Kirsten Manville - Words and Music

Well hi there!   Welcome to the new folks on this list! Thank you for your interest in my music.   I am so happy to be able to start off this newsletter by letting you know I have live, in-person shows coming up! How I have missed them - and seeing all of you out and about in the world.  Early December was the last time I played in front of a live crowd, and it was glorious. I am sure these shows will be just as glorious as well! More details are below. I am also very happy that the album is coming along, and we are on track to have the final mixes ready for the mastering process by the end of the month. My head has been filled with all the details: figuring out graphics, song sequence, what to title the album, and a million other decisions to make. In the meantime, I will share another almost completed track with you. Here is A Real Country Song . I have a another new  (very short) poem up on Instagram (as well as a cute photo of my sleeping dog) and it feels real...

Hello all , Well, I know February is a short month anyway, but this one really flew by! I have slowly started to come out of hibernation mode. And things are starting to happen. I have all but one flute part recorded for the new CD, and then we will finish up the mixing, move onto the mastering, and then we'll send it to the duplicator. It's exciting to see and hear these songs really come together. There are two waltzes in the album (I love waltzes!). For a listen to to one of them,     Breaking Me , click here . I have also been working on creating some new things! I pulled together a draft of a brand new song last night (not quite ready for public consumption) and have been writing some more Insta-poetry. Here is a piece I just posted this morning. Finally, I have been putting some shows in place. Starting at the end of March and heading into the summer I am looking forward to getting back out there! I will fill you in on all the details in a couple of weeks. :) Kirst...

  Hi everyone,   Happy New Year! I hope 2022 is off to a good start for all of you. For those of you in the northeast, I hope you are staying warm and dry during this storm!   I have been in a bit of a retreat and rest mode. My one show scheduled for January was postponed due to the pandemic, and I have not been very active on social media. I have been enjoying puttering around at home, reading books, and streaming TV shows. ( Cobra Kai and Manifest are two faves. Next up is Only Murders in the Building. )   I have however, in spite of retreating and resting, been continuing to work on the new album. We are getting closer to having a finished product, and I hope to release in the late spring. For a listen to a song written during the pandemic, There's A Band Tonight , click here . I don't think I have even played this song out in public yet. It was inspired by the opening of an episode of Ken Burn's Country Music , in which they show a picture of an old club with ...

  Hello all,   I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving, spending it exactly as you wished - whether that was a loud and boisterous celebration with many people, or a quiet and contemplative meal, relaxing and renewing.   I have much to be thankful for, not the least of which is you folks - the people who take an interest in and support my music. I am so grateful every time you listen, come to a show, buy an album, speak to how a song of mine moved you. It means the world to me, and I am truly grateful - thank you!   I have been working on the new album (slowly, but surely it is getting there) and have some songs that are very close to finished. One of them, called "It's All Over But the Cryin'" was inspired by an article in the sports section of the Boston Globe. The writer referred to the game being "All over but the crying" after a certain play was made. And I thought "Well, that sounds like a song title." You can listen to it here .   I co...

  Hi everyone,   Happy October! I love the fall. Although honestly, my favorite season always seems to be the one we are experiencing. But I do truly love when the air gets a little crisper, the leaves change, and I can start cooking soups and stews again.    I have been busy and it is good to be busy! Shows have been great - it is so nice to play live music again. I am still working on my album of course, and I have been writing some more Insta-poetry that I will be sharing over the coming weeks on my Instagram page . You can check out my latest poems here (this one is animated so make sure you hit "play") and here .   I also recorded a segment for the Artist in Residence Showcase on Folk Music Notebook , a very cool online folk radio station. I'm grateful to Ron Olesko, who runs the station for affording me the opportunity. Not only did the audio of the segment air a few weekends ago, but you can watch the video on youtube . I've got a couple of fun shows thi...

  Hello all,   Summer has come and gone - wow! I hope you all had a very enjoyable summer, and are looking forward to this change in seasons (and if you live where the leaves change, I hope you are looking forward to all the bright, beautiful fall colors). I have a couple of outdoor farmers market shows this month, and I love being out in the cool, crisp fall weather. Info is below, and check out my website for a preview of future shows. It has been so nice to see so many of you out at shows this summer - thank you for attending! I had a lovely vacation at the end of August, and am now slowly getting back into productivity mode. Finishing my album is on the top of the priority list, and I am hoping to have it done by the end of the year, in time for an early 2022 release. This has been a long labor of love in so many ways, but as we move closer and closer to the end of the process the more excited I get.  I can't say it enough, but thank you so much for your interest and...

  Hi everyone,   This will be a rather short and sweet newsletter. I hope you are all enjoying the summer weather (even though for a lot of us it has been kind of rainy). I didn't write a June newsletter, partly because the month flew on by, and now suddenly here we are at the end of July - another month that flew on by!   I have been spending much of my time in the recording studio, and am really happy with the progress we are making. We have almost everything recorded - we're just doing some finishing touches as we work on mixing. I've got another song for you to listen to - check out a rough mix of Green Tomatoes by clicking here or on the photo. Tim Foley is featured on lead guitar! And the song was kind of inspired by one of the first dates we went on - but not quite in the way you might think. I'll save that story for another time, though.   I also have some live shows coming up (info on the next two below), and am working on booking more. Check out my we...