hey yall! we’re going to do something a little different with this episode. i’m gonna get the announcements and updates over with first then present a collage of sounds from a recent morning i spent at one of our local agricultural fairs.
so first… the news along with the sounds of me and my neighbor david playing mandolins. his day job is designing fonts.
this fall, i’m teaching a songwriting class at the parlor room here in northampton, but if you don’t live here, the class is hybrid, and you can fully participate in real time via zoom. we’ll meet on sep 22, oct 6, oct 20, nov 3, nov 17, and on dec 1 we’ll have a public performance. i’ll be sharing the basic principles of my songwriting process, leading you through some lyrical and musical prompts, and helping you get going on developing your own process. extra fun bonus, you’ll meet and collaborate with other writers. for more info and to register click here.
i’m going to do some F*CK THAT! shows this year. dec 3 at SPACE in chicago, dec 7 at the iron horse in northampton, dec 19 at club passim in boston, and dec 21 at the jalopy theater in brooklyn. mark your calendars and save the dates! tickets will be on sale soon for boston, chicago and new york.
ALSO, for each of these shows, i am looking for a chorus of Cranky Carolers. you’ll join me onstage and sing along to the songs of F*CK THAT! wearing your worst anti-holiday outfits. you get a CD of F*CK THAT!, a hymnal, and the joy of being an anti-holiday comrade. if you’d like to join me, drop me a line erin@erinmckeown.com with your city in the subject line.
alright! that’s it for the news. if you’re reading, don’t forget to scroll down for the complete list of shows and my fabulous pop culture recommendations, ¡ME GUSTA! and everybody lookout because we have a few more fun shows to announce.
meantime, thank you for listening, reading, and subscribing however you choose to do it!
late august can be pretty dreamy here in western massachusetts. just-warm-enough-to-swim days balanced with just-crispy-enough nights. this year we have been lucky ducks, perfect days stringing together one after another. there’s a world where this is deserved and hard-earned from last year’s devastating floods, but our neighbors to the north in vermont continue to get hammered, so that logic doesn’t, ahem, hold water. climate change does not owe us anything.
given all that, the gratitude is high right now. and the icing on that gratitude cake is the start of fair season. where i live the next month of weekends are filled with agricultural fairs of all kinds and sizes. last weekend, i decided to visit one that i hadn’t been to before and try to bring you some of the flavor.
this is one of those episodes where if you just read it or just listen to it, you’ll be missing half the action. so venture to the other side of the farm and check out the audio or visuals you have been missing.
below are some photos, all taken with permission. and you’re about to hear a collage of audio that i captured while i enjoyed the fair. there’s a lawn tractor pull, a mini-horse pull, poultry and livestock displays, and livestock competitions.
a last note, i am sharing all this unironically. i know people often have some ulterior motive when they present rural life to a wider audience - to make fun of people with less education or resources, to make a political point, or as a kind of exotic human-zoo - but these folks are friends and neighbors and a community i have happily lived in for more than 20 years. i genuinely appreciate the skill, time, and money it takes to compete and show at the fair. and these traditions are not just for entertainment, they reflect the practices developed over generations in order to thrive in a rural life.
enjoy this taste of the fair!
and some carl content of course:
… he chair! like a man!
¡ME GUSTA! : SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS!
omg laura benanti you. are. a. gift!!
a fascinating history of lawn ornaments (the good, the bad, the racist).
i played field hockey in HS and have retained a love for it even though i haven’t picked up a stick in almost 30 years. field hockey these days is at a spicy crossroads. and… points to anyone who can guess what position i played. (to find the answer scroll to the bottom of this post)
i’ve been on an (unusual for me) fiction kick. i tore through the whalebone theatre (early 20th century epic that is a love letter to theater) and the book of harlan (mid 20th century epic about community, trauma, and family of all sorts).
i’m currently reading the unexpectedly wild (and wonderfully annotated) memoirs of theatre composer mary rodgers (daughter of richard, mother of adam guettel). hold on to your hat, she is a talented, wry, underrated genius. the best parts of selina meyer, without the bully-ing.
speaking of… like everyone else, i recently re-watched the entirety of VEEP. worth every foul-mouthed, brilliant minute.
i did not need this article to tell me that people experience two moments of rapid aging… around 44 and 60.
i love giant branded automobiles!
UPCOMING SHOWS
now - June 2026 - Fredericksburg VA
Fredericksburg Area Museum
Out And About: The Walk-in Closet
VISIT
Sep 26 - Greenfield MA
Greenfield Community College
supporting the GCC Food Pantry
FREE but donations encouraged
INFO & REGISTRATION
Sep 22-Dec 1, 2024 - Northampton MA
6 Week Songwriting Class - In Person or Hybrid via Zoom
INFO & REGISTRATION
Nov 22-24, 2024 - Portland ME
Speaking and Performing at NERFA
INFO & REGISTRATION
December 3, 2024 - Chicago IL
F*CK THAT! Anti-Holiday Spectacular @ SPACE
Save The Date! Tix Onsale Soon!
December 7, 2024 - Northampton MA
F*CK THAT! Anti-Holiday Spectacular @ Iron Horse
TICKETS
December 19, 2024 - Boston MA
F*CK THAT! Anti-Holiday Spectacular @ Club Passim
Save The Date! Tix Onsale Soon!
December 21, 2024 - Brooklyn NY
F*CK THAT! Anti-Holiday Spectacular @ Jalopy Theatre
Save The Date! Tix Onsale Soon!
Reminder, Erin does not appear in productions of Miss You Like Hell
i was a link, the field-hockey specific name for a mid-fielder. in soccer terms, i was more of an attacking mid-fielder. and i even scored a few goals!
a morning at the fair