For many folks across the country, the arrival of September means it’s time to head back to school. For us, the arrival of September means it’s time to head west! We have an exciting month ahead of us, traveling new roads and playing in new places. Not in any of these towns, but have friends who are? Let them know we’ll be coming through!
We start the month in Faith’s home town of Cooperstown, NY. The local Chamber of Commerce has started a wonderful summer music series, Music on Main, that showcases local musicians in 2 hour sets in Pioneer Park at the corner of Main Street and Pioneer Street in the center of town. We will be playing 1-3pm on Saturday, September 3rd. It doesn’t matter if you’re in town for the Baseball Hall of Fame, the New York State Historical Association, the Glimmerglass Opera, or just because you’re a fan of James Fenimore Cooper, you’re welcome to swing by and listen.
Moving farther west, we’re next at the Barking Spider Tavern in Cleveland, OH, on Wednesday, September 7th at 6pm. The Barking Spider is set off the the street in an old carriage house and surrounded by trees behind the Case Western Reserve University alumni house. The place is comfortable and relaxed, the decor is rustic, wood-paneled and eclectic (you’re even allowed to write on the bathroom walls!). Stop in for a beverage and enjoy the music!
Then we’re off to the windy city of Chicago, IL! Friday evening, September 9th at 7:30pm, we’ll be playing the Second Friday music series at the PC Coffeehouse in the People’s Church of Chicago. This music series brings live jazz, world music and folk music to the Uptown section of the city.
We love doing radio shows! It’s a great way to get our music out to folks who might not otherwise be able to make it to a concert. Sunday morning, September 11th, we’ll be playing the Acoustic Revival with Pat Sullivan and Jim Canales on WWSP on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point, WI. The show runs 9a-12p every Sunday, and we’ll be on around 10am central time (that’s 11am eastern time for all our friends back home!). If you’re local to Stevens Point, you can tune in at 89.9FM, or you can stream it live by going to the station’s web page and scrolling down to the “Listen to us live” links.
Musician friend Mary Bue opened her own yoga studio, Imbue Yoga, in Minneapolis, MN three months ago. “Imbue” is a verb that means to inspire, permeate and infuse with a particular feeling or quality. Imbue Yoga’s mission is to offer a safe, welcoming, body-positive place that will “imbue” all who enter with a sense of well being, permeate with good energy and inspire compassion out in the world. We are pleased to be able to help Mary celebrate her wonderful studio’s first three months with a concert at the studio on Sunday evening, September 11th at 8:15pm. Suggested donation of $10-$20 at the door.
Folks at home in Massachusetts, don’t despair — there is still music happening without us! The Serendipity Songwriters Sessions is back for another season at the Serendipity Cafe in Maynard, MA on Wednesday, September 14th with guest host Beth DeSombre and guest songwriters Jon McAuliffe and Kelsey Birk. The song topic this month, chosen by the August audience, is “Places people only stop on their way to somewhere else”. Stop by, have dinner, enjoy some tasty baked goods, listen to wonderful original music by three great songwriters, and help choose the topic for October’s musicians. The music runs 7:30-9:30pm. Thanks to Beth for guest hosting!
Meanwhile, back out on the road, we’re off to Madison, WI to join fellow duo Andina & Rich at the Wild Hog In The Woods Coffeehouse on Friday, September 16th at 7pm for an evening of Dueling Dynamic Duos! As they describe themselves, “Recipe: mix Sandy Andina (Chicago’s resident singing/guitar-and-dulcimer-slinging smart aleck) with Stephen Lee Rich (Madison, WI’s friendly neighborhood yodeling cowboy), add harmony and humor, then shake and stir. Result: Andina & Rich!” Each duo will do one set, and then we’ll get together for a no-holds-barred in-the-round for the rest of the evening. This is gonna be fun!!
Then it’s off to Iowa City, IA to Uptown Bill’s, a coffeehouse, performance space and community meeting place. We’ll be playing in their Saturday Night Music series on Saturday, September 17th at 7pm. Uptown Bill’s is an offshoot of the Extend The Dream Foundation, which assists persons with disabilities and the aging in establishing their own micro enterprises and in expanding their employment opportunities. Come listen and support this great organization!
Lots more going on at home while we’re on the road. The fall season of the Bolton Public Library Unplugged open mike at the Bolton Public Library in Bolton, MA is moving to the third Tuesday of the month, and starts up on Tuesday, September 20th. Got a song about sending the kids off to college? A poem about empty nest syndrome? Or just looking for some good tunes on a Tuesday night? Guest host Roland Ochsenbein will lead off the 2-song formal first round, then everyone pulls the chairs into a circle and jams until they’re out of songs, out of steam, or tossed out by the cleaning crew! Music starts at 7pm.
The road still beckons! The WoodSongs Front Porch Association (WFPA), an international association of front porch minded musicians, artists, and dreamers who seek wonderful opportunities to use their music to make their communities better, is holding their yearly music festival and member conference (“The Gathering”) on Friday and Saturday, September 23rd and 24th at the Shaker Village in Harrodsburg, KY. If any fellow SongFarmers will be at the conference, let’s get together and jam!
And finally, we start our trek home with a stop in Norwood, OH, at the Leo Coffeehouse, hosted by the Queen City Balladeers, at the Zion United Church of Christ Founder’s Hall. We’ll lead off their Sunday, September 25th evening concert at 7pm. Doors open around 5pm, and they have an informal jam session/song circle at 5:30pm, if you’re so inclined. But do stick around for the evening concert from 7-9pm!
Our CDs, Seeking, Simple Grace and Dreaming of Another Path, and our EP, Live At Roslindale, are available from us at our shows, on our website, or you can find them all at CD Baby, iTunes and most other online music stores. Seeking has been specially mastered for iTunes, which gives higher fidelity over standard iTunes recordings.
As always, you can find additional schedule information on our website, https://www.danandfaith.com. For more frequent news updates and information, check out our Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter (@danandfaith).
No matter where you go in this wild, wide country of ours, there’s bound to be some local music there. Hunt it up, and check it out!
Dan & Faith
