DREAMERS, LOVERS, OUTLAWS: The Latest Word/News

Hello, and welcome to those who have just joined us for the first time.

A REPORT FROM LENA's
The big show at Caffe Lena was a wonderful event and fun to have on Father’s Day, especially with Christine and Siobhan’s brother Aidan of Friction Farm opening the show. Despite the feeling that the place was overrun by Quinns there were only 7 in the room, including the performers! Why this feeling? Caffe Lena is what we’d call our “home” gig. It always sells out, it is always filled with long-term and new fans, and we always make a point of greeting everyone we possibly can prior to the show, we know you as old friends. It generates a wonderful feeling and one can almost feel the walls sending out the music from the last 50 years into the audience. It’s a special place for us and there generally tends to be a sign on the door “Sold Out… NO ROOM. DO NOT LINE UP.” Our fans drive from well over 100 miles away, booking their tickets long in advance. We’re grateful to the fans and friends who make the trek to see us there and we’re honored, too, that the staff at Caffe Lena feels the same way about us as we do about them! Sarah cares deeply for the legacy of Lena and provides a home away from home for the evening of the gig.

And as a special treat, Ben Murray joined us on stage for the entire evening as well--celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Two Rivers recording, released at Caffe Lena in 1999 to another sold out show. (You can get that recording on CDbaby.com, it's a classic!)

Local audio reporter Joel Patterson did a special interview with us just before the event, and is working on a piece celebrating our performance there. What a great guy! The following was also posted from unexpected to the South Florida Folk listserv the very next day:

---
The history of Lena permeates every corner of this small, but legendary mecca of acoustic music. The Cafe is almost fifty years young and it still breathes hope and energy, many times each month.

Last night was a 'family' get together on Phila Street in Saratoga Springs. The Quinns, about 25 of them took over the place.

Siobhan Quinn and Michael Bowers, with Ben Murray were the featured act. Aidan Quinn and Christine Stay, Friction Farm, opened the party.

Aidan and Christine command any stage they're on. Their appreciable force is gently delivered with keen lyrics and beautiful melodies, with a hint of humor to mitigate the seriousness of some of their material. Fresh from a well received and lauded show in Florida, this duo set the tone for the evening, warming the crowd for the headliners.

Siobhan is an entertainer, with a voice that can truly be described as an instrument. Whether it's folk, jazz or blues, she delivers her music with passion and impeccable timing. Michael, now her partner in life for the last 5 years, composes with insight and spirit. His musicianship is impressive. Joining the duo was Ben Murray, a wonderful guitarist, writer and performer. Together this trio presented a concert that was stellar, spontaneous and rich with quality renditions of original material. They also played music of others they admire. Their 'Tom Kimmel' number "Walk the Walk" would make TK smile.

Thank you Sarah and the many volunteers who make Caffe Lena a reality.
The sound was truly delicious. Kudos to the fine engineer!
At one with the music,
Leni and David"
---------

Many thanks to Leni and David for posting!

We're sorry if you tried to come to the show but were turned away at the door, we hope we'll see you either at Lena's (book early!) or another gig soon. Oh! And a very VERY happy birthday to Jo who brought along 12 people with her to celebrate the dreaded birthday. : ) Congrats!

And so on to the rest of the summer
This summer we will be in Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Colorado, and New Hampshire. We will also be participating in The Songwriters TeleSummit: Essential Career Strategies for Songwriters and Performers.


UPCOMING DATES: for more information see calendar page

June 27th
This weekend we’ll be in two locations… Alexandria, VA & Glenside, PA. If you’re close by we’d love to see you!

Saturday, June 27th, 2009
Del Ray Music Festival, Mount Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, VA
11am -12 noon
Free city festival

Glenside House Concerts, 8pm
Glenside, PA
Close to capacity, but still a few seats left
Donation: $15 RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
Series run by Hosts Ken Yavit & Donna Ryder
Reservations required

Friday, July 3
Private Concert
Arlington, VA
Siobhan and Michael will give a special private concert for a father-son duo of returning veterans & their friends/family. We’re looking forward to it!

JULY: Siobhan attends to her own further voice education at Shenandoah Conservatory, VA.

Sunday, July 26th, 2009
The Swannanoa Gathering
Contemporary Folk Week/Guitar Week
Warren Wilson College
Swannanoa NC
Price: Week long camp- through Aug 1
Contemporary Folk Week & Guitar Week run concurrently and are a wonderful community gathering and opportunity to learn from so many great instructors in both programs (cross-registration is allowed!)

This year: types of vocal workshops...
Vocal Clinic A, "The Flexible Voice" which is an introduction to voice and a reminder of all you knew once. 
Vocal Clinic B: "It's All About the Song"--- Where we concentrate very specifically on vocal performance in song-- intended for prior students of Vocal Clinic A.
PLEASE NOTE: OUR "FLEXIBLE VOICE" & "ALL ABOUT THE SONG" CLASSES ARE ENTIRELY SOLD OUT AGAIN, BUT A WAITING LIST IS AVAILABLE AND ADVISED.
**If you intended to come to Swannanoa specifically for vocal work with Siobhan and cannot get into either class, please do contact her directly. **

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Faculty Performance! Swannanoa Gathering
Be aware that there are sometimes concert date changes during the weeklong events.
Siobhan Quinn & Michael Bowers, Kathy Mattea, Vance Gilbert, Peter Mulvey, Kate Campbell, David Roth, Cliff Eberhardt, Anais Mitchell, Sara Hickman, Jon Vezner, Ray Chesna. 7pm
Warren Wilson College
Swannanoa NC
Price: Open to the public. See Warren Wilson College website.

Sunday, August 9-12th 2009
Rocky Mountain Song School,
Preceding the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival at Planet Bluegrass
Lyons, Colorado.


