Ok. It’s official. I’m not a natural born “blogger”. I find it so challenging just to keep up with the pace of reality these days (or has it always been ‘these days’?) I can’t bear the thought of having to recollect it all in any sort of order and type it out. So you’ll just have to bear with my intermittent memory. Once again it’s all a blur....but it’s been a full couple of months to say the least!
So I think my last entry was just prior to my Austin gig with Rodney Crowell. It was a fundraiser for “Healthy Child Healthy World” and of course anything with Rodney Crowell is already stellar! 
We performed at a “green” house in Austin built by Stanley Lerman, an ecologically designed contemporary sanctuary.
This is Stan. He’s quite an amazing guy, having also been a successful clothing designer, as well as a master of yoga! 
Here I am with Anne Robertson from Healthy Child Healthy World, and Rodney Crowell. I serve on the Board of HCHW. It’s a great organization!
And this is our Executive Director Christopher Gavigan. We are holding up the just released “Healthy Child Healthy World” which Christopher authored. This book is a MUST HAVE for families, especially those with small children. Don’t walk. Run out and buy it. Or order it from Amazon. Having been touched by cancer twice in my life I have been very drawn to learning about toxins that are all around us in our culture. I have to say this book covers a multitude of information on how to keep your family and yourself safe! Visit healthychild.org for more information!
Next fun adventure to talk about was this year’s BNC Creativity Stargaze! What an amazing group this year. There were so many talented people and some great surprises!
We started off with a cookout on Friday night. Thanks to Rocky doing all the cooking...except for my roasting my own marshmallows! Here are some of the workshop attendees!
Here’s Amy checking in the troops! This is Lisa Ashook signing up...Lisa is one talented lady! (So is Amy...)
Below is Anna Wolfe hanging with her hot dog at the cookout on Friday night.
We also got a chance to view the rings of Saturn on Friday night. There’s nothing a peek into a huge telescope to give you some perspective.
This is Eddie Wohlford and his lovely daughter Katie. Eddie and I used to play in a band back in the seventies called “Harmony”. This band was the hottest ticket in town in Montgomery Alabama. We played in the “Kegler’s Kove” lounge...4 hours a night six nights a week. I played there for almost 2 years! That was like going to “song college”. I’m so glad Ed and Katie could be at the Stargaze this year!
So “Blasting Off With Beth” was the first class of the day on Saturday.
This was a really fun group. Good listeners!
We all had divine lunches by Gabrielle on Saturday and Sunday.
Here’s Gabrielle explaining the mouthwatering organic food to the creative geniuses!
One of the coolest things about the Stargaze is that it is an international gathering. This year featured some incredible talent from Northern Ireland. 
This is Brian Houston and Eilidh Patterson, both from Belfast, who performed a great tune they wrote together.
There was also some spontaneous post-lunch frolicking that was initiated by Anna. This was probably due to an abundance of creative energy brought on by the fab food and overall inspiration of spring! 
And then it was on to Rocky’s talk about the universe. This is always mind-bending and it’s a great wake up call for the part of us that wants to take things too seriously. Rocky’s a great songwriter and producer of records. You’d never know that when you’re listening to him being an astronomer. How does he do it all? 
This year’s Drive-by-hit-songwriters included the perennial favorite Bill Lloyd who always blows everyone away.
And on Saturday evening we were graced with a lecture by none other than Mike Reid, who truly charmed everyone with his sense of humor while exhibiting such diversity and breathtaking songs...including “I Can’t Make You Love Me” which he performed.
One of our surprise guests was Craig King. I met Craig a couple years ago. He’s astonishing! Not only does he work with the likes of Ludicris and Kanye West, he possesses an otherworldly expanse of talent on the piano. It made me so happy to introduce Craig and Mike Reid to eachother, both extraordinary, and each so respectful of the other’s talent. 
Talk about some creative skills! I would stand between these two guys for days! Below is Anna, Paul Reisler and Ernest, my son.
