BETH WOOD

it still feels weird to write 2020.

Hello, friends and fellow music lovers –

Here we go into 2020 for real! What a joyful time it has been diving into deep hibernation and introspection. I am so excited to see what this new year will bring. In the mean time, here is what is coming up in February…

Sat, Feb 1 – 32nd Annual Winterfolk – Portland, OR. At Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St. Winterfolk, Portland, Oregon’s largest annual folk music event, a benefit for JOIN, is celebrating its 32nd Anniversary. Winterfolk is one of those rare expressions of giving which brings disparate parts of our area together, in the common celebration of music and caring- and a sure knowledge that every dollar raised at the door goes to the folks it is intended to help. JOIN is an organization pledged to assist folks find and maintain housing, throughout the Portland metro area. Performers include Tracy Grammer, Kate Power/ Steve Einhorn, Sky in the Road, Jim Page with Billy Oskay, Kim Stafford, Tom May and Friends, and BW. Doors at 6/Music at 7. $30 Advance/$32 Day of Show. Minors welcome when accompanied by an adult. 

Fri, Feb 21 – Stand & Sway at Walters Cultural Arts Center 2019-20 Concert Series – Hillsboro, OR. 527 E. Main Street. Since the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center opened in 2004, we have offered a wide variety of enrichment experiences to the Hillsboro community. Thousands of visitors have attended art exhibits, concerts, classes, lectures, and other special events. Many people have rented our facility for weddings, holiday parties, fundraising auctions and other special events. Stand and Sway is delighted to be a part of the Walter Cultural Arts Center’s 2019-2020 Concert Series! With the great Steven Skolnik on percussion. $18 adv/$22 at the door. 7:30 pm. 

Sun, Feb 23 – Wild Women Society Gathering – Portland, OR. Multnomah Arts Center Auditorum, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy. The Wild Women Society brings together women of all age, race, and background to encourage self-care. With guest speaker Heidi Berkman, founder and presidnt of The Bloom Project, nonprofit organization that takes flowers destined to be discarded and repurposes them to hospice patients. Guest music by BW. $25 per Wild Woman/$30 per Wild Woman at the door the day of the party. A portion of each paid door fee directly supports our WildChild Program. 1-4 pm.

GRATITUDE…I’m so incredibly grateful to my friend David Stoddard! We have such a blast playing music together and I am always so blown away by the generous folks in Minnesota who welcome me with open arms and support our concerts. Thank you Dave for years of friendship and inspiration. Thank you Judy for the snow boots and warm socks and legit coat! Thank you to the Wicklunds and Fergus friends, to all the wonderful folks at the Granite City Folk Society, to Chuck and Jane and all who braved the weather and tuned in online, and to Al and Beth and friends. It was a great trip with new friends and also the coldest I have ever been in my life! One morning the widn chill said -37. EEP!

THE NEWS…I am continuing to build my new life in central Oregon, and I’m so energized and excited. Several folks have reached out about lessons and I’m having a blast with that. If you would like to work on singing or guitar or songwriting or performing, holler at me at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com. And if you don’t live in central Oregon, perhaps we could skype!? I am hoping to have a space in Sisters soon where I can offer lessons so I will keep you posted on that.

Speaking of Sisters, I am so thrilled that folks signed up for the first Sisters Songworks writing retreat in April!! This is a dream weekend for me and I am so excited to plan and host this event. Tom Kimmel and Anna Tivel are two of the finest humans I know and a dream team for sure! In these next two monts I will be in serious dreaming and planning mode. It is fun to engage in this kind of large-scale creativity! Can’t wait to see what magic will unfold. 

And still speaking of Sisters, do you know anyone who has an apartment or cottage or lil cabin to rent to a very responsible folksinger and a big brown dog? Holler at me if you do?!

For performances coming up, I am thrilled to be a part of the 32nd year of Winterfolk at the Alberta Rose Theatre on Feb 1. Tom May does such a wonderful job of pulling the community together to celebrate music an help support our neighbors through JOIN, an organization pledged to assist folks find and maintain housing throughout the Portland metro area. It is a great cause and will be a great evening of music! We are also excited to do our first Stand and Sway concert at the Walters Cultural Center in Hillsboro! It looks like a gorgeous venue and we can’t wait to make some music with Steven Skolnik there. I hope you will join us for a night of harmony and poetry and foot-stompin mountain-sized joy! And I’m excited to be the special musical guest at the Wild Women Society gather in Portland on 2/23! The Wild Women Society brings together women of all age, race, and background to encourage self-care. That sounds like a big YES to me!

Speaking of big YES, I have been saying yes lately to things that sound soul-feeding, challenging, or heart-opening, or all of the above. One of those all-of-the-above things has been the invitation to be a part of the Lullaby Project with the Oregon Symphony. The Lullaby Project – conceived by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute – uses the creative process of songwriting to improve maternal health and child bonds with pregnant women and new mothers experiencing housing insecurity and other challenging life situations. The Lullaby Project works in close partnership with Portland Family Housing Solutions, a nonprofit organization that empowers homeless families with children to get back into stable, long-term housing. We had our orientation and our first creative session last month, and I must say I am so humbled and delighted and blown away by PFHS and by the dedicated folks that are a part of this project! I got to meet a wonderful mom and dad and hear their family’s story, and together we wrote a lullaby for their children. It was such an amazing experience to witness their bravery and vulnerability in telling me their story and trusting me in helping to write a song! Next up, we will be recording all of the lullabies with members of the Oregon Symphony, and then on April 28 we will have a concert celebrating all of the lullabies at the Old Church! I hope you will consider joining us!

Another thing I said YES to was leading middle schoolers in a creative writing workshop. I was a little nervous but we had so much fun I could hardly believe it. Even the most shy kids lit up when we started making up silly stories. We wrote a beautiful song together, and I also learned about super penguins (regular penguins with extra powers), which I had not been aware of. 🙂 I really believe that creative writing is for everyone and I would love to do more of this!!

And even more YES, I was so delighted by the invitation to be the guest artist and lead workshops at this year’s Singtime Frolics weekend on March 27-29! Singtime Frolics is the annual singing retreat of the Portland Folk Music Society and is held at the beautiful Menucha Conference and Retreat Center in the Columbia gorge. We will spend the whole weekend singing and delighting in the joy and community of singing! 

Speaking of more YES, I think I will start a new section in my newsletter called More Yes. 🙂 To be continued…

This is pretty much how the whole week went with Dave Stoddard in Minnesota, except for the parts where I was running from the indoors to our car and then from our car to the indoors. The warmth of Minnesota folks makes up for the insane cold fo sho!

Um, seriousy y’all. This was the temp one morning when I woke up.

 This cutie pie Lola was complete undeterred by the raging snowstorm outside the Folk House concert. She takes her job of crumb cleaner/plate licker very seriously. When I sang, “Lo-lo-lo-la-Lola” to her, this is the look she gave me.

This is Coop, official greeter of Old Kitchen Rug House Concerts. Melting hearts consistently for many years now. 

Speaking of melting hearts, it is hard to believe but this week marks mine and Bailey’s one year anniversary of being together!! I am so grateful for all the joy and fun and love and adventure she has brought to my life. Cheers to this cutie pie sweet being and here’s to another many years together!

PO Box 5304

Bend, OR 97708

 www.bethwoodmusic.com

www.standandsway.com

Holler at me: bethwoodmusic [AT] hotmail.com

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