I am working on booking a little mini-tour of the Tri-State Region (NY, NJ, Philly) for the first or second weekend in December. If I get enough stops lined up I could spend a whole week there, culminating in a Shabbaton the weekend of December 11-13, 2015.
I am in talks with folks at a synagogue in the Philly area, and will be talking tomorrow with someone in New Jersey. Nothing is guaranteed at this point but the fact that we're talking is good news. However, I am pretty confident these are not the only two synagogues in the region.
And that's where you come in.
If you live in the Tri-State Region, or you know someone who does and who has connections to a progressive synagogue there -- nothing against modern Orthodox but they are far less likely to bring in a female singer-songwriter -- and you like my music, I am inviting you to drop my name to the right people. This could be your rabbi or cantor, your education director or a friend on the board, or a group of families. Play my music for them -- direct them to my web site and invite them to click on everything. And let them know that I am booking NOW for December 2015. If a synagogue wants to book me earlier in the fall, that's great -- but I am hoping to be in Philadelphia the second weekend of December for a Jewish music festival and would love to combine this trip with a visit or two to synagogues in the area. I can lead services, teach classes on music, text study and more, and run a community-wide song session. If you can connect me with someone-in-charge I will be happy to share with them a full outline of what I can bring to a community.
I would love to bring my music to your community! I would love to brainstorm with you and have it result in a new composition! I would love to sing for and with you, and daven with you, and wade into what being Jewish is like in another part of the world. (Remember, I'm from Oregon. Things look different here. That used to be the state travel board's motto, until someone thought better of it.) And you can help make it happen. For now, and for lack of a better name for it, I'm calling it crowdbooking. If you have an idea for where I might appear, let me know, and then tell your contacts there. Help us connect. This trip happens one conversation at a time, one email at a time, one connection at a time. You have the power to become part of that chain. Consider this your engraved invitation.
BONUS: Anyone who can open the door that leads to a booking (save those emails!) will get a free download of a new song from what will eventually become my third album of original Jewish music.
Thank you!
Buckets of Shalom --Beth