AUGUST 16-22nd, 2009
Boston’s WUMB's Summer Acoustic Music Week
ALL DAY/ALL WEEK CAMP
Vocal workshops...
"The Flexible Voice" & Performance Workshop a full week in beautiful New Hampshire!
Siobhan Quinn & Michael Bowers, Tom MacKenzie, John Kirk, Reverend Robert Jones, Bennett Hammond, Lorraine Hammond, The Kennedys, Brooks Williams.
SAMW takes place at Geneva Point Center, 108 Geneva Point Road Moultonborough NH http://www.wumb.org/samw/

AUGUST 22 & 23, 2009
The Songwriters TeleSummit: Essential Career Strategies for Songwriters and Performers
Location: Your pool. Bring margaritas.
While there is simply no substitute for a weeklong intensive, this gives a really good overview of many, many different areas of creativity and the business of music, and can be a wonderful addition to any of your week-long retreats as an extra nurturing push even for those attending those workshops as well.

The Songwriters TeleSummit is a great weekend workshop/tele conference. So many interesting people will be participating and for those of you who just cannot get away for the week at Swannanoa or to New Hampshire & SAMW, this provides an opportunity for you to participate in a powerhouse bunch of hour-long workshops. In times like these it is sometimes difficult to carve out the much needed creative time to develop our craft as songwriters, let alone find the information any of us need to build and manage our careers. This format provides a flexibility that may suit your summer schedule. Again, this is a teleconference.... you can sit at home, at the beach, or on a mountaintop and participate.

The folks at TeleSummits.com and Art of the Song have put together a low impact high yield weekend for us that will certainly inform not only our creative expression, but help us understand best practices in making money through our art through the invaluable experiences of the presenters; all of whom are currently working in the field and have a wealth of experience to share.

Check out the stellar line-up & workshops by following this link. http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1007108

AND, just in case the dog needs a walk or you want to jump in the pool...*all* the calls are recorded and made available for downloading within the week. And that's included in the price.

Michael Bowers’ teleconference workshop
Personal to Universal: from journal writing to a song all can relate to
Songwriters struggle to find their unique voice as a writer--and sometimes to find any voice at all! This session will focus on methods that will help you bring your unique perspective and voice to your writing. You will take away tools and resources that will allow you to discover, focus, and present your ideas, your way, within the structure and form of modern acoustically based music.
At the end of this session you will not only be able to look back at your body of work and see how your voice has emerged, and you will be empowered to make choices about how you wish to reflect your unique voice in the songs you have yet to write!

Siobhan Quinn’s teleconference workshop
Interpreting and Personalizing a Song in Performance
AKA: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SONG: Getting to your best vocal performance
Songwriters work very hard to craft their song lyrics and accompaniments. Sometimes we work so hard on these that we only squeeze in the vocal interpretation of our song as an afterthought. Whether it's your first or 1000th song, we often protect ourselves by putting up barriers between the lyric, emotion and voice.
This session will focus on Siobhan's successful process of getting your own voice to reflect the unique emotional center and perspective of your song, whatever the style: from heart wrenching ballads to humor, or dripping sarcasm. By the end of the hour you will be well on the journey towards creating a landscape of emotion with your voice and empowering your audience with the ability to feel the perspective and emotion you are trying to convey.


Other workshops the same weekend will include:
Romancing the Muse,
Performance Anxiety: techniques to unleash your best performance,
Self Care for Musicians: staying supported and sane,
How to Make a Viable Tour from the Resources in Reach
Getting Your Music in Film and on TV
How to Make Money: using your gifts to support you
Alternatives to touring and the label’s perspective
As well as Recording on a Budget: how to get your best work recorded—with our friend Tom Prasada Rao.

Look here for more information: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1007108

If you choose to sign up for the program, please use the link above to do so. Thanks! Many thanks to John & Viv at Art of the Song for including us in this.


OPPORTUNITIES & SUGGESTIONS
INTERESTED IN HOSTING A CONCERT OR HAVE AN IDEA FOR ONE?
If you would like to host a house concert or workshop, or you would like to have us come to your town, please email us! We can send you all the information you need.

WORKSHOPS
There are oh so many…. From Grant applications to non-profit administration, from participatory oral history to songwriting, please contact us if you are interested in the list.

VOICE LESSONS /VOCAL WORKSHOPS
When at home in Alexandria, VA, Siobhán teaches individuals, as well as coaching artistic performance for special gigs and recordings. Her careful attention to each individual is renowned with many long-term students as well as occasional students. Workshop attendees often return year after year learning new tools each time.
If you would like to explore private lessons, a consultation in preparation for your recording or special performance she would be happy to talk to you about her process. If you would like to schedule a lesson in Alexandria or elsewhere this fall, now is the time to do so.
A profoundly versatile vocalist and teacher, Siobhan writes and performs songs in folk, blues and adult contemporary pop styles and performs with Michael Bowers.

Outside of folk music, Siobhan is a known dynamic singer of Chicago & New Orleans style electric blues and has performed many other styles from jazz and big band to r&b, and rock; early song to renaissance music, and medieval madrigals in five languages. She has toured nationally and internationally. Sought by workshops all over the country, she has taught at such programs as WUMB Summer Acoustic Music Week, Kerrville Folk Festival, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Song School, NERFA, Great American Masters Music Industry Workshop, Summersongs & Wintersongs songwriting retreats. Her Swannanoa vocal workshop (sold out again) is always in high demand. Awarded a WAMMIE for Best Traditional Folk Vocalist, Siobhan has also been a top-five songwriting finalist in the prestigious Boston Folk Festival Songwriting and (with Michael Bowers) Kerrville New Folk Competitions and Emerging Artist at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.

