As Donald Trump is sworn in as president today, I don’t feel anger, I don’t feel joy, I only feel shame. Shame that we would have put this person into the highest position of power in the nation. Shame that […]
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Austin, Texas, has just concluded its 30th Spring Break-style mega-music, film, and technology festival. SXSW, or Southby as locals call it, started as a modest week of music performances in a central area of town, and has since outgrown the […]
A few of us are parents, accustomed to long, sleepless nights. Ages range from 20s to late 40s, not a spread that represents the whole of the folk music community, but we can’t fit everyone in the business into one […]
Johnny Cash wrote an entire song about his iconic wardrobe: Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day And tell the world that everything’s okay But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back Til things are […]
On my first tour of the United States, I borrowed my father’s silver sedan for the month-long trip. I thought there was no way I could fit everything I needed for the month into a sedan. So I bought a […]
I started playing guitar when I was 11. I would walk down the street to Ronnie Robbin’s house above the Food Front Co-op in NW Portland, with my guitar slung over one shoulder. Ronnie wanted to teach me all sorts […]
Last month, I played in an idyllic backyard show in South Austin with local and international songwriting hero, Matt The Electrician. There was a pool, a patio, lights, a bar, and a sound system. Standing behind the mic was a […]
In last week’s post, I talked about the challenges of being both a mama and a musician. This past weekend, I was hired to play a wedding in beautiful Bellingham, Washington. My son Benny and I flew to Seattle and […]
I’ve heard my dear friend Danny Schmidt – who is also one of contemporary folk music’s most treasured lyricists – say, “Folksingers are dashing and dangerous.” I think that’s true. Traveling the world to sing songs is an often romanticized […]
I’ve talked about house concerts quite a bit in this column. I believe they are the modern singer-songwriter’s saving grace. You can’t beat a venue where the audience is on your side from the get-go and most of the door […]
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