Dar Williams's List of Music You Should Hear

Just found this cool list on Amazon of Dar's top picks for albums she thinks her fans might enjoy. There's a wide variety of artists included, some I know and some I don't: Don McLean, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Jane Siberry, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Brahms, Suzanne Vega, Cheryl Wheeler. Dar gives a line or two about why the particular album she is highlighting was inspirational to her music or career or childhood. Seems like pretty much every female folk artist is going to be influenced at least at little by Joni Mitchell, and for good reason, (I remember the first time I heard Joni Mitchell I almost gave up the idea of writing songs altogether. Here's someone who already said everything I've ever felt and so much of it before I was even born! What's left?) but it's kinda neat to have Brahms thrown in there too.

I always love finding out the influences of my favorite artists. It just goes to show that no one creates in a vacuum, and quite often I'll discover some new favorite musicians!

Ana Egge Wins Songwriting Contest!

I got to see Ana Egge open for Dar Williams in NYC back when Dar was releasing The Beauty of the Rain (2003). Since then I keep hearing good stuff about her through other musician's blogs, and now her MySpace page.

She just won the Mountain Stage New Song Songwriting Competition in NYC so she will advance to the International Phase on Sept 22 as a part of NYC's River To River Festival. Congrats Ana!

You can listen to song samples and buy tracks at her online music store - all the proceeds go directly to Ana, which is so great for an independent musician.

PS - I just checked out the service she uses for her music store: indieKazoo. Seems like a super cool way to sell your mp3's. Tracks play on any device, and the artist gets to keep all the proceeds! Very nice!

Celebrate Spiritual Diversity & Get Free Downloads!

But first a little background on how I found out about this.

I got to see singer-songwriter/actress Celia Perform at Cafe Paradiso in March 2006. I signed up for her email list and have enjoyed being in the loop on her doings since then.

One thing I have really admired is how she has been helping promote awareness of spiritual diversity by championing Sgt. Patrick Stewart, a fallen soldier who also happened to be Pagan. His wife wanted to put the Pentacle symbol on his grave marker because none of the other symbols available represented his beliefs. It seems obvious that if you died in service of your country the least they could do is honor the wishes of what should go on your grave marker, but apparently they really had to fight for it. Celia wrote a song to help raise public awareness for the cause.



The campaign was successful (after 10 years!), and now Celia is part of a project to celebrate spiritual diversity called 1000 Symbols. They have started a petition to establish June as National Spiritual Diversity Month, and as thanks for signing the petition, several artists of all different religions are offering free downloads of their art and music! The free downloads are only available for the month of June, so if you are interested go check it out now! www.1000symbols.com I think it's a beautiful idea because the more we learn to tolerate and celebrate each others religions, the less conflict there will be in the world.

All this highlights the serious side of Celia, but she also has a wonderfully wacky side that is an absolute joy to watch at her shows. She has a few characters that she transforms into right in front of your eyes, and I think they get to express things she might not otherwise say or sing. Honestly, this description from her website speaks to her range of talent better than I can:

Celia is a cross between an Earthy Enya, Tori Amos, and Gilda Radner. A Red-headed Renaissance Woman, Celia is a singer/songwriter, actress, and storyteller who dishes up the most delicious concoction of the silly and the sacred. She is an amazing multi-faceted artist from powerful heart-felt vocals to wacky comedic improvisations-you honestly never know what will happen with Celia on stage.

Look for Celia's tour schedule on her website and see if she's coming to a town near you so you can go check her out!

Woo-Hoo, New Woo!

I just downloaded Wendy Woo's latest project - Luxury by the Wendy Woo Trio. Released in February 2007, Luxury explores another side of Wendy's musicality that is still decidedly Woo. She has acoustic albums and full band albums, and this new Trio stuff feels a little stripped down - more of a focus on fun, catchy hooks somehow. I like it all!

The video below is from Boulder Creek festival - Wendy plays off her new album just 3 weeks after giving birth to her son Christopher! (after his dad the drummer) (hmmm, Sarah McLachlan married her drummer too...)