This year we pulled Master Songwriting instructor Paul Reisler back into the Stargazer. Paul’s become one of the most in demand teachers around. He’s just so good! I got wonderful feedback from students on his comprehensive focused instruction. We work well together as a tag team. 
So thanks to everyone for coming this year and being a part of making the Stargazer 2008 really special! 
Here’s to next year!!!!!
Ok....after the Stargazer I headed to speak at the Alabama Writer’s Conference in Monroeville, Alabama. That was really cool....there were poets and authors there too.
And then it was on to Montgomery Alabama to perform at the Capri Theater for a fundraiser for that old theater that was just across the street from my ninth grade classroom. It was great to see old friends and be a part of saving that wonderful old theater!
Here’s a shot of my sisters Barbara and Beverly who I turned into the merch-queens of the evening! 
This week I head to the Festival of Homiletics in Minneapolis where I’ll be doing several presentations of song and speaking about the creative spirit.
In addition to performing in the round with authors, sermon writers, and poets, I’ll be presenting a workshop with Naomi Tutu on creativity. Here’s a little explanation about that.
Stepping Out In Faith
Presented by Naomi Tutu and Beth Nielsen Chapman
Naomi Tutu and Beth Nielsen Chapman will conduct a workshop together on the power of dropping into the heart and listening to the guiding voice of spirit. Beth’s songs, interspersed with story and insights from Beth and Naomi, will explore both creative expression and preaching from the perspective of Divinity in action. In the process of song-writing, Beth describes the moment of inspiration as ‘lift off’, or a feeling like ‘divine intervention’. In preparing to preach, Naomi’s approach is to “read and reread whatever the selected texts are for that day and listen to what they say to me”, and then to put them away and find the thread from the center of the heart and follow it. This method of opening up to trust in the guidance of spirit is empowering and allows for the greatest sense of free flowing creative expression.
Well, that’s all folks! Check for updates! Next month I’m going to the Yukon...I can certainly say I’ve not been bored since I can remember!
Oh yeah! I’m signing off with two great shots from a fundraiser I sang at this past March. This was such a blast! And it was for a great cause...to support John Hall for re-election to Congress. Here I am playing in “the band” of my dreams! 
With Bonnie Raitt, John Hall and Hutch Hutchison...with cameo appearance by Jackson Brown!
:)BNC
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
BNC Newsflash and Catch up!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Creativity Stargaze 2008
SIGN UP NOW
BNC Songwriting & Creativity Stargaze 2008!
Sponsored by Performing Songwriter Magazine
Hey! We’re back with a bang in 2008! Come to the Stargaze and re-align your creative power. Two and a half days and evenings of incredible hands-on classes in songwriting, creativity boosting, and performance at the historic Dyer Observatory in Brentwood, Tennessee. Bonfires, guitar/piano pulls, incredible organic lunches, powerful instruction, Drive-By Hit Songwriters, critiques, and tons of inspiration all for $325! If you are a member of NSAI(Nashville Songwriter’s Association International) you can knock off fifty bucks and get in for $275!
Are you stuck in a creative rut? Find the thread that leads to your deepest expression. Sit with legendary songwriters and learn about their creative process.
Take Beth’s magical mystery tour through the creative process where you will come to unlock the powerful creative spirit within you. Acquire new tools and learn to step fully into the mastery of your skills. Through critique of student’s songs and lecture, Beth will also address how to protect your creative flow in the face of letting your songs “cross the street” from art to commerce without getting hit by the mack truck of the music business.
But you don’t have to be a professional songwriter to love this workshop. Any form of creativity may apply! This adventure includes tips, tools, song critiques, guitar-pulling, (and keyboard pulling!) bonfires, story swapping, and spontaneous “Drive-By-Hit-Songwriters” not to mention incredible home cooked organic lunch each day by Gabrielle Middlestadt. 
Friday evening will be more like a casual cookout/guitar pull and bring your own beverage kind of thing. Then get ready for Gabrielle’s delectable heavenly lunches Saturday and Sunday.
