join us from anywhere in the world! 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).

Monday, Sept 20 I will host another virtual feedback song salon! 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. 

I am SO looking forward to our beloved Americana Song Academy (a/k/a “song camp”) coming up Monday, Sept 26-Thursday, Sept 30. We will be at a new venue this year in Camp Sherman, House On The Metolius, and the setting is stunning. Instructors include Mary Gauthier, Willy Porter, Ordinary Elephant, Robby Hecht, Emily Scott Robinson, Alisa Amidor, Thunderstorm Artis, Dennis McGregor and little ol’ me. Song camp is currently sold out, but there is a waiting list.  Click here for more details.

And fingers and toes crossed for The Sisters Folk Festival on October 1-3!! This is my favorite festival ever, and now my hometown festival! 🙂 This year there will be seven outdoor stages, and the lineup is out of this world! 

Oh man, we had the most fun and wonderful week with the kiddos at The Nature of Expression creativity camp! We made art and wrote songs and poems and spent time in nature and giggled and sang and collaborated for five days in a row, and it was so inspiring! Big thank yous to the amazing Judy Fuentes for being such a wonderful co-leader, to the Sisters Folk Festival for the opportunity and support, and to the kiddos for being SO FUN! Judy and I were joking that we should have creativity day camp for adults next summer, but we were only half-joking! Stay tuned on that one… :)We formed two bands called The Bubbles and The Artful Aardvarks. 🙂 Here are lyrics to our two hit songs we wrote together called “I Don’t Want Your Number” and “The Wind Knows My Name”…

And speaking of fun, my friend the amazing composer, singer, songwriter, pianist Naomi LaViolette and I spent a day at Grange Recorders here in Sisters recording our duet of my song “Love Is Love (The Christmas Eve Song)”!! Naomi asked me a few months ago if I would have any interest in collaborating on this song, and my answer was a big YES! She recorded the piano part at her home in Portland, and when I heard it I just about melted it is so gorgeous. Then I added some guitar and we sang our vocals, and we have a special guest our sleeves to put the icing on the cake. Stay tuned for more news soon…

And of course my other big news is…I finally found my four-legged friend! Her name is Hannah and she is the sweetest, cutest girl that melts my heart every time I look at her! She was rescued from Texas by the angels at Agave Dogs Rescue and I got to go pick her up last Saturday. I have been searching for many months, and my heart kept saying yes with each step I took closer to her. She is doing so great considering all of the changes she has been through, and I am so proud of her! We took our first hike on the Metolius river and she LOVED IT! I look forward to a lifetime of adventures and love and snuggles with this girl! 

I’m so thankful for you! These are uncertain times, and it brings me great joy to know you’re out there. I always love hearing from you! Thank you for reading and tuning in to livestreams and sending support and encouragement my way. I’m sending you a big ol dose of gratitude from your fan,

 Beth Wood

 PO Box 551

Sisters, OR 97759

BW World Headquarters: www.bethwoodmusic.com

Holler at me: bethwoodmusic [AT] hotmail.com

Come join me on Patreon, a subcription to my music and poetry!

Take a listen and won’t ya follow me on Spotify?

Here I am with my face on Facebook.

Find me on Instagram: @bethwoodmusic  

Here’s my face singing songs on Youtube

I’ve mostly given up but sometimes I say things on Twitter

She’s Speaking on YouTube
She’s Speaking on Facebook 

She’s Speaking on Instagram: @ShesSpeakingsongs

Posted under: News by Beth