The Voice and The Song: Beautiful, Expressive, Alive

Since we last spoke I have performed 2 shows. Both wonderful. The first was at the Soulfood Bookstore in Redmond, WA. When I first walked in, Clint, the owner (with long hair and red beard) says with kind voice and big smile, "First things first - what kind of hot drink can I get you?"

It was a very warm space. When he introduced me, Clint said, "Welcome to Soulfoods, a safe place for artists..." which I think is a particularly wonderful way to characterize one's bookstore. It did feel safe, and warm, and appreciative.

You can see the archived videos of the show here:

Then, yesterday, after church, after pancakes at Mae's diner, and after a windy walk at Alki Beach in West Seattle, it was off to a house concert. One of the really fun things about this tour, in which I have no car of my own, and dont really know where I am going at all, is that I am almost entirely dependent upon my hosts. These wonderful folks with whom I am staying have, in many cases, organized the concerts I am playing, and are delivering me to them as well. That was so in this case, and I never really know where we are going or what it is going to be like until we get there.

We arrived at a beautiful home, rich with dark wood, asian art, and sweet family photos on the fridge. I met Mell, my hostess who showed us to the gracious concert space. One wall of the space was really a huge window looking out onto a lake that shone in the evening light. To make things even better, it was a dessert and concert event! So, soon people were arriving with a hunger for music and an abundance of cakes and pies, tarts and cookies.

It was another warm event, intimate and informal. This is my favorite. I love to be able to answer people's questions, joke around, and sing together. A friend said after the show, "each concert feels like you are giving us all a big hug," which, sounds to me just right. And I feel the same. We are all there together, praising God in a new way, a way that is revealing itself as we go. I continue to learn this about music - it is not about cd's and radio. It is a basic thing of life, able to bring people together, connect us intimately, and reveal to us more and more who we are. It has the ability to unwind us, and help us let our beautiful, expressive, alive selves out. And then it turns out we are all being beautiful, expressive, and alive together.

Tonight I am playing at the big CSO at the University of Washington. Here we go!

Below are some photos from my walk this morning...