Dear Friends in Music,

I am excited to be hitting the road again. As with many things, life is a hybrid right now. LIVE and Live-Streamed. Ups and downs. Sun and Rain. Mixed emotions and thoughts as we open up, and eager to see dear friends and community – and make new friends. So many losses even still, and so many unexpected moments of wonder and gifts of gentle grace during the Pandemic. I am grateful to still be making music through it all. And grateful for all of you.

I need to hit the road, so this newsletter is mostly focused on tour updates. I’ll be back to essays next month! But please do read through for a poem from Langston Hughes. I am honored to share a birthday (February 1st) with this amazing poet, writer, artist, scholar, organizer, and activist. And his words and poems are for me, not unlike the writings of Kahlil Gibran, personal scripture. He was born on February 1st, 1901. I am considerably younger.

Upcoming shows & broadcasts:

February 18th (Friday), FOLKUS Concerts in Syracuse. In person ONLY.
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/joe-jencks-tickets-220611022507
Concert Website: http://folkus.org/shows/upcoming-shows/show/joe-jencks

February 19th (Saturday), Online ONLY – Joe Jencks & Rod MacDonald co-bill for Peoples’ Voice Café, NYC Purchase Tickets for this one via: https://www.peoplesvoicecafe.org/

February 26th (Saturday), UUCA Coffee House, Atlanta, GA – Online ONLY
Joe Jencks in concert with some lovely musicians from the community opening. The event starts at 7:00 PM ET. Joe’s set at 7:30 PM ET. View on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AxnzyvcVDM&ab_channel=UUCAtl

On March 1st (Tuesday)I will begin teaching a four-week course on Songwriting as Journalism through the Caffe Lena School of Music. Very excited about this. A course I have taught at many summer programs and music camps and even at a few universities. But since this course will be online ONLY – anyone who wants to up their game on writing and explore a new approach to thinking about songs can sign up. For more information and a course description, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/caffe-lena-school-of-music-songwriting-as-journalism-with-joe-jencks-tickets-265469796307

March 2nd (Wednesday) I will off a concert for Off Square Concerts in Woodstock, IL In-Person and Online – Hybrid. Come out or stay in. You choose! Stage Left Cafe is at 125 Van Buren St., Woodstock, on the historic Woodstock Square. 7:30 PM CT
Tickets & Info: https://offsquaremusic.org/event/1st-wednesdays-concert-series/#tribe-tickets
And you can also watch via my YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/CrlShKeNLfo

Additional Joe Jencks concert dates upcoming in March, 2022
March 11th, 8^th Step Concerts at Proctors in Schenectady, NY
March 12th, Clearwater Walkabout Coffee House in White Plains, NY
March 13th, Halcyon Arts in Amherst, MA
More in the next newsletter and updates ongoing at: www.joejencks.com
Donation links for PayPal, Square, and Venmo are on the home-page.

I hope to see you at one or several of these concerts and events, in person or online. It has been a lean time for a lot of folks, especially in the arts. Please continue to support the artists and arts organizations that you love. It only looks like things are returning to normal. We’re not quite there yet, friends. And I thank you for your extraordinary generosity and kind, stalwart support. We all keep giving the best that we have, and it all keeps moving forward!

In Gratitude & Song,

~ Joe Jencks (2-17-22)

I Look At The World
By Langston Hughes

I look at the world

From awakening eyes in a black face—

And this is what I see:

This fenced-off narrow space

Assigned to me.

I look then at the silly walls

Through dark eyes in a dark face—

And this is what I know:

That all these walls oppression builds

Will have to go!

I look at my own body

With eyes no longer blind—

And I see that my own hands can make

The world that's in my mind.

Then let us hurry, comrades,

The road to find.

~~~~~

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