Historic Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory sits perched atop one of the
highest hills in Nashville. The observatory is nestled in a park-like
setting of native oaks, walnuts and hickory trees. At Dyer, people of
all ages discover the wonders of the universe through the largest
telescope in Tennessee, the Seyfert Telescope. The grounds are a
perfect place for relaxation and contemplation. Dyer is known for
bringing science and art together with events such as Bluebird on The
Mountain. This concert series has become Nashville's most popular
outdoor venue for singer/songwriter concerts.
At Stargaze 2008 we will be introduced to the magic of the Star Chamber!
Renowned artist Chris Drury has created a one-of-a-kind sculpture at
the Observatory.
The 200 ton structure is made from native stone, hand carved timbers,
and is a marvel to contemplate. The sculpture is a camera-obscura,
seated inside the chamber, the top that allows images from the sky and
horizon to be reflected onto white-washed walls of the interior. The
chamber also functions as a huge sundial which marks the passing of the seasons by projecting a noon-day image of the sun in an analemma. There in the Star Chamber Beth will lead a class on how to use your voice. We’ll do some “toning” which centers on the power of the vowel especially as it applies to finding the words inside a melody. Yes, we’re going to walk inside this amazing igloo-shaped rock which will take you to a place in your center. From there will come some insights about how to sing from that same center.
Hotels Nearby
Some great little hotels are all around the Observatory. Here are some we can vouch for!
Comfort Inn and Suites
615-221-5001
5566 Franklin Pike
Brentwood, Tn. 37027
Mainstay Suites
615-371-8477
107 Brentwood Blvd
Brentwood, Tn. 37027
Candlewood Suites
800-633-8464
5129 Virginia Way
Brentwood, Tn. 37027
Steeplechase Inn
615-373-8585
5581 Franklin Pike Circle
Brentwood, Tn. 37027
Travel and lodging and dinner in the evening is not included (except for the “casual” weinie roast on Friday night during the sign-up). But the lunches will be astonishing!
Drive-By-Hit-Songwriter-Geniuses!
During the BNC Creativity Stargaze, we will feature a few great “drive-by-geniuses” of songwriting and recording fame, INCLUDING: Mike Reid! Mike is the writer of countless hits and also created musicals for theater. Mike co-wrote “I Can’t Make You Love Me” for Bonnie Raitt! Here’s Mike and I a few years back after I sang that song when he was inducted into the Hall Of Fame! 
And we’ll have some other legends as well, such as Bill Lloyd (Crazy Over You {Foster & Lloyd}) Bill Lloyd will wow you with his “Forest Gump” eclectic ability in all styles of music and his infectious tunes, as well as advice on the ins and out of pushing the boundaries of country, pop and rock.
AND!
Marshall Chapman (Betty’s Bein’ Bad, and the author of “Goodbye Little Rock and Roller”. Marshall Chapman will be doing a “Drive-by” and playing you some of her incredible songs and talking about her writing process. If we’re lucky she will also give us some sneak previews of her upcoming book “They Came To Nashville” which is sure to enlighten any aspiring writer!
We also celebrate the return of Annie Roboff,
(“This Kiss”, “If My Heart Had Wings”). 
Annie Roboff will also be stopping by for a quick co-writing class with Beth. Writer of countless hits including “This Kiss”, written with Beth and Robin Lerner, Beth and Annie will let you in on some of their experiences as a co-writing team.
Master Class With Paul Reisler
Paul Reisler, one of the most popular songwriting teachers in North America provides a comprehensive and wonderfully digestible wealth of knowledge about songwriting and song structure. A teacher for many years and in high demand, Paul, songwriter, composer, songwriting teacher and founder of the musical group Trapezoid is also the founder and creator of “Kid Pan Alley” This past March, Kid Pan Alley was featured on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” Here’s star songwriting teacher Paul Reisler!
AND ROCKY!
This year we also have back astonishing astronomer-genius and caretaker of the Observatory, Rocky Alvey, who will lead us across the universe as we tour the magnificent skies at night looking through the telescope at incredible galaxies, moons and planets. There’s nothing like the vast expanse of the cosmos out there to mirror the vast expanse of the inner cosmos of creativity.
