October Newsletter - Walnut Street Cafe feature

 


Hello all,

Hope everyone is doing well! I am looking forward to my first solo set in a long while, tomorrow night at the Walnut Street Cafe Open Mike. I will be the featured performer and play for about 30 minutes. As many of you know, I hosted that open mike for a long time, and it is always good to return and see folks. Information is below, for anyone who might want to come - you can come and listen or you can sign up for a slot. Music, poetry, prose and more are all welcome!

I hope you are all enjoying the autumn colors and scents, and making some joy for yourselves! 

:) Kirsten

Upcoming Shows

Sunday, October 26 
Kirsten solo

8:30 p.m. (open mike starts at 7 p.m.)
157 Walnut St, Lynn, MA

Come on out to this great open mike! Slots are 10 minutes long, and the featured performer plays for 30 minutes. I hope to do a mix of older and newer songs. The cafe serves snacks, soups, sandwiches, etc. and beer, wine, and spirits.
 
Monday, November 17 

The Sweet Janes
6 - 8 p.m.
Rising Eagle Publick House
Melrose, MA 

Lori, MaryBeth, and I will be back at Rising Eagle, a great neighborhood pub. We'll play our usual mix of covers and originals. 
 
For shows further in the future, please visit my website!
 

Creative Musings

As I mentioned above, I hosted the Walnut Street Cafe open mike for many years. It is one of a few open mikes that I have helped organize over the course of my musical life. But I would say it has been over the past 10 - 15 years that I have really understood how important these spaces are. 
 
I have certainly seen songwriters like myself come to an open mike to try out a new song or two. But I have also seen people of all ages learn the power of finding your own voice. It's astonishing to watch. Giving people a space to speak their truth out loud, whether in a song, poem or story changes their worlds, and changes the worlds of the listeners. I can't tell you all the things I've learned from open mikers - about hardships, travel, joy, grief, resilience, a different perspective on something. I have had people come and sit in the back for a few weeks before they work up the courage to sign up for a slot. After their first performance, (if I have correctly done my job as host in creating a safe and welcoming space) they usually keep coming back. And as they do, their confidence grows, they shine a little brighter - and not just on stage, but off, too. They now know they can do this open mike thing, and that means they can do other things too.
 
It's brilliant and amazing and the best open mikes become communities. Communities of support and creativity and truth. For those of you who participate in and/or organize open mikes - thank you! These spaces are more important than ever.

Good Stuff


Tim and I went to a film premiere last Saturday night, of Loving Karma. The saxophone player from The Tim Foley Group is on the film's board of directors, and he invited us. The film is a follow up to the Emmy Award winning short documentary Tashi and The Monk (which you don't have to have seen to watch this film.) Loving Karma left us filled with hope and inspired by the ways in which one person can start a movement that changes so many lives for the better. The filmmakers are hosting many screenings (and are actually looking for people to host private screenings) so if the film is being shown in your area, I hope you will see it. The trailer is linked above.

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