Happy, Lammas, everyone! Wherever you are this week, I hope you’re well and fulfilled and at the top of the heap.
Some of us are having a very dry summer. Some terrifying things are happening out west, where I’m based this week. Part of the Olympic Rainforest in Washington state is on fire, and more of Alaska than I can even imagine is burning as well- something like a million acres or more. Predictions are dire. Drought and melting permafrost are making life very interesting, and will continue to ripple out and have an effect on the coming months and harvests. I have lots of friends who farm, on both large and small scales. The changes in crops and water availability and weather may be more apparent to them than to anyone else, but really, we can’t fail to notice. Our world is shifting. We can’t deny it.
But I know that, whatever changes may or may not come in our lifetime, folks like us will continue to take care of each other. We’ll all do our best to see that good things happen throughout autumn and winter, and beyond. This I believe, because I’ve seen it happen time and again.
I am thinking of you, and I am glad you’re in this world with me, even when times and weather patterns get strange.
On to more lighthearted stuff. 🙂
I’m in Redmond, Washington today, catching up with my Tricky Pixie bandmates. We have a LOT of upcoming shows together, across the next three months, and it feels so good! Everything starts this Thursday, in Woodinville, Washington, with a free show!
Thursday, August 6th, Woodinville, WA: FREE CONCERT!
Tricky Pixie at UBCCC’s Music in the Park Series
7:00pm-8:30pm
Cottage Lake Park (near the pool)
18801 Northeast Woodinville Duvall Rd
Thanks so much to Raven and the UBCCC for bringing us in!
This Saturday and Sunday, we’re headlining the first annual 2nd Star Festival, in Florence, Oregon, by the sea! Watch for selkies, merfolk, pirates, and more! Our event location for 2nd Star is the Florence Events Center. This is a kid-friendly festival, and it includes both daytime activities on Saturday and Sunday, and evening activities (like our concert) on Saturday. The fest is put on by some of our dearest Lost Boy buddies, and we’re so glad to be part of it! Bangarang!
Click here for 2nd Star Festival tickets and info
“The underlying theme of our festival is Find Your Creative Spark! There are endless ways to be creative.
“Our daytime activities include Acoustic Musicians, Awesome Local and Regional Art, Kids’ Activities, Talks From The Flight Deck (allowing people to share their inspirations of their own Creative Path), and Much More, all within walking distance to the Old Town section of Florence and the Pacific Coast! Festivities begin at 10am on Saturday and go until 6pm. We then break for an hour and a half for patrons to fill their bellies with yummy food from the area’s awesome restaurants in Old Town. Then, make sure to get your Concert Ticket to ensure a spot at the theater for the 7:30pm performance of Faerabella, Tricky Pixie, and Toby Froud!”
After 2nd Star, Betsy and I fly briefly east to perform at the Muthmusica Festival in Telford, PA!
August 15, 2015, all day
Sooj & Betsy at Mythmusica Music & Faerie Festival
Country Creek Winery
133 Cressman Road
Telford, PA 18969
Click here for tickets & more festival info.
We’re sharing the festival lineup with Brian Henke, Ashagal, and many other talented folks!
After Mythmusica, Betsy and Alec will be performing at Sasquan/WorldCon in Spokane the week of August 17-22. I’ve got a little solo concert in Ethel, Washington, courtesy of Lady Elwin and her sunkissed sanctuary!
Ethel, WA: Sultry Summer Solo Show presented by Sacred Spiral Sanctuary!
August 22, 2015, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Sacred Spiral Sanctuary in Ethel, WA
COST: $25
Potluck dinner starts at 5pm, music at 7pm. Please bring blankets or chairs. All are welcome at this beautiful sanctuary! We will be outdoors, so pack your bug spray as needed. Proceeds to benefit The Cat’s Meow cat rescue, a local humane effort.
Contact our hostess for RSVP and location info:
seekersofstones@yahoo.com
360-562-1900
Elwin hosted a show for Betsy and me last August for the first time, and it was truly lovely. I’m looking forward to singing on her land again, for everyone who joins us there!
After Sasquan wraps up, the band will reconvene for THREE MORE WASHINGTON STATE CONCERTS: we’re playing Port Angeles with Rogue’s End on August 25, we’re playing in Silverdale on August 28, and we’re giving our BIG DAMN CONCERT in Kenmore on August 29! Whichever you choose, we’ll bring the magic!
1. Tricky Pixie and Rogues’ End
August 25, 2015 @ 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Studio Bob, the Allé Stage
118 East Front Street
Port Angeles, WA 98362
COST: $10 or more, your choice
Click here for tickets to this concert.
Rogues’ End and Tricky Pixie are two PNW-beloved bands that feature pipes, drums, fiddles, cello, guitars, voices, and a fierce commitment to Fun! Come and join the magic! This’ll be Tricky Pixie’s first-ever Port Angeles concert!
All ages welcome, $10 advance.
Music starts at 7pm on the magical Allé Stage, upstairs.
Special thanks to Merryn, Robert, and Studio Bob!