Rocky Alvey is infinitely engaging with his astounding knowledge of the universe. It’s just impossible to explain how he can warp your sense of dimensions with what’s out there in the great sky of stars. You have to see it for yourself! It will make you realize the ultimate beauty of creativity at its finest level!
So don’t miss the fun! Availability won’t last long! Sign up early because we have a limited amount of space and the space will go fast! Just download the registration form and send with a check for deposit to:
BNC CREATIVITY STARGAZE
PO Box 58156
Nashville, Tn.
37205
or sign up online. Instructions are all on the bethnielsenchapman.com website!
OH! And if you are a member of NSAI (The Nashville Songwriter’s Association International) you get $50 off the registration fee! If you are not a member you can become one and also qualify! So for $275 you can come for the whole she-bang!
See you there!! Love, BNC
Sunday, March 30, 2008
April 19th-Austin Texas: Beth and Rodney Crowell perform for the "Healthy Child Healthy World" benefit.
Child Healthy World"
April 19th, Austin Texas, "Healthy 
Beth is on the Board Of Directors of "Healthy Child". Check out their amazing "website.
Barnes and Noble Loves Prism!
PRISM: THE HUMAN FAMILY SONGBOOK
Beth Neilsen Chapman
BNC Records
Inspired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu's concept of a common humanity, Beth Neilsen Chapman continues a spiritual journey that began even before her celebrated 2004 collection of Catholic hymns, Hymns, with the moving meditations on life and death she penned in the wake of her husband's passing and unveiled on her powerful 1997 CD, Sand and Water. Exploring the universal spiritual light infusing diverse religions, Chapman here presents two discs of music. Disc 1 is comprised of original and traditional songs that examine the common ground shared by all faiths, sometimes within the same song (the propulsive, percussive "The Mystery"); each in its own way demonstrates as well a common humanity informing the different styles of music on this disc--pop-country on "God Is In (Goddess In)," hip-hop on "My Religion," a stately, stirring reading of the Protestant hymn "For the Beauty," and so forth, all rendered seamlessly, with conviction as profoundly deep as it is lovingly understated. Disc 2 takes the same tack, but with a critical difference: the yearnings expressed are similar to those on Disc 1, but on Disc 2 Chapman goes global, singing songs centered on the spiritual quest in nine different languages, including English (the stark, a cappella rendering of "The Flame"), Zulu, Welsh (her voice an ethereal near-whisper in a tender old Gaelic hymn, "Durrow"), Farsi, and others. She concludes her ambitious journey with a solemn "Navajo Chant" to summon the Great Spirit, as Bobby Klein adds a rumbling, commanding baritone vocal, accompanied only by John Ragusa's airy flute lines carrying these souls' humble appeal aloft, as if on an eagle's wings, born ceaselessy to a place where there'll be no distinction, but rather an embrace of all as one. Remarkable and challenging, Prism is the stuff of life, and Beth Neilsen Chapman's finest hour. -David McGee
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Hello World
Hello world! I’m writing this from Harlech, Wales. I’ve been hanging here for a few days working on the BNC Big Book of Songs. I’m hoping to have a fairly comprehensive songbook completed soon with the help of Maartin Allcock. I’ve had to wait until Maart finished Richard Thompson’s songbook, which is not thin!
Prior to Wales I spent four days in Belfast with some of my best friends in the world. “Kieran Goss & Friends” was being filmed at the Belfast Opera House and allowed me the opportunity to perform with my buddies for three sold out nights!
L to R: Kimmie Rhodes, Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast Bernie Kelly, Rodney Crowell, Kieran Goss, me and Brendan Murphy.
Me with Kimmie, Rodney and Bernie.
So after all that fun I made my way to Wales, land of the incredible sunsets. This one was taken by Maart. It’s just about in his backyard. The front yard is leaping with baby lambs. 
Yesterday we went to Porthmadog, the nearby town from which came all the slate “to roof the world”. In the nearby Glaslyn valley live the only nesting pair of Ospreys in the whole of Wales!
