 |
|
photo by Lauren Hill (circa 1996!)
Hello dear ones,
June will see us doing family shows in our beloved hometown of Northampton MA (on Father's Day, June 15) at the Parlor Room, and in the fine town of Tamworth, NH right on the Maine border (June 14)! See our schedule for details.
There is a very exciting reason why we are not traveling too much this summer to do shows and hanging out with you. Instead we are holing up in our studio to create a brand new song cycle for you! Meanwhile, we are (both!) writing songs for the new CD, tentatively titled I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill. (Or Last Night I Saw Joe Hill. Which title do you like better?) The songs are inspired by the life and work of Pete Seeger, and we hope to have a January 2015 release. Expect to see a lot more of us as we tour this new album.
Speaking of touring, we were on a panel at Nerissa's 25th Yale Reunion on the Music Business. We sang "This Town Is Wrong" with Derek Bermel on clarinet, Mark Miller on piano and Jen Jacobsen singing harmony. What did we learn from the panel? That if you want to go into music to get rich, choose another career. You go into music because you can't imagine doing anything else. That we all got squashed at some point, but because we love music (and probably because nothing holds a candle to its lure as career and the gifts it brings), we stayed with it.
Nerissa continues to blog regularly (almost daily in May!) in anticipation of the new CD. Check it out here.
Coming up in July: our annual show on (or near) Woody Guthrie's birthday at the West Cummington Church in West Cummington, MA. Expect to hear some of the new songs there.
Enjoy the roses! And the strawberries!
Love, Nerissa & Katryna
|
 We Endorse Katryna
So, summer is upon us.... The best way to keep our kids from repeating, "I'm bored" like a mantra is to place a stack of books next to them. To that end, my endorsements are all stolen from my kids. Here are some of their favorite reads these days: 1. My 9 year old is reading Hoot by Carl Hiassen. It takes place in Florida and has some suspense, mystery and intrigue. It keeps William up too late at night these days since he never wants to stop reading. He says there are two intertwining stories, one of which is more interesting to him. For some background, he just finished reading the Lightning Thief series by Rick Riordan which he LOVED. Other recent favorites include Shirley Link books by Ben Zackheim, the STAT books by Amar'e Stoudemire which are about his favorite subject- basketball, and Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman. 2. My 13 (!) year old is reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. You probably read it once too. It is SUCH a great book. She is also really loving incredibly depressing books about teenagers getting cancer. Then she wants to show me trailers of the movies that are based on the books. I cannot even get through a 3 minute trailer. But, teenagers seem to LOVE them. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder,and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.
 Nerissa
1. The hilarious Sandra Tsing Loh! I had the good fortune to go to a "house reading" and see/hear/meet her. Her new book The Madwoman in the Volvo is wonderful, funny, and a pure pleasure to read.
2. FOLKBOOK!!!
This is an endorsement of an idea that doesn't yet exist (at least I don't think it does--let me know if I am wrong!): a Folk Music version of Facebook, for artists, promotors and fans, radio peeps, PR peeps, record companies. A sort of virtual Kerrville or Falcon Ridge. It would save us all so much time! We could book, get booked, fans could see who was playing where/when. We could make friends, talk about the creative process, influences....So who's going to be Mark Zuckerberg for us? I want to be the Sheryl Sandberg.
3.
My writers! The writers of Writing it Up in the Garden will be reading at Hinge on Main Street in Northampton on June 17 (Tuesday) from 6-8. Free! Awesome writing! And great food!
After that (to piggyback endorsements), Tom and I are going to the Calvin to see and hear one of my all-time favorites, Patty Griffin whose new CD American Kid is wonderful!
 |
Fan Of The Month! Rhiannon Giles
Rhiannon is one of those fans we've watched grow up. She and her friend Marie started coming to our shows in the south in the late 90s. We've watched her get married and become a mama in the years since! Here's our interview with her.
Q: When did you first see the Nields? Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC in November, 1998. I was 17! I sheepishly went up and asked all the band members for their autographs.
Q: Why do you keep coming to their shows? I still love the music, I love that the shows are family friendly, and Nerissa and Katryna are super nice. It feels like going home.
Q: What are your other favorite bands?
Dar Williams, Eddie From Ohio, Girlyman, The Kennedys, Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer.
Q: Are you, or have you ever been a vegetarian? If so, what was your favorite meal?
I've never been a vegetarian, but can I share my favorite vegetarian meal anyhow? I love burritos.
Q: If you were a Brady, which one would you be?
Do they have a weird but lovable cousin or something? Otherwise, why not Alice, nobody ever chooses Alice.
Q: Do you play an instrument or sing? If the latter, who do you most sound like? If not the former, what instrument do you wish you could play?
I have a guitar that I rarely play, and can't play well, but I could still learn! I can play the beginning of Easy People.
Q: When you were between the ages of 7-12, what were your obsessions?
Weather, rollerskating, animals, and music. Pretty much the same as now. Though, I no longer want to be Debbie Gibson.
Q: What is your favorite seasons?
Spring. Or more accurately, not Winter.
Q: What is your favorite Nields song?
It changes frequently. "Endless Day" is one of my all-time favorites, though. Right now I'm on a big "Ten Year Tin" kick. "Easy People" makes me grateful for all the wonderful folks in my life. One of the great things about The Nields is that the music has sort of grown up along with me. Whenever I've hit a new stage in my life it seems like the music has reflected that.
.
|
 | | Kartoona |
Polaroid From the Past
This Kartoona is 8 years old. We still do some of these things. We also make music. Still.
|
|
 How to Be an Adult Looking for the prefect graduation gift? Nerissa's How to Be an Adult is full of practical advice, funny and wise with a slight spiritual twist. Get it as a paperback or ebook for your favorite grad!
from the Nields
from Amazon (ebook or paperback)
|
|
|
|
|
Click here for complete tour schedule.
|
 Photo by Sarah Prall |
New Web site is here!
| | photo by Sarah Prall |
 | | photo by Sarah Prall |
Nields Family Hootenanny!
Nields Family HooteNanny
(NFH) is happening this
Sunday May 18, and also
Sunday June 1 from 4-5pm
at First Churches!
Bring your banjos, guitars, ukes,
bongos, congos, violins, cellos, harmonicas, harpsichords,
pipe organs, sopranos, tenors,
altos, basses, bagpipes and join us! We will raise the roof!
You must preregister to attend--
the room is only so big!
Drop in cost is $30 per family
or $10 per person.
To sign up, email
[email protected].
|
 | | photo by Sarah Prall |
|
| The Nields offer small moments of joy and sorrow that linger in one's memory as a kind of quiet paean to the mystery of who we are and what it is we are about. Consumable.com |
 | | photo by Jake Jacobson |
|
| "A review of a Nields concert described their music as "equal parts Beatles, Cranberries and Joni Mitchell." iTunes |
They're cheery, these two, but not Pollyanna. They know that life is hard, and making art while tending to our other obligations, especially as women, is a painful struggle. The Artery
|
 | | photo by Kris McCue |
|
| There's a profound state of aesthetic arrest that some singers can put an audience into, and singers like that are worth their weight in gold. Not many bands manage to have two of them. Pop Matters |
|
|
