Dear Friends,

Greetings from Chicago!

Here is a brief summary of my musical universe.

I’ll be performing Feb. 12th at the Two Way Street Coffee House, in Downers Grove. Additional appearances include performing at 1^st Unitarian Church in Chicago on Feb. 14th where I will lead a musical service on Forgiveness, and both concert and services at James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Church in Madison. March has a slew of concerts some of which are listed on the tour dates page and still others will be posted in the next few weeks.

The new Joe Jencks CD: Poets. Philosophers, Workers and Wanderers will be available sometime later in the spring. I was hoping to have the CD in my hands today, but it has been unavoidably delayed. The audio is done and it sounds GREAT! I can’t wait to share it with you. As soon as the graphics and artwork are complete, it will roll closer toward done. For those of you who pre-ordered the CD, THANKS for your patience! I promise it will be worth the wait!

Ireland – I will be leading another trip to Ireland in October 3rd through the 12^th. The tour company I am working with – Inishfree Tours – is amazing. We work well together and it is going to be a really fun trip. I’ll get some more pictures posted soon from last October’s adventure. Please write to me for details. Send a note with: Ireland 2016 to joe@joejencks.com, and I’ll get you more info. For those still waiting for a reply from last month – please send another note to me if you like – but I will also sift through last months replies and get back to you on a first come basis.

As we creep one step closer toward spring, I think about all of the natural, artistic and religious symbolism of this time. Fields are fallow, trees appear dormant, and in some communities Lent is observed. It is a time of gentle awakening and preparation for what is to come. But even in the bleakness of this midwinter, we know that buds are starting to push through and form on trees, the ground is being restored by the fallow period, and the days are getting longer. It is easy to mistake February as a month when nothing is happening. But in truth, it is the quiet month in which deep growth and evolution occur, preparing us for the coming spring.

May it be so!

In Gratitude and Song,

Joe Jencks