Here I am looking at the telescope. But the Osprey couple isn’t due back until next week. I’ll just miss them!
Next week I’ll be heading to the Royal Albert Hall to perform with Kris Kristofferson. Can’t wait for that! Rodney Crowell, Brendan Murphy and I went to hear Kris last week at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Just Kris and his guitar. We were just blown away with his performance. Song after song. And those songs. Wow.
Oh, and before we leave Wales, let’s not forget about one of the prize cooking ingredients of roast potatoes, Goose Fat! (a French idea apparently), and in the upper left hand corner shelf we also have Lavabread which is Welsh seaweed. Part of a traditional Welsh breakfast!
Ok, besides that, I’ll be heading back to Austin, Texas to perform at an event for “Healthy Child, Healthy World” on April 19th. It will be held at a wonderful newly finished “green” home. Rodney Crowell will be performing as well. Check out this amazing organization.
I’m very proud to serve on its Board Of Directors. Having come through breast cancer I became extremely interested in what toxic stuff is all around us in this day and age. The HCHW website is chock-full of great information to help protect families from dangerous chemicals in the environment, many of which are considered “safe”.
And last but not least! Don’t forget about the upcoming Creativity Stargaze!
Sign up for the Stargaze HERE!
Monday, February 25, 2008
BNC in the news at SESAC
SESAC singer/songwriter extraordinaire Beth Nielsen Chapman stopped by the SESAC headquarters to celebrate the release of her latest CD, Prism. Chapman, responsible for penning such hits as Faith Hill’s “This Kiss”, Martina McBride’s “Happy Girl” and Willie Nelson’s “Ain’t Necessarily So”, among many others, is currently embarking on a packed tour schedule in support of her new CD release. 
PHOTO: Kay Williams
Beth Nielsen Chapman and SESAC’s Tim Fink
Beth Nielsen Chapman Celebrates Release of Her CD, Prism
Catch Beth Live in Concert
Fri, February 22nd
Alabama Hall of Fame, Montgomery
Sun, March 2nd
The Eisemann Center Women in Film.Dallas presents The Topaz Awards Gala, Richardson
Mon, March 10th
3rd and Lindsley . Belfast/Nashville Sister Cities concert. BNC with Foy Vance and Ben Glover, Mary Gauthier, Brian Houston, Eilidh Patterson and Bill Lloyd., Nashville
Wed, March 12th
SXSW, Austin
Thu, March 20th
Grand Opera House, Belfast
IRELAND
Fri, March 21st
Grand Opera House, Belfast
IRELAND
Sat, March 22nd
Grand Opera House, Belfast
IRELAND
Wed, April 2nd
Royal Albert Hall, London
England
Thu, April 17th
Second Presbyterian Church, Nashville
Sat, April 26th
Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory, Nashville
The Montreal Gazette Reviews "PRISM"
BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN
Prism
BNC/Thirty Tigers/Red
On this two-CD concept album, Beth Nielsen Chapman, who’s provided hits for Bonnie Raitt, Faith Hill and many others, sings beautifully while exploring the worlds of spirituality and religion from a pluralistic perspective. Most of the first disc is devoted to contemporary songs – many of them her own – which seek to find common ground among all the major religions. On the second, and more interesting, CD, she performs a dozen songs borrowed from various religious traditions: Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Zulu, Hindu, Native American and more. While her renditions are well-researched, her performances hardly feel like academic exercises. It’s quite remarkable how seamlessly the songs flow together. ***1/2
Podworthy: Pilgrim of Sorrow
--MIKE REGENSTREIF
Mike Regenstreif
Acting Editor: Ottawa Jewish Bulletin
Music Reviewer: Montreal Gazette
Music Reviewer: Sing Out Magazine
Host/Producer: Folk Roots/Folk Branches features, CKUT radio
mikeregenstreif@rogers.com
235 Metcalfe Ave. #402
Westmount, QC
H3Z 2H8
800 Riddell Ave. N. #303
Ottawa, ON
K2A 2V9
http://www.myspace.com/ckutfolk