If you would like to participate in or present one of Siobhan’s vocal workshops or a Siobhan & Michael performance workshop either as a stand-alone event or in conjunction with a Siobhan Quinn & Michael Bowers concert, please contact us!


As always, thank you for your support for us and all independent musicians.
Enjoy the summer!

Siobhan & Michael

Thanks for all your support as always, and we'll see you down the road...or in the case of next weekend, in a worldwide webcast Los Angeles, California, Local time. Be sure to read below if you are intending to sign on. Yes, Kulak's takes comments and cheers online... and will read them as well!

Siobhan & Michael

THIS FRIDAY, LIVE WEBCAST FROM KULAK's WOODSHED
(North Hollywood, CA) where we'll open for our friend Severin Browne. Watch from anywhere int he world! You *do* have to sign up to see it 24 hours in advance read on...

Friday, June 5, 2009 at Kulak's Woodshed, 8pm - 10pm *Pacific time*
5230 1/2 Laurel Canyon Blvd., North Hollywood, CA
(818) 766-9913
We will open the evening. Severin Browne and his band (Jeff Kossack, David Stone, Alex Del Zoppo, Gary Popenoe and Mike Bisch) will close the night.
Please Note: It's a pretty cool gig guys....and you can watch the show from ANYWHERE in the world, but due to problems with city ordinances, Kulak's Woodshed has (temporarily at least) had to become a private club; so you must join to be able to be present. Membership is just $5, but you must sign up no less than 24 hours in advance. To do that, simply go to www.kulakswoodshed.com and follow the simple instructions for membership. Once you're signed up, you'll never have to worry about it again.
Live Webcast at www.KulaksWoodshed.com!
The WAY cool thing about this show is that they do a multi camera angle webcast. So you can watch from ANYWHERE!
Frighteningly, you can also heckle from anywhere. Paul... don't get any ideas. : ) Thanks for the invite Sev!

June 6, 2009 - Saturday: DUNCAN HOUSE CONCERTS, VENTURA, CA. $15

really looking forward to this night!
FROM THEIR MYSPACE: Reservations are required, so please RSVP via email to scottd13 ---at---roadrunner.com (preferred) or call us at 805-323-5157 (leave msg).

"A big personal favorite, if you love great voices and harmonies, this is the duo for you. Together, in 2007, Siobhan Quinn and Michael Bowers have been selected as Kerrville New Folk Finalists, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artists, Southwest Regional Folk Alliance Formal Showcase Artists, Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Formal Showcase Artists, Performance Alley (formal showcase) Artists at the International Folk Alliance Conference, and Alternates for the FAR West Folk Alliance Conference. They both were instructors at the Rocky Mountain Song School this year, and performed on the Wildflower stage at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. Clearly, this duo is on the rise!Just e-mail us to be invited to these wonderful music parties."
scottd13@roadrunner.com to be invited to the party!
Saturday, June 20th, 2009

Caffe Lena
Fifth Anniversary Show: Siobhan Quinn, Michael Bowers, Ben Murray.
Phila Street
Saratoga Springs NY
SPECIAL SHOW WITH SIOBHAN QUINN, MICHAEL BOWERS & BEN MURRAY
It's Siobhan & Michael's 5th anniversary weekend and the 10th anniversary of the recording Two Rivers. Our Shows at Lena's are always full in advance at Caffe Lena so reserve early!!!! REALLY, reserve early.

Hello To everyone!

We’ve been working and writing and getting ready for the summer music season—and it’s here. We’ll be in Texas (tonight!), North Carolina, California, Pennsylvania, and in a neighborhood near you, we’re almost certain….

We started off the year in Costa Rica, writing for a week with Darrell Scott and Mary Gauthier, and a group of old (and new) friends. Michael has spent time writing with Tom Prasada-Rao. Siobhan has been busy with Paul Reisler and Kid Pan Alley, arts and education programs for kids (as you might guess). And now, we off to shows.

Today, May 9, is Siobhan’s birthday. We'll celebrate Michael's birthday, too! Since his is just a few days later. Our birthday week has commenced with stop in San Antonio, TX.

Saturday, MAY 9
Urban Campfires / San Antonio House Concerts
Siobhan & Michael's Birthday bash in Texas! - 7pm Brackenridge Park
(the cozy Lion's Field)
San Antonio TX

Sunday, May 17th, 2009
Mountain Spirit Coffeehouse
Doors, 6:30pm/ Show 7pm
UU Asheville: Congregation Hall
Asheville NC 28801
Ticket sales are limited to 200 to maintain a small, intimate performance. Donations at the door are generally$12-15 for adults, $8-10 for students

Saturday, May 30th, 2009
Washington Folk Festival
1:45-2:15
Glen Echo Park
Washington DC

Sunday, May 31st, 2009
Alexandria Spring Festival & Craft Fair
Music 1-4pm, Our set begins at 2pm!
Market Square (King Street)
Alexandria VA 22314
Benefitting the Alexandria Volunteer Bureau, this takes place on one of the oldest marketplace sites in America.

Siobhan Quinn and Michael Bowers


1. Upcoming Events--Where We Are Going
2. Looking Back Briefly--Where We Have Been
3. Summer Thoughts--on Songwriting and Faith

1. Upcoming Shows and Events--Where We are Going

UNCLE CALVIN'S COFFEEHOUSE
FRIDAY, JULY 25
Dallas, TX
Link: http://unclecalvins.org/

We LOVE this venue, and are really looking forward to being in Texas, if only for a short time. For those Texans on the list, come on out and see us...

SATURDAY, JULY 26
We're doing a private show out somewhere between Aledo and Fort
Worth, TX.

