Hello, my favorite people. 🙂 I hope you’re having a gorgeous springtime thus far. It’s raining like crazy at my house today, but we’re hoping that the clouds are getting it all out of their system: we’re hosting a wedding tomorrow on the beautiful property where I’ve gone to ground, lovely Camp Timberlake! Cousin Whitney is marrying her beau Stephen, on the bridge of her grandmother’s water garden. And it will NOT be raining.
My gone-to-ground period is coming to a close very soon. I’m about to pack up my songs and my heart again, to get back out on the road, and come to see as many of you as I can. Here’s what’s in store for May!
LITTLE ROCK, AR
Saturday, May 4 2013 7-10pm
Dance Party Benefit for the Center for Artistic Revolution
with Big Bad Gina!
Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock
1818 Reservoir Road
Little Rock,AR 72227
Get tickets now:
http://tinyurl.com/cbxltgm
Fun giveaways, good times, and amazing music from S. J. Tucker & Big Bad Gina!
These goddesses bring the funk in honor of the Center for Artistic Revolution
in Little Rock! This will be S. J.’s first chance to perform in the capital
city in over ten years!
There’s a small, intensely faithful group of people in my home state, Arkansas, who come to any concert I give when I am at home there- and it’s not often that I get to do an Arkansas show, even more rare that I get to sing smack dab in the center of things. Little Rock, we are gonna rock your face off.
Next stop, Nebraska!
LINCOLN, NE
Tuesday, May 7 2013 7-9pm
Solo show at UCL’s Way Station Concert Series
Unitarian Church of Lincoln
6300 A Street
Lincoln,NE 68510
Get tickets now:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/360140
Last year when S. J. performed in Lincoln, Nebraska, the audience overflowed
the venue and spilled out into the yard! Thanks to the Unitarian Church of
Lincoln, this time we’ll have a lot more space!
UC Lincoln’s Way Station Concert series helps to feature traveling musicians
passing through. S. J. is honored and overjoyed to stop again in artsy, friendly
Lincoln en route to Colorado this spring!
Doors open at 7pm, music starts at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
*SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: MUSIC AND MASSAGE GIVEAWAY!*
S. J. and local Lincoln massage therapist Jade Lutes will gift away two massage
appointments with guitar accompaniment in connection with this show!
Appointments will each be for one hour of body work by Jade, with instrumental
guitar softly played in the massage studio by S. J., on the date of WEDNESDAY
MAY 8.
Every dollar = one chance at this once-in-a-lifetime, one-of-a-kind self-care
experience!
Send as little or as much as you like via Paypal to sjtucker@skinnywhitechick.com,
with the note “music and massage” in whole dollar amounts, please. All proceeds
go to Sooj & Jade.
Winners will be notified via email on SUNDAY MAY 5 2013. You must physically
be in Lincoln, NE on the afternoon of WEDNESDAY MAY 8 to get your massage
appointment- this is the one day that Jade and S. J. will both be in town and
available.
Then it’s on to Colorado!
FLORENCE, CO: BELTANIA 2013
Weekend of May 10-13
Florence Mountain Park
http://www.beltania.org/
Beltania is a four-day camping and music festival, filled with workshops,
activities, and ritual. The organizers of the festival are Neo-Pagan and
therefore the ritual elements, workshops, and general theme are Pagan-oriented.
However, with the wide appeal of many of the musical performers and the broad
appeal of many of our activities such as drum circles and workshops, we expect
attendance from many who follow an Earth-centered, Goddess-centered,
metaphysical, or alternative/individualistic spiritual path. Most importantly,
the organizers hope to create community, celebration, and deep spiritual
connection with each other, with the Earth, and with the Divine as we each desire.
Beltania has a HUGE music lineup and gives its performers a ton of support.
S. J. is glad to be back this year, joining guests Christopher Penczak, Pandora
Celtica and Wendy Rule!
I’ll be helping out with the Friday evening ritual, and my concert is scheduled
for late Saturday afternoon. After the festival is over, I’m going to run away with the members of Pandora Celtica for a couple of days. They’re cooking up a steampunk fairytale album of sorts, and they’ve enticed Wendy Rule, myself and others to join in the fun! I’ll post news about this project once it starts to become real.
After the Colorado sojourn, Ryan and I will make our gentle way across to California. We have several days, so a stop to see friends in New Mexico is likely. I don’t have anything scheduled yet, but I’m looking into the possibilities of small concerts, maybe teaching a workshop in Albuquerque. I’ll get whatever comes to pass up on my website and out to you guys ASAP.
Meanwhile, on to the jewel in the crown of the month of May, playing with fans and friends at BayCon!
