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Today’s the day!  I get into my trusty touring vehicle with my favorite cellist, and we zoom off on the first duo tour we’ve done all by ourselves!  The schedule is light, but that just means we’ll have more energy to pour into every single show.  We’ll play in Missoula MT tomorrow, Denver this Saturday and Sunday, Lincoln NE next Tuesday, and Dover DE on Aug 24.  All the showtimes and ticket info are over on my tour page.

This tour has its own art, down below, courtesy of the delightful Herb Leonhard!

Check out his other work here.

Art by Herb Leonhard

Sweet and silly song-sister Dogwood has an EP that’s free to listen online!  If you love ukulele, strong and delicious voices, mythology and mischief, definitely check out what she’s got going.

The same with her brilliant buddy Nathaniel Johnstone, whose Antikythera Mechanism album goes from shanty to goth to belly dance groove to pet kraken love song before you can even catch up!  Greek myths AND steampunk in every song?!? As my friend Amy said, come to Mama!

I’ve had the pleasure to sing with Margot Adler two times in my life, and to teach with her at a festival once.  I will never forget those experiences.

I will never forget her 1000-watt smile, and her steady voice like a solid beam of moonlight shining on dark water.

I will never forget the effect her writings had on me before we ever met face to face.

I will never forget sharing lunch with her at the airport in Detroit, barely a year ago.

The last time I heard her speak was on NPR.

May her voice, her light, and her spirit live on in the lives of those she touched and taught and sang with.

Here is The Wild Hunt’s lovely piece on her life and her death.

This marks the third time in two weeks I’ve learned of the passing of someone I cared about.  Remember to tell your cherished ones how you feel about them.  Life is so very short.

I’ve been keeping the first two lines of this one locked in my heart until the rest of the song was ready to come out and play.  It took three years, but here are the lyrics!

I come from the land of the wild river gods

where the Joker was never a throwaway card.

Better keep this in mind when you bank on the odds

or I’ll wash your soul away.

My mother the moon, my father the tide

gave me wisdom enough to be nobody’s bride.

You may think that you’re tough, sugar. Swallow your pride

or I’ll wash your soul away.

I won’t mean to do it.  I just take it as it comes

when the black rain falls and the west wind hums.

You cannot stop the water when she decides

tonight’s her night to rise.

I am more than a prize to be won by your smile.

I’m a wind and a storm and a wild river child.

If you’ve got what it takes, we could talk for a while

’til I wash your soul away.

Sirens may sing, prophets decry,

hucksters all claim that they’ll teach you to fly.

In the time that it takes just to form your reply,

I’ll wash your soul away.

So help me, I’m a wild, wild river child

Read more…

Preparations for tomorrow’s Music Under The Trees concert continue apace, and I have had so much sweet rehearsal time with so many glad hearts! For those of you who’d hoped to attend but haven’t yet sent in an RSVP, the concert is full. However, I found out last night that I have another concert in the area with Clint McCune and Betsy Tinney, Musician! We will perform at SoulFood Coffeehouse, our favorite neighborhood stage, on August 1st at 8pm.  Everyone’s welcome. 🙂

All the fretboards!

Here is the last video and song released by the beautiful, brilliant Nicole Sangsuree before her untimely passing yesterday.  Soar on, blithe spirit and sister.  I will miss you.

I only got to share a stage with Nicole once, at the Women of Wisdom conference in February of this year.  She made a hell of an impression on me, though, and I hope we meet again in some other story.  Here she is, using her powers for good.

Remember to tell your loved ones that they matter to you.  It’s important.  You never know what the next day may bring.

Earth My Body from Nicole Sangsuree Barrett on Vimeo.

It’s been a grand and gentle summer thus far.  Hope this is true for you as you read, as well.

Since I left home on June 18, I’ve played seven shows, with the eighth coming up tonight at 8pm in Ashland, Oregon.  Between gigs, I’ve gotten to do a fair amount of hiking in beautiful places, I’ve carved out a bit of time for yoga and dance, and I’ve spent some quality time with dear friends in several different cities and pieces of country paradise.  It’s a beautiful afternoon in Ashland today.

Read more…

It’s a beautiful morning in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Ryan and I will make our way south to New Mexico today, and I am very much looking forward to the drive. Hope you all get to see something beautiful today, too.

My concert in Albuquerque this Saturday still has room for you! Check it out and please help me spread the word if you can.