SUNDAY, JULY 27-FRIDAY, AUG 1
Asheville, NC
Teaching at Swannanoa Gathering, Warren Wilson College

SATURDAY, AUG 2
Nashville, TN
Private show, Opening of Studio for photographer Karan Simpson--
She did all the photos for our album, Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws, and is an absolutely great photographer...check her out at
www.mimosaarts.com

SUNDAY, AUG 10-17
Rocky Mountain Song School and Folks Festival
Lyons, CO
An annual pilgrimage for us, and a wonderful place to re-charge and
re-focus.

September--
We'll be at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs Sept. 13, but we'll send
you another newsletter and reminder before then. Mark your calendars now, though...

2. Where We Have Been

We haven't written in a while--we had a great show at the Birchmere (check the photo page of our website for a few shots...
www.dreamersloversandoutlaws.com). Thanks again to Wyn Walke for his fine playing with us, and to Michael Jaworek for asking us to play there.

We had a wonderful (and very rainy) time at the Mountville Folk
Festival. Many thanks to Andrew McKnight for his incredible work to make this festival happen every year.

IRELAND--was wonderful...and also rainy (is there a theme here?)
Michael has put a few photos on his Facebook page of Ireland (go take a look, and if you are on Facebook, become friends with him!! (Michael says, "I need all the friends I can get.") The photos will give you just a taste of what we saw while we were there. It was absolutely gorgeous. We weren't ready to go when we left, so we're definitely going to be back. Want to come?


LONDON--Siobhan attended the conference of the British Voice
Association. She is now becoming an official "vocal geek." Seriously, studying the voice is a passion of hers at present, and teaching it as well. (She wrote about five paragraphs here for you to read all about the conference (and we mean ALL about it, but
Michael edited it out.) But for all of you who might be in one of her
vocal clinics--watch out!!! She's loaded...And if you are interested
in hosting one, well she has the goods.

Needless to say, it's been a busy summer, and it's not over...and in
between the trips, we saw Michael's daughter, Sarah, graduate from high school. Passages and transitions for all of us.

3. Thoughts in the Heat--on Songwriting (from Michael)

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about songwriting, and how
much it reflects who we are as people. Faith is holding on to
something you can't see, or even if you can only glimpse it,
perceiving it as fully formed.

In that light, I've come to see songwriting as a supreme act of
faith. In order to write a "true" song, the songwriter, I think, has
to believe harder than anyone else...at least if the song is going to carry forward and have "legs" over time. It doesn't even matter what you are believing about (I mean, you can believe in "Feeling Groovy" harder than anyone else and write a song that will last, right?).

What does matter is that you are believing enough, and in a focused
way, to capture the transcendence and essence of whatever it is you
are writing about.

What I've come to see about my own writing is that I border on the
trite, or the expected, or the cliché, when I'm being lazy, or not
believing. The only way to write a song--what I call a "true" song,
is in a spirit of awareness and focus, and as an act of faith. My
challenge is to believe enough to carry to completion what I start,
with the care and honor that any act of creativity deserves. And it's
been a bigger challenge for me lately.

We got home from Ireland, and Siobhan asked me what I needed to do my best work. My answer was simple: "I need a reason." But the reason only comes from faith, in the universe, in myself, in that essential energy of creation. I'm looking forward to drinking from the well at some of my favorite places over the next few weeks. I know the "reason" comes from within, but it will be great to be surrounded by kindred spirits.

And that's enough for this round. We hope your summer is going
wonderfully...keep on believing. We hope to see you soon somewhere on the road!

Happy…um... Roman Lupercalia festival?!?!

It is said by the wise authors of History.com that in ancient Rome, “February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus.” I’m pretty sure Michael will be concerned if I start sprinkling salt & spelt around the place, so instead we’re cleaning closets and writing for a new cd. You yourself can avoid your own closet cleaning by writing songs, coming to a workshop or one of our upcoming gigs.

In late January Siobhan went back up to the Troy area to help her father prepare for a retrospective exhibition of his work in Berkeley, California. Lots of new discoveries … (“You designed a luxury hotel in Italy?!?!?! I never knew that!”). We had a lovely time up in Pennsylvania last weekend presenting a vocal workshop and performance at Acoustic Brew in Lemont, just outside of State College. We made new friends and reconnected with past acquaintances. The remainder of February is chock full of events and we’ll be taking some time to write new material in March. Read on for our upcoming events. We hope to see you soon.

1. VALENTINE’S NIGHT GIG!
2. STRATHMORE & THE WAMMIES
3. NEW JERSEY/ CONNECTICUT
4. SANTA FE GIG / VOCAL WORKSHOP
FINAL: HEADS UP FOR THOSE IN THE NORTHEAST:

1. VALENTINE’S NIGHT GIG!
FEBRUARY 14, 7-9pm. Second Thursday SAW Concert Series at The Atheneum in Alexandria, VA. with openers: Rick, Audrey, & Dayana (cello) of Sense of Wonder, and Patricia Cooper, harpist. Dessert & drinks will be available. The Ghost of Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi (…er Valentino) will definitely make an appearance…at least in song. www.nvaff.org, $10.

2. STRATHMORE & THE WAMMIES
February 17, afternoon: Strathmore is like a “modern version” of the tremendous Troy Music Hall. But it isn’t just a music hall, it’s an education center as well—come to the Discover Strathmore Festival on Sunday and you can watch sculptors at work, join a sing-along and even take a bow on the Music Center stage to thunderous applause! While you’re there you can check out the songwriters’ stage and catch the following line-up:
Discover Strathmore Festival on Sunday (We're on 2:15 - 3:15 p.m) Free!

