We had a real good clam bake!
I had a blast playing with Art Frankel on January 21, 2023 at The Couth Buzzard. You can hear the whole 35 minute set here:
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Relive my set with Art
New Song, New Show!
Hi! I’ve got a gig coming up on January 21 that I’m really excited about! All the details are in the image below. The big deal for me is that Art Frankel will be backing me on pedal steel! He’s a talented player and we’re having a blast working out arrangements. Art is also a great songwriter and guitar player, so it will be great to hear his tunes as well. Our third performer is Judy Kaplan, a consummate musician and singer who interprets some of the best songs written over the past 50+ years. Come join us for an evening of song and community at the cozy Couth Buzzard!
My latest song is a meditation on the theme of ‘you can’t go home again,’ with all due respect to Thomas Wolfe. It’s called Horse Led to Water. Check it out:
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New song
Here’s a new number inspired by this political moment and the woman I love…
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Fall Shows!
The Tumbleweed Music Festival is returning from two years of pandemic-virtual presentations and will be live again this year in lovely Howard Amon Park on the shore of the Columbia River in Richland WA.
I have a solo set Saturday, Sept, 3 at 2:45pm on the Art Gallery stage, which is a lovely setting with great acoustics (and air conditioning!). I’ll be playing mostly originals.
I play with Don’t Think Once (duo with Steve Polyak) on Sunday the 4th at 5:45 on the River Stage. We’ll play a mix of originals and great covers. Come see us!
Songwriter showcases
Saturday Oct 1, 7:30-9:30pm at the Couth Buzzard, 8310 Greenwood Avenue North, Seattle. This is a Songwriters in Seattle Showcase featuring a full house of local talent. No charge, but a tip basket will be out.
Friday Oct 21, 7:30 – 9:30pm at the Couth Buzzard, 8310 Greenwood Avenue North, Seattle. I’m thrilled to be sharing the stage with good friends Bill Davie, Kelly Murphy and Steve Norris for a night of moving music and comradery. This show will be livestreamed as well, I’ll update with the info when it is available. No charge, but please tip the Couth to help keep them up and running!
NOTE: Attendance at Couth Buzzard shows requires proof of COVID vaccination. The venue also requires face masks to keep everyone safe. Thanks for complying! Call the Couth in advance at (206) 436-2960 to reserve a seat for either show.
Friday November 11, 7:00 – 9:00pm at C&P Coffee, 5612 California Avenue Southwest, Seattle. This is a Songwriters in Seattle Showcase featuring a full house of local talent. No charge, but a tip basket will be out.
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Thank god for Grumpy D’s virtual Open Mic
Fucking pandemic. My band Don’t Think Twice was just getting our tunes tight and booking more gigs. Singing 4-part harmonies with Steve, Raya and Megan was such a good time, as was learning to play the bass to broaden our sound. Audiences were digging the music, we were digging each other and it was all coming together.
Then, well, you know.
I did some solo Facebook livestreams those first few months. Who didn’t, right? They were fun, a reason to play, but a hard way to connect with people unless you had a whole thing going. Kudos to friends like Jim Page and Bill Davie for figuring out their angle on making livestreams work in terms of community building.
My saving grace was finding the online manifestation of the Grumpy D’s Open Mic. It’s a place to play live online for people who not only want to hear music, they want to support each other as musicians and people. We range from seasoned touring pros to shower singers and everything in between. It’s a great opportunity to build community through music. I would not have made it this far through the pandemic without these friends. Special thanks to Alan Camhi, Godfather of the Grumpy D’s Open Mic, and to James Dailey, Charles Trafford, Judy Kaplan and Deb Seymour for hosting and making it all happen. Sometimes when I play, I capture my performance on video at the same time. Here are a few from the past months. Thanks for listening!
This Old World is a song a wrote about 10 years ago that is oddly prescient.
When I was a kid there was a family secret never told about someone dying on my Grandfather’s farm in West Virginia. Romney is my attempt to flesh out the story.
Redtail Hawk is about looking for my roots.
I love singing sad songs and Kris Delmhorst’s Words Fail You is one of the best.
I wrote this song for my father, but it goes out to everyone who hopes to see someone they lost on the other side if the Bridge Don’t Rise.
“It’s so easy to dream of the days gone by…” starts this perfect song by Bob Franke, Thanksgiving Eve.
Even in these dark days everyone has some light to Shine On (by May Erlewine).
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Tagged Bill Davie, Grumpy D's Open Mic, Jim Page, Shine On
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New tune: Two Days Down the Line
Here’s a new song about a contemporary right of passage, getting your first coronavirus test! I started writing it in the car on the way home, and finished it just before I got my results. You have to listen to hear them…
Sometimes songs come to you wearing the clothes of another tune. Folk process, I guess. This one arrived wearing a sporty John Prine set of chord changes. Given John tragically died of COVID earlier this year, it’s only fitting. So, thanks, John, for decades of inspiration and for these chords. Apologies for swiping them.
Bonus points to anyone who knows where they came from!
Celebrate Labor Day at the Tumbleweed Music Festival!
The pandemic forced the legendary Tumbleweed Music Festival into virtual mode this year, and I’m happy to be playing one of the singer-songwriter showcase stages!
The Tumbleweed crew has done an amazing job building a virtual festival that captures the best of the 24-year old event. While I’ll miss lazy late summer walks along the Columbia River in Richland, the virtual festival gives everyone around the globe a chance to tune in and hear some amazing songwriters, and roots musicians of all genres. Performers have pre-taped their sets and Tumbleweed has grouped us on the “stages” we would have played live. All the sets will be available starting Thursday, Sept. 3 and remain on their web platform for a full year.
No more running back and forth between stages, catching half of an act and splitting to see another. We can all sit back, relax, replay and enjoy the shows!
The weekend also featured a number of live workshops on Zoom, on topics from “Chord Science for Songwriters” to “Flamenco Dance.” Details on the webpage.
This is something like my 6th appearance at Tumbleweed, including one time as a finalist in the festival’s Jane Titland Memorial Songwriters Contest. The 10 finalist songs on this year’s theme of “wind” will play Saturday afternoon, alas without me. I expect there will be some mechanism for expressing your vote for the People’s Choice award.
So tune in, this weekend, or anytime this year.
Usually when I drive to Richland for the festival I stop and enjoy the Yakima River Canyon. Here’s a shot from last year’s trip…
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Don’t Think Twice!
For the 4 months prior to the COVID lock-down, I’ve had the extreme pleasure of forming a band with a group of friends: Don’t Think Twice.
A cross-generational group, we bonded over simpatico tastes in music and a love of singing and playing. With three songwriters, four-part harmony and five decades of U.S. and Canadian rock and folk to draw from, we were on a run of great shows before the virus changed things.
Don’t Think Twice is Steve Polyak on guitar, harmonica and vocals, Mehgan Nolte on guitar and vocals, Raya Polyak on vocals and me on guitar, bass(!) and vocals.
In our short run we’ve played The Grotto at The Rendevous, Northwest Cellars and The Couth Buzzard. I hope to hell you get a chance to see us soon.
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Return to Tumbleweed!
I’ll be playing the Tumbleweed Music Festival in bucolic Howard Amon Park in Richland, Washington this Labor Day weekend!
My set is Sunday, September 1, 2019, on the West Stage from 5:45-6:30pm.
Tumbleweed is a truly magical event, driven by volunteers and an extended community that loves its acoustic music, and especially songwriters! Hope to see you there!
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Mike Buchman Music 