Hi friends,
My final show of the year is tonight, Saturday, December 16 at Rebel Rebel Studio & Lounge in Berea, KY. Doors open at 6pm, and I’ll start strumming originals at 7:30pm. I’ll play a few new songs, Nat will join me on a few, as well as some special guests! Then The Montvales will end the night with their folk-country tunes. It’ll be a night of supporting badass women creatives. Join us if you can!
I am grateful for another year of making music and art with you. Thank you for reading these emails, coming to shows, listening to my music on whatever platform, buying a CD, interacting with my social media posts, and telling other folks when you like what you hear. I pinch myself every day that I get to dedicate my life to the arts. To paraphrase a lesson from emergent strategy by adrienne maree brown, everything we do is practice ground to embody the worlds we envision and long for. The arts help spark that vision and feel that longing across our differences, together.
Many of us are experiencing grief, fear, numbness and even despair over the horrific violence in Gaza. Please know that you are not alone, and you hold power in this moment. People across the U.S. are calling for a ceasefire. There are many ways that you, with your unique voice, can get involved to embody a more just and peaceful world: call your representatives, make art, pray, join a protest, talk to your family, write, educate yourself, donate to humanitarian aid organizations and more. I’ve been calling and messaging representatives, educating myself online through organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, and grounding and processing through the arts, like this poem that came through while journaling:
I do not know your passions or what you believe the future of our world should look like. I do know that you have a voice in shaping it. Take care of yourself. The world needs you.
[the sound of ocean waves, birds and someone calling your name],
Jeri Katherine