February 17, Sunday Night, 8pm. As many of you know, we are thrilled to have been nominated for WAMMIES both for Best Contemporary Folk Duo/Group, and Best Contemporary Folk CD for Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws. Siobhan was also nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Vocalist. THE place to be on Sunday February 17 is the The 22nd Annual Wammie Awards at the State Theater in Falls Church. We’re really looking forward to a great party celebrating all the nominees from folk to rock and blues to classical and jazz! www.wamadc.com


3. NEW JERSEY/ CONNECTICUT
On February 22 we’ll be back in New Jersey at the Minstrel Coffeehouse.
A truly lovely space, tucked away on a back road in New Jersey, not too far from New York. These fans are lovers of tradition so Siobhan might just sneak a traditional Irish song in the set when no one's expecting it. Andy Goessling opens. www.folkproject.org

February 23rd we’ll be at Good Folk Coffeehouse, Rowayton, CT. Come Hear — Come Eat — Come Enjoy! Good Folk — Good Food! Doors Open @ 7:30 p.m. -- Music Starts @ 8:00 p.m. Adult Donation: $20 - Children 7 to 12 half price - Under 7 free. No reservation necessary. Rowayton United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 5 Pennoyer

SANTA FE GIG / VOCAL WORKSHOP
Friday, February 29: Concert La Tierra (House Concert).
Saturday, March 1: Vocal Workshop. High Desert Guitars. 4 to 6 PM, $25.

FINAL: HEADS UP FOR THOSE IN THE NORTHEAST:
Saturday April 26, Siobhan will also be doing a Flexible Voice vocal workshop at Folk Project in New Jersey

Saturday April 26, Opening for Colin Hay (from the band, Men at Work) at Sanctuary Concerts, NJ.

Hope to see you soon!
Siobhan & Michael

Welcome to 2008!

Happy New Year!

We wanted to be among the first to wish you the best of New Years in 2008. 2007 was great for us, and we hope as you reflect back it was a good year for you. Now, we move into resolutions and planning, and looking forward to the seasons ahead.

We ran across a quote that struck us as very relevant for this time of year. It was attributed to Edmund Burke, and read, "The greatest mistake is made by the one who does nothing, because he could only do a little." In 2008, we want to take that idea to heart. Our resolution is to do what we can, even if it is a little, because if everyone did that--well, it's better than compounding interest in savings. The planet wouldn't be the same.

As always, welcome to those who are new to our mailing list and newsletter. We'll never spam you, or give your email to anyone else.
If you wish to be removed from the list, there are easy ways to do that, and feel free to let us know. Our goal is to keep you informed about what's happening with our music...not to bother you.

1. WAMMIE NOMINATIONS
2. BIRCHMERE DATE
3. 333 PHOTOS
4. BACA SHOWCASE
5. UPCOMING SHOWS

1. WASHINGTON AREA MUSIC ASSOCIATION

The Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) recently announced the nominations for 2007. We are honored to have been nominated for both Best Contemporary Folk Duo/Group, and Best Contemporary Folk CD for Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws. Siobhan was also nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Vocalist. The WAMMIES, as they are called, are the Washington DC area equivalent to the Grammy Awards. The awards show, where the winners will be announced, will be on February 17th. Keep your fingers crossed for us--and if you are a WAMA member, vote for us--but do it quickly. The deadline for ballots is tomorrow, January 2nd.

2. BIRCHMERE DATE

We are very excited to announce that we have been booked to open for Hal Ketchum at the Birchmere Music Hall--one of the premier music clubs in the US. It is an honor to be able to play that stage, and to open for Hal. That's not happening until May, so you'll hear more about it before the date, but we wanted you to know about it now.

3. 333 PHOTOS

We put up a few photos of our performance at the 333 Coffeehouse in Annapolis, Maryland, that we played on December 21st. It was a very nice evening, and we appreciate, Jane Meneely for inviting us. The venue and folks there are wonderful, and if you are in the Annapolis area and haven't been there to hear the music--by all means, go!
You'll love it.

We know we have a lot of photos up overall, by the way, but you'll look at what interests you, and skip the rest. We like to remember and recognize the places we've played, and hope you enjoy them.

Check them out at www.dreamersloversandoutlaws.com, and click on photos.

4. BACHA SHOWCASE

We'll be headed to Massachusetts in a couple of weeks (January 13) to play a brief set at a showcase for the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association. This showcase is important for us, because the venues--the Boston area coffeehouse coffeehouse coordinators, committees, etc., will be there to listen and deciding if they might like to have us come play at their venues. It's not a public show--open to members of BACHA only, but if you happen to be a member, we'd love to see you there...and, this is another time when we'd ask you to keep your fingers crossed for us.

5. UPCOMING SHOWS

Aside from the BACHA showcase, we'll be doing several important shows in the coming couple of months. Here's a short list:

February 9 -- Acoustic Brew, State College, PA
February 14 -- The Athenaeum, Alexandria, VA
February 17 -- Strathmore Music Hall, Rockville, MD
February 22 -- Minstrel Coffeehouse, NJ

You can check out our schedule at www.dreamersloversandoutlaws and click on "calendar/schedule" for more details on each of these, and other shows that are upcoming.

We're also pleased to announce that later in the spring we'll be opening for Colin Hay (from the band, Men at Work) at Sanctuary Concerts. We'll give you more about that--and more--later.

Finally, a reminder for all our friends from Song School in Lyons,
Colorado: remember, Song School sells out, so make your reservations now. We want to see all of you in August, and since we've just passed the season of "no room at the inn" we don't want an encore of that scenario in August, in Colorado.

Ditto, by the way, for the Swannanoa crowd. Contemporary Folk week classes do fill up, so as soon as you can, reserve your place there as well.

We'll see you all down the road--and remember, do what you can. If we all do a little, the world can change.

