Jen Chapin in Maine, Nova Scotia, Baltimore, NYC, Kennett Square PA, Fairfield CT, and Hastings-on-Hudson NY

August 15, 2012 Hello everyone! The Jen Chapin Trio plus young Maceo and Van are hitting the road tomorrow for our annual August trip up north, with stops in Maine and Nova Scotia. In September we’ll return to the warm and wonderful Cabaret at Germano’s in Baltimore (last time in May the masses may have been deterred by a random Maryland tornado, yes, tornado, but this time we hope to see more of you!) Then, later that month, a truly exciting weekend of shows with friend and inspiration Brian Vander Ark in NYC, Kennett Square PA, and Fairfield CT. Tickets for all of those shows are available now (see below). The Manhattan show on Friday September 28th is one I am especially anticipating — aside from an opening set from Brian, it will feature my full five-piece band, literally unplugged as part of “Naked Soul” -- the acoustic songwriter series at the Rubin Museum of Art. I’m honored to be a part of it, and happy to play in such a special place for my metropolitan area friends, fans, and family. Of course the Saturday 9/29 show in Kennett Square (where Brian will headline) and the Sunday 9/30 show at the Fairfield Theatre Company are at special venues as well, with the Fairfield concert also benefiting WhyHunger and the local organization Operation Hope. Last weekend was a memorable solo trip to Fort Myers, Florida, in the service of the fantastic Abuse Counseling and Treatment, Inc. (ACT) agency serving victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking. I describe ACT as fantastic because I saw the work up close in one of their two shelters for women and children, where I got to lead a songwriting workshop and interact with some strong, articulate, and sparkling ladies and their kids. The powerful morning brought meaning to the evening’s benefit “Arts for ACT,” a gala benefit dinner and fine art auction where I had been invited to serve as “Celebrity Auctioneer.” Let’s just say I learned on the job and met some more lovely people… It’s nice when a new day brings a new challenge and opportunity to fall into bed bone tired! On to the gig details, but for those of you interested in some more perspective on the current political battles affecting our broken food system, please scroll to the bottom where I’ve shared an excellent piece from WhyHunger’s Siena Chrisman. Thanks for listening! Jen PS — I recently decided to start sharing the names of artists and albums, old and new, that inspire me as a regular feature of this newsletter. I just picked up Fiona Apple’s latest release The Idler Wheel… and it is a wild and powerful work that you can pick up at your local record store (if you still have one, support it!) or at, you guessed it, Starbucks. The album is perhaps not for everyone, but for me this week it has bolstered my artistic courage! Upcoming Shows Friday, August 17th * 6 pm Tinder Hearth 1452 Coastal Road, Brooksville ME 04617 * 207.326.8381 A concert for Food for Maine’s Future Sunday, August 19th * 1 pm Big Sunday Concert By The Sea The Ovens Natural Park 326 Ovens Road, Riverport, Nova Scotia Canada BOJ 2WO * 902.766.4621 $20.00 - adults / $10.00 kids (ages 5 - 16, under 5 free) Featuring my uncles Tom and Steve, my cousins The Chapin Sisters, and many others.. Monday, August 20th * 8 pm Ol’ Gold Miner Diner The Ovens Natural Park 326 Ovens Road, Riverport, Nova Scotia Canada BOJ 2WO * 902.766.4621 An intimate dinner concert with the Jen Chapin Trio Friday August 24 * 3:00 to 3:45pm Interview/Performance with time for 4 - 5 songs performed live instudio WSCA 106.1 FM -- Stay Tuned with Shawn Henderson Portsmouth NH RSVP on Facebook Friday, August 24th * 8 pm Jonathan’s Restaurant 92 Bourne Lane, Ogunquit, Maine 03907 * (207) 646-4777 * $20, $32, $57 (including dinner and drinks) Wednesday, September 19th * 7:30 pm Cabaret at Germano’s 300 S. High Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 * 410-752-4515 A weekend of concerts with Brian Vander Ark Friday, September 28th * 7 pm Naked Soul @ The Rubin Museum 150 W. 17 St., NYC 10011 · 212.620.5000 * $22.50 advance/$25 day of show Full Band, unplugged! Featuring Dan Rieser on drums, Stephan Crump on acoustic bass, and Jamie Fox and Liberty Ellman on guitars Saturday, September 29th * 8 pm Kennett Flash 102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square PA 19348 * 484-732-8295 $20 advance/$23 at the door — TICKETS ON SALE NOW Trio with Stephan Crump on acoustic bass and Jamie Fox on electric guitar — we’ll play the opening set for Brian. Sunday, September 30th * 7:30 pm Fairfield Theatre Company --on Stage One 70 Sanford Street, Fairfield CT 06824 203.259.1036 * $22 Fairfield Theatre Company will make a donation to whyhunger.org for each ticket sold, plus collect non-perishable food donations for Operation Hope Trio with Stephan Crump on acoustic bass and Jamie Fox on electric guitar Saturday, October 27th * 7:30 pm Common Ground Coffeehouse @ First Unitarian Society of Westchester 25 Old Jackson Avenue, Hastings, NY Top 3 Reasons the Food and Farm Bill should Matter to You WhyHunger’s Siena Chrisman, Programs Communications Director, breaks down why you should care about the current Food and Farm Bill debate: 1. The erosion of democracy. The food system is one of the least democratic parts of our economy. The Food and Farm Bill further consolidates the power of Big Food -- the huge food and farming corporations who make the decisions about what we eat. Average Americans no longer have a say in how our food is grown, where it comes from, what's in it, what's sprayed on it, where it's sold... the list goes on. We've almost entirely been taken out of the equation. The right to good food for all has become the right for a few to profit from food. That doesn't sound like democracy to me. 2. The food we eat is killing us. US agriculture policy -- as spelled out in the Food and Farm Bill -- supports this system of overproducing corn and soy, which is then fed to cattle and turned into things like high fructose corn syrup and other additives used in processed foods. The bill doesn't give nearly the same kind of financial support to grow fruits, vegetables, or other nutritious foods. These policies that encourage farming of too much corn and soy result in an abundance of cheap and ubiquitous meat and processed foods. And now we have a public health crisis of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other diet-related illnesses , because we're all eating so much meat and processed food. For the first time ever, the next generation has a lower life expectancy than its parents - because of the food they're eating! Our farm policy should support healthy food from healthy farms, not the raw ingredients for chemicals that are slowly killing us. 3. Your fellow Americans. The biggest portion of Food and Farm Bill spending supports the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, also known as food stamps, which has been a hugely critical safety net for millions of Americans -- as well as one of the best forms of economic stimulus, according to Moody's . The House Agriculture Committee's version of the bill, passed last week, cuts $16.5 billion dollars from SNAP. This translates to a loss of $90 dollars a month from the household budgets of 50,000 American families in the program. Almost half of SNAP participants are kids. Why are we making it harder for struggling parents to feed their children at a time of great economic hardship? SNAP is acting as designed, expanding to meet growing needs during economically difficult times; it will shrink again when the economy improves. Instead of reacting to spikes in SNAP numbers by slashing the program and pulling the safety net from struggling families, the bill should strengthen SNAP -- while we also focus on creating jobs, paying a living wage, and fixing the broken systems that made the economy collapse.