2. Silverdale: Tricky Pixie
August 28, 2015, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Silverdale Grange Hall
12535 Clear Creek Road Northwest
Silverdale, WA 98383
COST: $10, $15 or $20, your choice.
Click here for tickets to this concert.
Join Alec, Sooj and Betsy for a night of wicked and whimsical music and stories, wrapped up with the usual good humor, and served with tasty cello, guitar, fiddle, and drums!
Special thanks to Constantina.
3. Kenmore, WA: Tricky Pixie’s Summer Seattle-area Show
August 29, 2015, 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Kenmore Community Club
7304 Northeast 175th Street
Kenmore, WA 98028
COST: $10, $15, or $20, or more- your choice.
Click here for tickets to this concert.
Come and join us for a special evening, open to each and every one of our fans! This will be Tricky Pixie’s final concert in the Northwest for 2015. Doors open at 7:30pm, and the magic starts at 8:00pm! Make sure to grab your tickets in advance- we frequently sell every seat for our Kenmore club concerts!
Alec flies away home after that, but Betsy and I have a couple more concerts together in the PNW before I start my autumn travels toward home:
Pt. Townsend, WA: Sooj and Betsy Show
September 2, 2015 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Pt. T. House Concert
Port Townsend, WA
COST: $10, $15 or $20, your choice.
Click here for tickets to this concert.
Come on over for an evening of whimsy and wit, cello and guitar, siren song and magic! S. J. and Betsy‘s skill, presence and desire for connection with their audience consistently shine from every stage they cross. Original songs are the focus, here, flavored with everything from classical pieces to rowdy jazz or Celtic tunes. In short, there’s something for everyone, and there’s a place for you in amongst the sweetly falling notes these powerful womyn create.
Doors open at 7:00pm and music begins at 7:30. Ages 8 and up, please. Special thanks to Ellen and crew for hosting!
Note: address and parking info will be sent to you with your ticket purchase. We’ve got just 40 seats available, so don’t wait until the last minute!
Extra special thanks to our hostess, Ellen Bonjorno, and her household!
Then it’s on down to Faerieworlds, which is on a later weekend this year than usual:
Sooj & friends live at Faerieworlds 2015!
September 4, 2015 – September 6, 2015, all day
new location – Horning’s Hideout
21277 Northwest Brunswick Canyon Road
North Plains, OR 97133
Sooj is thrilled to be back home in the Realm, at a new time and place this year, but with just as much magic! Watch for her main stage concert on FRIDAY, where she’ll be joined by Betsy Tinney, Sharon Knight and Winter, and other special guests. Also keep your eyes open for a Sooj cameo during Sharon’s concert, and check out her workshop on improvising with music on Saturday afternoon!
(Fun fact: this year’s Faerieworlds location was also the venue for the very first Faerieworlds festival that I ever attended, back in 2004. I met Betsy that weekend, as well as many other of my dearest partners-in-creativity. I think it’s pretty auspicious that the festival will be there again this year.)
Tadaa! That gets us all the way into early September. I’ve got lots of good stuff planned for the fall months as well, including MORE TRICKY PIXIE CONCERTS, in or around Cape Girardeau and St. Louis MO, Dallas TX, and Memphis TN! Click here for all the autumn tour dates and details.
OTHER NEWS, INCLUDING NEW MUSIC FOR YOOOOU!
—New Videos! I’ve been slowly uploading Stolen Season release concert videos to YouTube! Visit my channel to see and hear them all whenever you like! So far, they’ve all been filmed in my studio at home, The Pixie House. Before the month is out, I just might be able to film a couple more in Betsy’s studio, which will be lovely.
Click here to subscribe and stay tuned!
—Where’d this crown come from? Witchy review and critique site Green Man Review has crowned me their Summer Queen for 2015! What!? This means they’ve been interviewing me on all sorts of topics, they’ve published a previously unreleased essay of mine, and they’ve been posting some really great reviews of my albums and books! I am incredibly honored by all of their kind attention. Some of the interviews were two years in the making, and I’m so happy to see them posted now! Check out excerpts and links to all the Green Man Review posts here on the blog by clicking here.
–NEW SONG, NEW SONG, NEW SONG! Would you like to hear my first songwriting collaboration with the delicious Bekah Kelso? I thought you would! Click here.
–MORE new songs SOON! I’m still participating in my song-a-week group, and I’m still loving the whole experience after twenty-seven weeks! If it’s at all possible for you to get to one of my concerts in the coming weeks, you’ll hear a fair few of these new song-babies. I can’t resist sharing them. This means I’ll have plenty of recording work cut out for me over the winter! NO excuses, NO boredom! It’s gonna be soooo good.
–INSTAGRAM GOODNESS: I’ve been posting tour photos daily on my Instagram. There’s something very satisfying to me about finding one thing that made me smile on my travels, at least once a day, and sharing a photo of it. Click here to see what I see, and feel free to follow my account there.
I hope you’re all keeping safe and relaxed out there. Keep an eye on the causes that move you this month, and the situations that need more positive change. I’ll be right there with you, and so will my songwriter’s brain, and all of my understanding and compassion.
Here’s to us, and to our world.