As always, check out www.dreamersloversandoutlaws.com for the latest information.

Siobhan and Michael

Siobhan Quinn and Michael Bowers
December, 2007 Newsletter


Hello everyone—

Somehow, it turned into December before we knew it. We hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful—we had a great time! Now it’s on to the year-end holidays that we all celebrate in one way or another, and the new year. 2007 flew by, and it was filled with good things for us. We are grateful to all of you for you support of our music.

Contents in this note:

1. Year End Shows
2. New Pics on Website
3. Ireland…Update
4. New Year Wishes

1. Year End Shows: Alexandria, VA, and Annapolis, MD

We’ll be playing a co-bill with Mae Robertson and Jim Ohlschmidt at Focus in Alexandria Sunday night, December 9 at 7 pm. We’d really love to see you there if you live in the DC area. Details and directions can be found at http://www.focusmusic.org/Schedule.html#Alexandria.

333 Coffeehouse, Annapolis, Maryland, Friday, December 21, at 8:00 p.m.

We are very excited to be visiting Annapolis on the Solstice! We’re working on some special songs to celebrate the season, and look forward to seeing you there. Details at: http://ceimd.com/php/public.php.

Also, Siobhan will be singing at IMT on December 10, in Rockville, MD, in support of Joe Jencks and his great new CD. Details available at: http://www.imtfolk.org/html/imt_about.html.

We’re going to be doing a lot of shows around the country in 2008, and we’re very excited about the way the schedule is shaping up. Take a look at what we’ve listed so far (not everything is up there, but you’ll see how it’s coming together) at www.dreamersloversandoutlaws.com.

2. Photos

There are some new photos up on our website of performances at the IMT concert at the end of October, and the formal showcase at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) in November. Thanks to Mark Ginsberg for snapping the photos at IMT, and Neale Eckstein for taking the shots at NERFA. We really appreciate it when folks help us memorialize our performances with photos.

3. Ireland—

We’re most disappointed to announce that we’re not going to be able to lead the tour to Ireland in May. There are a number of reasons for this, and we really appreciate all the folks who were signed up to go with us. We’re sending referrals to two of our friends who will be leading tours there next year, Joe Jencks and Cosy Sheridan. We hope everyone will be able to be accommodated in those groups.

4. New Years’ Wishes

We are so very thankful for the recognitions and good things that have come to us in 2007, and we are very aware that we are blessed richly with friends, health, and family. As we move into 2008, we give you our best wishes and thoughts for happiness, health, and well, plenty of growth experiences. We at least know that we’ll all have one of those three things, and we hope that all of us make the best of it when it comes!

Last year, we recorded and emailed an mp3 of a rough version of “Let It Come” as our holiday wish for all of you, and we’re going to do our very best to have an encore—with a different song this time, of course, before the end of the year. At least that is our intention, although we know sometimes life gets in the way. Whether in song or word, we wish for all of you creativity and inspiration. May we all look to follow the greatest parts of who we are in the days and years ahead.

Siobhan and Michael

We had a wonderful show last night at the Institute of Musical Traditions. The sound was wonderful, the crowd enthusiastic, and playing music with Brooks Williams is always a joy. Thanks to David Eisner, Art for the sound, Bernard for inviting us to play at IMT, and Loralyn and al the volunteers for their support of the venue.

If you are in the DC area, check out the Monday night concert series with IMT. The shows should not be missed.

We are back and very tired...but a very good tired, from a busy weekend. The quick trip to do a workshop and play a show at the Sand Lake Performing Arts Center in upstate NY was wonderful. The workshop participants were energetic, the house was full for the show, and we enjoyed working again with Ben Murray.

Then, we drove halfway home, (stopped at 3 a.m. for a few hours sleep), and made our way to Takoma Park, for the Takoma Park Folk Festival, to do a set there on the Grove Stage. We love that festival, and the community there!

It was great to see folks who traveled from Delaware to come to the show at TPFF(!) as well as many others we know and love.

And for the both events, the weather was stellar. The festival, outdoors, was 70 and sunny.. You simply cannot ask for better than that!

Next Saturday we host the Songwriter's Exchange at Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia. Come on down and we'll talk about songwriting, and work on a tune or two. It's sponsored by the Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW), a great organization.

Now, it's off to bed, and more soon. We have a busy fall, and we'll have the full schedule up soon. SWERFA formal showcase, Institute of Musical Traditions, NERFA Formal Showcase, FOCUS, Alexandria, 333 Coffeehouse in Annapolis (to list the shows we can thing of now, in our sleep deprived state...)

Thanks to all who are supporting our music and encouraging us...we'll keep doing our best to write and present great music!!

September, 2007 Newsletter
Siobhan Quinn and Michael Bowers


1. Summer Happenings (Brief Report)
2. SWRFA, NERFA, and beyond!!
3. Upcoming Shows, NY, MD Alert this coming weekend!!
4. Looking down the Road—Shows later this fall
5. Opposite Corners

1. What we did this Summer (not exactly a vacation!!)

All the kids are back at school giving their summer report, so we figured we’d give a brief update as well. Last time we wrote, we were headed to Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and Swannanoa. In a word, both of these events were wonderful. It rained a bit at Falcon Ridge, but the Emerging Artist showcase was great, and we were honored to be among that crowd of great artists.

We had to leave NY before Falcon Ridge was over to get to North Carolina, where Siobhan was teaching voice at the Swannanoa Gathering. The week was really a delight. Students and faculty all commented on the quality of the time we had together. Siobhan’s vocal classes were overfull, and wait-listed even after she added more spots. It’s good to be loved!

