When I perform before a seated audience such as in a concert hall or as a featured artist in a restaurant, bar, or coffeehouse, I put together a program using all original songs and instrumentals with stories and anecdotes tailored to the setting and audience.
If I perform for a special event with a theme I can also perform some songs that are related to the theme of the event.
Large Audience – Concert Hall, Music Festival, Outdoor Events
Medium Audience – Coffeehouse, Restaurant, Bar
Intimate Settings – House Performance, Special Events
Some of the original songs that I often perform:
My Real Home Our real homes are not the ones that we build of wood and stone in this world but the world of mountains and rivers and forests that built us. (And it can be best found “just outside the door”)
Magic In The Air Some of the things I love about each of the four seasons and why I look forward to the changes they bring.
Twilight Appreciation for the cycles of life. Comfort found in the passing of time, the turning of the earth, the rise and fall of the tide.
Burning Bright Before The Blue How can a song capture the intense beauty of a crisp bright blue autumn day? Not possible, but poets never stop trying . .
Nothing But The Wind Longing for an old friend intertwined with images of the natural surroundings that framed each of the stages of discovery, friendship, love, and loss.
Still On The Outside Always happy to be “out there” – sometimes don’t know why I ever come back in.
Wanderleia Theme song of a gypsy scholar – always curious about the other sides of life and wondering who or what may be out there, somewhere, wondering about us.
Old Vee Dubya Tribute to the few surviving outdated automobiles and commentary on our ongoing dubious romance with the internal combustion machine – can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em . . .
Waimea Love song about a distant place and time and dear friends that I will always remember.
I am also likely to include a few of my original wildlife songs in concert performances. Depending on the venue and occasion these could include:
The Chickadee Song A poetic journey through the seasons from late summer to deepest winter highlighting activities and adaptations of numerous native Minnesotan plants and animals in response to changes in the weather with the common theme being the hearty black-capped chickadee who stays active in Minnesota throughout the year.
Feathers and Scales A celebratory anthem extolling the wonders of the universe, the mystery of nature, the variety of wildlife on earth, and the happy realization that there will always be more to learn about and love in this world.
And I may include some of my original instrumentals such as:
Transcontinental Hop
Queso y Salsa
And many more . . .
Wild Songs 