SATURDAY JULY 5 2014 – 7:30PM
Sooj and Helios
Tortuga Gallery
901 Edith Boulevard Southeast
Albuquerque, NM 87102
$10-$15 advance, $15 at the door
Get tickets here: http://soojandhelios.brownpapertickets.com/

Albuquerque’s own magical dij-and-drums duo, Helios, featuring Rev Tsolwizar, opens the night! These rhythms are guaranteed to get you on your feet and dancing!
Doors open at 7:00pm
Music starts at 7:30pm

As promised, I’m writing you all to let you know that I’ve got THREE more shows confirmed for this month, one each for California, Oregon, and Washington. Here they are!

SATURDAY JULY 12 2014 – 7:00PM
Sooj joins Sharon Knight & Winter
Air and Fire, a Mystical Bazaar
13136 State Route 9
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
$20 advance,$25 at the door
Get tickets here!

Sooj’s longtime friends Sharon Knight and Winter are allowing her to crash their Neofolk Romantique Full Moon Concert in Boulder Creek, CA! Join in the dance, and make it wild!

Sharon’s distinctive voice and striking poetry have won her a loyal following across the country. Together with longtime collaborator Winter, she tours nationally several months out of the year, performing at festivals, masquerades, conventions, cafes, shops and house concerts. Their music has been heard on over 300 radio stations, enjoyed “top 10” status on MP3 and NAR charts, has been featured in three independent films, and captured the attention of major labels and independent labels alike. Sharon and Winter are the founding members of the gothic tribal folk metal band, Pandemonaeon, and they produce their own annual festival in California called Hexenfest. Winter has most recently played guitar on Blondie’s latest album “Ghosts of Download,” and has also produced and performed on Jessica Star’s new album, “Mystical Creature.”

Considering that Sharon and Winter’s music has been described as “folktales that ran away with the Faeries at the turn of the century and took cover in an old trunk bound for the circus, which was then commandeered by pirates”, you can imagine the kind of fantastic fusion promised by a shared show between the three of us.

TUESDAY JULY 15 2014 – 8PM
Sooj & the Feckin’ Tinkers
Oberon’s Threepenny Tavern
45 North Main Street
Ashland, OR 97520
$10 suggested donation

Friends of Sooj, the Feckin’ Tinkers are a Tuesday mainstay at Oberon’s Tavern – a lively duo comprised of Jeff “Dickens” Behrends on guitar and vocals, and Ingrid “Goblin Socks” Edstrom on bodhran drum and vocals. The infectious traditional and playfully modern Celtic music they play will have you stamping your feet and singing along!

Mischief is sure to be managed when we join forces! The Tinkers kick it up at 8pm, and I follow at 9pm, all for a donation of your choice! Come and join us at this unique and exceptional faery-friendly tavern in Ashland’s Downtown Plaza!

Oberon’s is a really nifty place, by the way. Here’s their website: http://oberonstavern.com/

SUNDAY JULY 20 2014 – 4-9PM
Music Under the Trees
Pinecoon’s Summer Stage
Redmond, WA
$20 RSVP
Please email betsy@betsytinney.com for directions and to reserve your space.

Join us for an epic house concert in the cool dappled shade of our backyard amphitheater in Redmond.

The music will go from 4 pm to 9 pm, with a short break for dinner in the middle. Doors open to the public at 3:30 PM.

Performing forces will include:

* S. J. Tucker with Betsy Tinney

* In Like a Lion (Clint McCune, Geli Wuerzner and Betsy Tinney)

* Flamboyant Mockingbird Pajamas (Kaede Tinney & band)

* Betsy Tinney (solo looped cello)

Suggested donation: $20 per person.

Reservations are strongly recommended. Please email betsy@betsytinney.com for directions and to reserve your space.
LAST AWESOME THING for today is this, which you can download for the price YOU choose: http://storybundle.com/music

What is this? I’m part of a massively awesome music and fiction download bundle that’s available for 11 more days! My Ember Days album is part of the bundle, as is music from Abney Park, Heather Dale, Alexander James Adams, Pandora Celtica, and the Borderers. Authors on board who’ve contributed tasty things include Kevin J. Anderson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Peter J. Wacks & J. R. Boyett, and Rhiannon Paille, with bonuses from Peter J. Wacks & Steven L. Sears, Mike Baron, and more.

The more downloads of the bundle, the more goodies get unlocked!
If you want to hear FIVE out of the ten tracks I’m working on in the recording studio for my Stolen Season album, download the bundle and help me spread that link around between now and July 13!

Check out the link to see what you get with the initial download, and what you get as the downloads keep coming in and unlocking bonuses:
http://storybundle.com/music

Once again, this thing goes away after July 13. Don’t miss it!

Thank you all for sharing your summer with me. Bright stars and sweet shade to you!