After being home for three days to do laundry—and a great gig at Vic’s Music Corner (even though it was 102 degrees outside that day) where we were joined by our friend Ron Goad on percussion-- we headed to the Rocky Mountain Song School and Festival. Both Michael and Siobhan were instructors at the Song School this year. We also had a set on the Wildflower Stage of the festival with our friends Annie Wenz and Anna Wolfe---it was an honor to play at the festival, and to teach at the school. As a bonus, Darrell Scott asked all Song School instructors to join him on the stage during his set. If you don’t know Darrell’s music, please check it out. His new album Invisible Man is a great listening journey. Well, we promise you do know some of his music, you may just not know he was the writer of some of the songs…anyway, go to his site, and enjoy what you find!

Now, we’re back in the east, taking care of business, but still playing music…(see #3 for shows next weekend).

2. SWRFA, NERFA, and beyond

This year has been filled with a wealth of truly wonderful moments and they just continue to build. We are very honored and pleased to announce that we have been selected as formal showcase artists for both the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance Conference, and the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference. In a word, it is a challenge to be chosen for these juried showcases where we have the opportunity to play for venue bookers (and our fellow artists) in a professional setting. This has been quite a year for us in terms of recognition—Performance Alley at the large Folk Alliance Conference (NERFA’s reps for that event), Kerrville New Folk Finalists, Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist Showase, and now SWRFA and NERFA Formal Showcases. It is both delightful and humbling…thanks to everyone who has given us such a great year. And while we are honored at the recognition, it is our goal to write and perform with more excellence every day. So stay tuned—we plan on being better every time you see us!!

3. Upcoming Workshop & Shows—Upstate NY, and MD alert September 15-16.

This coming weekend, on September 15, we’ll be in upstate New York at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, at the Squire Jacob Concert Series. Information on the show (reservations suggested) can be found at http://www.slca-ctp.org/QuinnBowers.htm. We’re also doing a songwriting & vocal performance workshop on Saturday afternoon on “The Great Songwriting Challenge.” If you are at all interested in songwriting, or engaged as a songwriter, come on out!!

Then, rushing back in the middle of the night (almost literally), we’ll play a set in the afternoon of Sunday, September 16, at the Takoma Park Folk Festival in Takoma Park, MD. Information on the TPFF can be found at: http://tpff.org/07/index_spring.htm.

On September 22, Saturday, we’ll be hosting/leading the Songwriters Exchange for the Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW). Info at www.saw.org

4. Looking Ahead—

In October, we’ll be at the SWRFA conference, and at the Institute of Musical Traditions (IMT) in Maryland for a CD Release show in MD (we actually haven’t done one in MD yet for Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws. We’ll be on a co-bill with our good friend Brooks Williams…an amazing guitar player…more to come on that later. In November, it’s NERFA, and a pause for Thanksgiving. December we play at the 333 Coffeehouse in Annapolis, MD, and FOCUS in Alexandria. We’ll give you more about all of these shows as the time comes nearer.

5. Opposite Corners

Michael used to live in Olney, MD. 20 miles north of Washington, DC, the area has a rich history dating from colonial times, through the civil war, as a stop on the Underground Railroad. The last two weekends when we have gone to pick up Sarah (Michael’s 17 year old daughter) to go hiking on Saturday morning, we’ve encountered groups of people standing on opposite corners, waving signs at each other, and at the traffic as it passes by. As you might guess, the issues addressed on the signs have to do with the war in Iraq. Some signs say, “Bring Them Home,” and some say “Support the Surge.

Amazingly, in the space of only one week, it seems the signs have become more personal and belligerent…yesterday the escalation was a sign that said, “Peaceniks—Freedom’s Parasites.” There also seemed to be some “space bullying” going on, with groups with one set of signs seeming to be trying to take over, or come into the space of folks holding the other set of signs. I’ll let you guess which side is being more aggressive in their language and space encroachment…

Although we won’t be in town next weekend to go witness what happens, our prediction will be more of the same, probably on both sides in the end.

We couldn’t help but think when we drove by that these folks, regardless of their signs, probably have a lot more in common than not. And our guess is that six years ago this week, they would’ve stood as one, holding candles, holding hands, affirming solidarity as common citizens in the wake of the fallen towers.

What happened? And how did we let politicians of whatever stripe lead us down the road of focusing on our differences and our divisions, rather than our commonalities?

We thought about what it would be like to go stand in the middle, between the two groups, to express these questions. Of course, between those two groups is the busiest intersection in that little town, and we’d get run over pretty quickly. It dawned on us, talking on our hike, that we’d probably inadvertently recognized a truth—people who stand in the middle of folks committed to arguing or fighting over their differences may in fact be the first to fall. Again, how did it happen that individuals who commit to stand in the breach end up fighting a two front war? And what can be done about that?

After this second consecutive weekend of seeing this demonstration of difference (and yes, if forced to choose a side we do have one), we wondered, aside from standing in the middle of a busy intersection, how we could make our point about what we saw happening.

One idea Michael had was to create our own signs, and go stand with both groups. The best ideas we’ve had for our signs so far are: “YARD SALE HERE!!” or, “SIGNS FOR SALE: CHEAP!!!” or maybe the infamous, “HOORAY FOR OUR SIDE!!” Maybe you can come up with other signs that would make the point. Maybe finding alternative signs is a silly idea. But is it any more silly than trying to make a difference by standing on a street corner waving signs at one another? Isn’t there a better way to make one’s point—and wouldn’t it be better overall to try to find some common ground, instead of waving signs—if for no other reason than this week, in honor and remembrance of September 11, 2001? Or, maybe we’ve been reduced to the belief that waving signs is the point. We sure hope not.

There has to be a third way. Together, it would be great if we could find it. We know that we’ll be out there singing our way through it. We hope to see you around.