SANTA CLARA, CA: BAYCON 2013
Weekend of May 24-28
Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
5101 Great America Parkway,
Santa Clara, California, 95054
http://www.baycon.org
“Exploring and emphasizing a bit of the darker side of fantasy and science
fiction. The morphology of myth and legend is always fascinating and our
programming will include looking at where superstitions and old wives tales, etc.
come from as well as how they’ve changed over time.”
Concerts, panels, masquerade and more! SJ and Betsy are Baycon’s Special Musical
Guests this year, and we couldn’t be happier. We’ll accompany Betsy’s daughter
Katie at her Friday evening concert, Sooj plays a small show on Saturday evening,
we play our big concert on Sunday evening, and then Betsy plays her small solo
show afterward. We’ll also teach classes and participate in panels over the weekend.
This year’s author Guest of Honor is Lois McMaster Bujold.
After BayCon, Betsy and I will stay in CA for a little while to start work on her solo album, to be titled Release the Cello! I am SO EXCITED about this! If any of you would like to explore sponsorship possibilities for that album, since I know that you love Betsy at least as much as I do, contact her here: betsyt@pinecoon.com
Once the fun of recording is done, I’ll turn my wagon to Reno for a house concert on Friday, May 31st! Write to me for further information if you’re in the area.
Suggested donation is $10-$15 per person, and I’m so glad of the chance to make up the Reno concert I had to cancel last summer due to a BAD flu.
In the month of June I’ll make stops in Ashland OR, Vancouver BC, Michigan (Michigan Pagan Fest), and St. Louis (St. Lou Fringe with Heather Dale)! So many good things are coming this year, even though I’m still going to take it easy and not tour as hard as I have in the past. So excited to share another couple of seasons with all of you!
WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO
-The EMBER DAYS ALBUM IS HERE!
Listen to the digital release for free:
http://music.sjtucker.com/album/ember-days-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-digital-release
Buy the limited edition physical release, which has two extra (awesome) songs:
https://sjtucker.com/buy/albums/ember-days-the-album/
-My next release, the WONDERS album, is back underway! It’s inspired by Catherynne M. Valente’s novel, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. I have some songs recorded, others in progress, and others still yet to write. Brilliant artist friends of mine are on board to create album art. Brilliant musician friends are making guest appearances on drums, vocals, brass, and other things. I’m hoping to have it all in a presentable state sometime this summer.
In any case, I’ll be sending preview tracks to my monthly sponsor-subscribers soon! If you want to get in on that, go here: https://sjtucker.com/buy/
I also signed up for SOUNDCLOUD at last, and I’ve been posting some fun stuff there, including things you can’t hear anywhere else. Come and find me:
https://soundcloud.com/sjtuckermusic
-ALL THE INTERVIEWS!
One good thing about being home for a while is that I’ve had time to say YES to podcast and radio interviews!
My most recent guest appearance was with the Pagan Music Project, which you can listen to here: http://www.paganstonight.com
I also got to hang out with the beautiful Kellianna on her program, Lunch with the Goddess:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divastoo/2013/04/09/lunch-with-the-goddess
Both ladies are wonderful, and I can’t recommend their shows enough. We had a blast!
I also made a special performance video of “Rabbit’s Song”, filmed on the front steps of my little recording studio, for the most handsome rabbit I currently know: Rupert!
http://the-illuminati-network.com/?page_id=2396 “celebrating beltane”
Scroll down for the latest episode of kid-friendly, pagan-friendly fun stuff.
-NEW FRIENDS AND AWESOME THINGS
Last month I got to help my sweet sister and collaboratrix, Renée Janski (http://www.bigbadgina.com) celebrate her 40th birthday! We did it up right with the AMAZON MUSIC FESTIVAL in Eureka Springs, AR. I got to sing with some of my favorite womyn on this earth: Big Bad Gina, Ginger Doss, Bekah Kelso, and Chasing Nadean. I also got to meet one of my new favorite rock stars, Summer Osborne.
Summer, hailing from St. Louis, has got incredible Gospel pipes, a snarky sense of humor, and a sweet spirit. You’ve got to give her a listen: http://summerosborne.wordpress.com/
I’ve mentioned that I’ll be at the St. Lou Fringe festival in June with Heather Dale and friends. I’m REALLY excited about this! St. Louis NEEDS things like a fringe festival, which bring artists and musicians and dreamers together with people who may never have had a chance to see any of them before. The fest is only in its second year, so any support that we give them is a big, big deal. Check out their fundraising campaign for festival all-access badges and other good stuff:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/st-lou-fringe-2013?c=home
That’s all for now, my loves. May you flourish this Beltane and beyond!
Cheers,
Sooj