[ From Butch Ross ] All kinds of online goodness this week!

[News, info and tourdates for Butch Ross]

Ok, so before I get the good stuff where you can see me (and my very
special guests) just wanna give you a quick reminder that both of my
Christmas records are up online at here:
https://butchross.bandcamp.com/album/the-dulcimer-christmas-card
and here:
https://butchross.bandcamp.com/album/a-crash-bang-dulcimer-christmas

I've kind of always wanted my Christmas CDs to be available a la carte and
in an indirect way they are now. You can listen to every song from both
"The Dulcimer Christmas Card" and "A Crash Bang Christmas." and then
just pick the ones you want to hear. You can make your own mixtape, with
the added bonus of being able to explain to your grandkids what the heck a
mixtape was. :-)

Okay, on to the live stuff.

Tuesday, Dec 22  (That's Tonight) - I'll be closing out the Quarantine
Christmas Concert (you've been watching right?) with some special guests.
https://www.virtualdulcimerfest.com/christmasconcert

On Wednesday the 23rd - I'll be the opening act for
"Loopsgiving." Loopsgiving is both a celebration of the holidays and
loop-based artistry, coupled with the launch of MKR.world. Mkr is an
organization designed to help artists work with technology to create new
music, new genres even and potentially new career paths in this fully
digital (and frequently isolated) age. But MORE IMPORTANTLY it has a heavy
focus on education geared towards the less fortunate and disenfranchised as
a means of bootstrapping themselves.

What does that mean in Non-startup speak? Come see folks who are way better
at looping than I am and then learn how this organization plans to teach
the next generation to make a name for themselves combining their
musical talent with technology to do things we can't even imagine. These
are good guys doing a great thing, and you're going to be amazed at what
these guys do. https://www.facebook.com/events/442726726727725/

On the night of Christmas I'll be live and in-person at the Chattanooga
Brewing Company: https://www.chattabrew.com from 6-8pm. This is a pretty
low-key affair, and I don't say that to minimize the importance of the gig:
This is a great pub, with great beer they made, run by wonderful people.
It's just that this year, a low-key affair, coupled with getting away from
your family for a bit (in a socially-distance safe space, of course), might
be just what the doctor ordered.

Then, on December 27th @7pm, I'll be contributing to a tribute concert for
Maddie MacNeil. Maddie is one the most influential and important dulcimer
players to grace the dulcimer community. She founded Dulcimer Players News
and mentored a surprising number of people who are VERY important to our
humble community of strummers. So I froze my butt off on the first actual
snowfall in Tennessee to record a little something in her honor. Check it
out, I'm pretty sure it's free https://www.sendinthemusic.com/

Finally, some of you may know that Wendy Songe has had some serious health
problems lately. Not Covid-related, but as you can imagine complicated by
it, and needs serious, literal brain-surgery. She's in good spirits and her
doctor is optimistic about her outcome. But, like most of us, she has lost
months of income already and a full recovery will take up to six months,
 So if you're in a position to do something, no matter how small, consider
giving here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/for-our-sister-in-song-wendy-songe

This is likely my last email of the year. A year that has sucked
spectacularly. If any one of the 6 or 7 things that have impacted me and my
family's life in the last 12 months had happened in any other year, that
year would have been awful. But this year, when ALL of that has happened, I
consider myself blessed because I see all around me how much worse it could
be (tho' God knows this stupid, relentless year isn't over yet).

So I am deeply grateful to all of you who took workshops, watched shows,
left tips or contacted me out of the blue to see if I needed anything. That
(along with our amazing landlord) have allowed us to keep our heads above
water and keep moving forward in this terrible, terrible year.

There's new stuff coming next year including lots of Uke stuff, online
teaching and me FINALLY getting a Patreon page. But more on that once we've
bid 2020 farewell.

Thanks again for everything you guys do and have done. Stay safe, take care
of each other, wash your hands and wear a mask.

C-ya out there ...sometime soon, I hope

--Br
www.butchross.com

"Now I know what a dulcimer is supposed to sound like" —Jake Shimabukuro