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Lauren Sheehan
 Summer 2016
" .... a one-woman Americana jukebox... her fingerwork and sensitive singing, Piedmont picking....all sounds deceptively easy, which is a testament to her huge talent.” —Huffington Post
Summer Shows and Recent Travel - from Memphis to Taiwan
It’s great to be home after having been gone nearly a season! I’ll list my more unusual upcoming shows first, for those of you who would like to make plans, and then share some photos and a few meanderings about from my recent globe trotting.
I'll be posting more photos and music on my Facebook musician page, like it here!
Sunday, June 26: The Portlanders
This local superfolk group will contribute a short set in a concert to honor and fundraise for Newell Briggs’ medical expenses. Joining us will be; Mary Flower, Pete Krebs, Bill Rhodes and the Party Kings, Marv and Rindy Ross, and more! http://www.secretsociety.net/event/1180877-renewal-newel-revival-newel-portland/
Sunday, July 3 Water Front Blues,
Sail on Sister’s Cruise, with Mr. Chauncey, aka Johnnie Ward, joining me on the upper deck with his harmonicas, horn and jive. Get tickets, it sells out. http://www.waterfrontbluesfest.com/entry-and-passes/dme-blues-cruises
Monday, July 18. TILLAMOOK BURN / Nathan James double billing , Lake Theater, Lake Oswego. After a wonderful festival set in North Carolina, Zoë Carpenter heads west for this intimate concert. Escape the heat by the lake and enjoy fine food and drinks. If you haven't heard us in a while, you may be surprised. We know you'll dig Nathan, too. http://laketheatercafe.com/#music-mond
View my full Calendar at ReverbNation.com »
Friday, Aug 19, Muddy Rudder, Portland, 8:00 pm
Spring Travels
In early March, I purchased a terrific touring van and set out, alone, for a big adventure that was a working tour which included visiting family and some sight seeing. The tour began in Memphis and wound eastward to the coast of NC then down to FL.
One highlight came in what seemed like a dismal evening in NC where I had a lovely room but an audience of 6. Really. (OK - my PR consultant is cringing, but this is a happy ending.) After several songs, I asked how everyone was doing, commented on how delicious the food smelled, (and it did), thanked the sound man who had dialed in a nice warm sound, and then asked what else they might like to hear. One woman said, "Oh, I don' t care. I love everything you do and we drove down from Connecticut just to see you. This is wonderful." I was stunned, and inspired, of course. You just never know and it's like Taj Mahal says, "Just keep playing, 'cuz it's one fan at a time."
I drove through rainstorms and flooding that made national news, through hailstorms, thunderstorms, and tornado warnings that scared the dickens out of me as alarms suddenly blasted from my phone. I even timed a show to catch the mid-April snowstorm that shut down Denver. Fortunately, many neighbors walked over and we had a great house concert anyway. I smile, knowing how much I enjoyed the energy of the storms, but it really was kind of crazy that I encountered so many. Fortunately, a cracked windshield from the hail was my only negative consequence.
Here’s another story. After 3 hours of driving in an downpour, which even an Oregonian would call a deluge, and worrying about flooding, I finally stopped driving in Jackson MS at 11:45 pm. I had called Sherman Lee Dillion about where to go in Jackson and he said not to worry, I’d have a once in a life time experience and his son, the owner of the very cool and most unusual bar, Frank’s Corner, would be expecting me. He was, and so was Jessie Robinson, a very warm, intelligent, kind guitar player who had a lot to say about the state of the union and other serious topics. We also had a conversation about esoteric aspects of being a musician and that sure doesn't happen every day. I hope to see him again, as a friend and, as a fan when he fronts the BB King Band, as I learned he will sometimes be doing. Ha. http://www.arts.state.ms.us/folklife/artist.php?dirname=robinson_jesse
I'll never forget hearing him noodle around on my old Banner Gibson at 6am, finding her sweet spot and then playing an acoustic version of The Thrill is Gone. But it wasn't for me.
Being in the midst of a branch of folk music, or non-pop music, means we are swimming up stream, culturally and economically. But it’s a precious steam and filled with many wonderful and often delightfully offbeat folks with big hearts who care about the music and humanity. From musicians to presenters, audiences and fans to sound engineers, there is love for the music and the work to keep it live and alive. Thank you to everyone that came to listen or stayed to listen, presented me, dialed in great sound, fed me and put me up, shared special wild flowers and favorite hikes, passed me onto your treasured venues, restaurants and friends along the way. As one of my music angels sings, “the trick to the travelling , it’s all in the company.”
Taiwan
The first reason for this trip was to celebrate the installation of a public art sculpture designed by my husband, Ed Carpenter, for the city of Taichung, (See more photos (FB link). It was great to actually see the piece in person and be there for the dedication. It’s perfect for the site and beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe it.
The second event on this trip was a concert I gave which included collaboration with Yufeng Chung, a classical pipa player. It was one of the highlights of my career to work with her. The pipa is an ancient Chinese instrument somewhat connected to the lute but a lot louder and, well, Chinese sounding. We shared material over the internet, had a 5 hour rehearsal and then listened very well before presenting our multi-cultural concert.
Trees, Art and Music, organized the concert. They are a small traditional music company, producing concerts, festivals, and recordings in Taiwan and internationally
I’ll be posting pieces from this concert on my FB page each week that I know you’ll enjoy.
Contact: Lauren Sheehan Music, 1812 NW 24th Ave., Portland, OR 97210
Email: info@laurensheehanmusic.com | Web: LaurenSheehanMusic.com
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