Michael and Siobhan

We've put up three new photos from the SAW/BMI showcase earlier this week. That was a fun evening and we salute Jean Bayou and Ron Goad for their work, Michael Yugo for the fine work and space at 219, and Fred Cannon of BMI.

Yes, Michael picked out the shirt. And he still likes it, no matter what Siobhan says (although he thinks she's coming around).

We're wrapping up the Every Cobblestone Tells a Story project. Some very interesting songs came from the community on this, and we wrote a few as well. We'll try to put some rough mixes of rather rudimentary versions of a song or two in the next couple of weeks. Please note, we said, "try." There's a lot going on, surprisingly Siobhan's voice lessons continue at a very fast pace for the summer, and we're gearing up for other projects as well. More later.

Siobhan has had several songs "in the can" for a while now, released only in a very limited edition previously with Ben Murray. Those songs, and a couple of unreleased ones (including This Kind of Love) will be released later this summer on a new disc, entitled, "Siobhan Quinn: Most Requested!" We're excited to be able to offer this solo recording of Siobhan's singing and song selection. You're gonna love it!

Information on ordering and release date will be forthcoming in our next monthly newsletter. And, if you are not on our mailing list, and want to be, make sure you sign our guest book with that request.

Stay cool in this hot summer!! And stay dry if you're down in the Texas rain!

We are very pleased to announce that we have been selected to perform in the Emerging Artist Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in July. Check out falconridgefolk.com for more info about this world class, internationally renowned festival. We hope to see you there!

And, by the way, if you want to get on our monthly email newsletter list, sign our guest book. We try to mail out news about the third week of every month.

Well, we are back from Kerrville...where it rained, and rained, and rained. After two days of solid rain, we still managed to get 3 inches more in about 45 minutes once. There were a few hours when it didn't rain, but for the most part, it was not the usual heat and sun that we experience in Texas. For a while it was so bad Turtle Creek overflowed the highway into the Ranch, and no one could come or go for a few hours.

Kerrville overall, though, was very good to us. We played our songs, we got a very nice standing ovation, we sold lots of CDs, and we were asked to play gigs...several of them, in the future, and we're looking to book them over the next few weeks.

All that said, check the photo page for some shots of us on stage at Kerrville.

Siobhan is hard a work on finishing her grant, "Every Cobblestone Tells a Story," with workshops and performances coming up in the next week and a half or so.

We'll be performing as part of that project next Sunday here in Alexandria...details available through the Del Ray School of Music.

For Father's Day weekend we're taking off, to head to Nashville, to be with Michael's father for his 80th birthday. We'll be going to the Grand Ole Opry, and taking a riverboat cruise in Nashville as part of the celebration. It should be fun!

We're also pleased that the CD continues to get steady airplay on folk radio. We're a bit surprised that the Ballad of Bill Ballou is getting almost as much play as Let It Come...who knew?

At any rate, we hope to see you around some shows soon, or at Swannanoa, or at the Rocky Mountain Song School, where Siobhan and Michael are scheduled to work as faculty.

Have fun this summer!!!

What a great day at the Festival. We thank Dan Grove very much for the chance to play there, and the weather for (mostly) cooperating. It did get a bit windy....ok, perhaps that's an understatement, one booth even blew over....but we do have photos--not sure if they're eligible for public consumption, because we kind of had a "tail wind" on the stage, and there's a strong possibility that we will not be recognizable the way our hair was blowing into our faces, but if there are any worth posting, we will.

Tomorrow night it's up to Frederick, MD, for a short showcase set, then on Thursday, we fly to Kerrville Texas for the folk festival. We hope to see you around!!

Well, we've put some great new photos up on the site...many many thanks to John Cromie for all the shots of Caffe Lena that you'll see. Michael took the rest of the new ones.

We've gotten a great reception on folk radio. Thanks to all the DJs who are spinning Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws! We appreciate it very much.

This Sunday we play at the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, and then, only a few days after, head for Kerrville, Texas. We look forward to seeing several of you there at the Ranch!

Check out the photos!

Hudson Harding Music is servicing folk radio djs with Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws in the next two months. If you listen to folk radio shows, we'd love it if you'd call or email the DJs and ask them to give the tracks of the disc a spin on their shows.

We'll also be sending to other radio outlets, and to press for reviews this month. If you know of any reporter/reviewer that you believe would be interested in reviewing DLO, let us know.

Thanks for all the kind notes we've been getting. We'll see many of you in Kerrville in just a few weeks. We can't wait!!

We were pleased to be informed today that we were selected as Finalists in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition.

The competition has 800 entries (entries are cut off at 800), and the 32 Finalists play the songs they submitted live before judges and a very large and enthusiastic audience at the festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Memorial Day weekend.

It is quite an honor to be selected, and among the finalists this year happen to be many friends whose music we love. That makes the "competition" component of this event a bit more odd for us. It both is, and isn't a competition. Above all else, it is a celebration of songwriting, and being selected is in itself the "prize" for us.

This is Michael's second time to be selected as a Finalist, and the first time for us as a duo. The songs we submitted were, "Let It Come," and "Valentino's Ghost." If you haven't, go over to the Listening Room tab, and listen to clips of these sounds.

We wish the best to all Finalists....and to all who entered. Let's all keep writing, and celebrating the song.

m

Hello all--

We'll be sending a newsletter out in a few days--we just returned from a great CD release at Caffe Lena and our work in NM (thanks to Dan for his support there). However, we did want to list that Let It Come received national airplay on 51 Percent, an internationally syndicated NPR program (over 130 stations in the U.S. and Canada, and Armed Forces Radio). Thanks to the host, Mary Darcy, for recognizing Siobhan (the program is about women) and featuring the song. We are very pleased and humbled.

m