Greetings, friends and fellow music lovers!
Can you believe that autumn is upon us? The leaves are already starting to change here and things are getting outrageously beautiful! And September was outrageously awesome. Here’s what’s coming up. As usual, I hope you’ll scroll down for gratitude, news, musings, random photos, and show details!
Fri, Oct 7 – Lincoln City Cultural Center – Lincoln City, OR
Sat, Oct 8 – Pistol River Concert Series – Pistol River, OR
Wed, Oct 12 – Sun, Oct 16 – FAR-West Conference – Bellevue, WA
Thu, Oct 20 – The Purple Onion – Saluda, NC
Fri, Oct 21 – Private House Concert – Cary, NC
Sat, Oct 22 – Private House Concert – Cary, NC
Sun, Oct 23 – The Rooster’s Wife – Aberdeen, NC
Fri, Oct 28 – O’Connor’s Vault – Portland, OR
Sat, Oct 29 – FARM Conference – Iowa City, IA
1. GRATITUDE. Oh, how full and beautiful September was! Special thank yous to all of these folks who made it wonderful: Angela and all at Silvan Ridge Winery; Ann & all at Art In The Pearl; Brad, Tom, Sean, Laura, Jaimee, Jack, Anna, Dennis, Teachey, Kathy, Benji, Patrick, Brent, Dave, Kyle, and everyone at the Sisters Americana Song Academy..best year yet! Thank yous to Brad and all at Sisters Folk Festival for trusting me with Sunday morning’s community show, to Joe Werne and everyone at Little Tree; T, Gia & Chris, Doug & Maggie and everyone at Five Points Live!; to Jill and all at Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center; to the folks at The Carousel of Happiness for staying open late just for us; to Joe & Donna and freinds; and to Bill & Sue and all at Peninsula Arts Center
2. THE NEWS. I am still flying high from wonderful September. Being a part of the Sisters Folk Festival and Americana Song Academy contintues to be a joy in my life, a gift that keeps on giving by breathing life into my creative dreams and helping me feel connected to an amazing community. This year was beyond wonderful. There are some great pics from the fest if you’d like to see, just click here.
And I love this video put together by the folks at The Oregon Daily Upload about the Americana Song Academy, starring our friend Richey Bellinger and many more! If you’ve ever wondered what “song camp” was about, watching this video is a great place to start.
The news is that this will be a very busy fall with lots of comings and goings, and I feel blessed by it all. I’m excited to do some shows close to home, then head back over to my beloved southeast for a few. I get to attend two regional Folk Alliance conferences… FAR-West in Bellingham, WA and FARM in Iowa City, IA with my buddy David Stoddard. And I’m really excited to share the stage with the great Anne Weiss here in my new hometown. WOOP!
I love all the bird songs y’all have told me about at shows…I hope you’ll keep those ideas coming! You can always email them to me at bethwoodmusic@hotmail.com if you are so inspired!
And in other news, I got a new (to me) car!! The trusty ol’ Honda had over 200k miles, and the transmission kept growling at me, so it was definitely time! I am so excited for this new chapter. She is a 2013 Kia Rio, and I have named her Sophia. I have a strong feeling she will be a fabulous tour vehicle! I’ve also promised myself to keep her clean and shiny, we’ll see how long that lasts. 🙂
3. OCTOBER HAPPENINGS…Life is so uncertain, please call ahead!
Fri, Oct 7 – Lincoln City Cultural Center – Lincoln City, OR. 540 NE Hwy 101. 541-994-9994. BW returns to the beautiful Lincoln City Cultural Center! $15 in advance; $17 at the door. $2 discount for LCCC members.
Sat, Oct 8 – Pistol River Concert Series – Pistol River, OR. 541-247-2848. 24252 Carpenterville Rd. The Pistol River Concert Association is a registered, non-profit, member based, Oregon corporation with an all volunteer, twelve member Board of Directors. Concerts are presented once a month throughout the year and with enthusiastic community support, the down-home flavor of the Pistol River Friendship Hall. $15. Tickets available online or at Gold Beach Books (541-247-2495) or Wright’s Custom Framing in Brookings (541-469-7900).
Wed, Oct 12 – Sun, Oct 16 – FAR-West Conference – Bellevue, WA. Folk Alliance Region West (FAR-West) is the western region of Folk Alliance International including in the USA: California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Alaska and Hawaii, and in Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories. We host an annual four day conference open to artists, presenters and supporters. FAR-West’s ongoing mission (since 2002) is to foster and promote traditional, contemporary and multicultural folk music, dance, storytelling and related performing arts in the West.
Thu, Oct 20 – The Purple Onion – Saluda, NC. 828-749-1179. 16 Main Street Saluda, NC. The Purple Onion was conceived by two sisters in 1998 who envisioned a gathering place which would reflect the gracious casual pace which has characterized Saluda for years; a third place, a neutral place away from home or work for friends and family to come together for good food, good conversation and live music. Located in Historic Saluda, with outdoor dining available and live music on Thursday and Saturday night, The Purple Onion features a variety of ethnically inspired dishes with an emphasis on the Mediterranean’s simple and healthful cuisine. Music at 7:30 pm.
Fri, Oct 21 – Private House Concert – Cary, NC
Sat, Oct 22 – Private House Concert – Cary, NC
Sun, Oct 23 – The Rooster’s Wife – Aberdeen, NC. 114 Knight St. 910-944-7502. The Rooster’s Wife is a private non-profit association organized to celebrate the performing arts in Aberdeen, North Carolina. Created to serve the community by preserving our cultural heritage and presenting the talent of the next generation, the Rooster’s Wife is committed to offering affordable programs for every age to enjoy. Co-bill with the great David Jacobs-Strain. Tickets are $12 adv/$15 door. 6:46 pm!
Fri, Oct 28 – O’Connor’s Vault – Portland, OR. 7850 SW Capital Highway. Venue phone: 503-244-1690. Matt Miner Presents: A co-bill evening with Anne Weiss and BW! 8 pm.
Sat, Oct 29 – FARM Conference – Iowa City, IA. Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) is a regional chapter of Folk Alliance International (FAI). Our purposes are to promote traditional, contemporary and multi-cultural folk music and dance and related performing arts in our region, hold an annual regional conference, represent the interests of our members to FAI and carry out such other projects as are of benefit to FAI members in the Midwest. BW & David Stoddard will perform an official showcase.
the glazed look of bliss and sleep deprivation on our last night at Sisters Americana Song Academy…with Brad Tisdel and Pete & Mike from Good Time Travelers…
I got to do my own set at Sisters Folk Festival in a gorgeous listening venue that used to be a church..the Belfry. Joined on a few songs by my amazingly talented friends Ara Lee (below) and Kathryn Claire…I was so honored to share the stage with these women who elevated my music to a new place! It was a glorious day!

I can’t get enough of singing with these amazing beams of light!

As usual, the Sunday Community Celebration at Sisters Folk Festival was off the charts awesome!! It felt like church in that tent and for two hours we celebrated, danced, sang, laughed, cried, and our hearts were opened! Here we are doing our opening song, “Get You A Healin’ “by Paul Thorn…thanks to Rad, Naomi & Rob, Ara, Kathryn, Benji, Patrick and Shireen for being my kick-ass pop-up band!

Dude. Seriously. I can’t even wrap my head around the greatness…

Joe Werne, I love this! Can I have one for my house?? 🙂

Little Tree Acoustic Concerts was wonderful..a back yard full of warm and generous people on a gorgeous September Colorado evening. Thank you, Joe for sharing these awesome pics!

I’m having so much fun sharing my poetry these days!

I thought I was in heaven when I saw this book before my gig at the Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center. I wonder what their Ten Commandments are.

had a little help with soundcheck from a teenage mutant ninja turtle

ahhhh…the gorgous Peninsula Arts Center..I love it here!

And now for a bit of bird geekery: I took my folks to see the Vaux Swifts at the Chapman school here in Portland…it’s a thing! Every evening in early fall around sunset they amass by the thousands and swirl down into this chimney in a great turning tornado of birdy-ness. It was spectactular!

aaaaaaaaaaand…drumroll please…..meet my new car, Sophia!! With 201,ooo She’s a beaut! I love her so much I have started inventing reasons to run errands around town.

4. THE FUTURE. Next month I am SO excited to head to the Moab Folk Festival for the first time!! I have been hearing wonderful things for years and I finally get to go!! And the same goes for Fischer Fest in TX. My cup runneth over!!
As I round third base on this year, I feel so very blessed and supported in my path. Thank you for being a part of that, for supporting my live shows and CDs an poetry, for reading this silly newsy news. I hope to see you out there on the road very soon! With much gratitude from your fan,
Beth Wood
World Headquarters: 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
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For the love of Pete, somebody please help me with Youtube!
Down the road a piece…
11.4 Moab Folk Festival – Moab, UT
11.5 Moab Folk Festival – Moab, UT
11.9 Pagosa Springs Workshop & Concert – Pagosa Springs, CO
11.10 The Living Room at The Line – Richardson, TX
11.11 Fischer Fest – Fischer, TX
11.12 Russ & Julie’s House Concerts – Oak Park, CA
11.13 The Cellar Sessions – Pasadena, CA
11.16 Wine and Song Series -Pasadena, CA
12.9 Eugene Songwriters Benefit for Egan Warming Center – Eugene, OR
1.6 Chosen Bean Concert Series – Chatfield, MN
1.7 Acoustic Renaissance at UU of Hinsdale – Hinsdale, IL
1.9 Harmony at Mayo – Rochester, MN |