Eliza Lynn

I sang two songs I've written this year that really embrace this theme. What wonderful human beings were gathered! 

MID APRIL 2020: My day job is with the Society of the Sacred Heart, US-Canada Province as the mission advancement manager. I was asked to share some songs and a reflection as part of our COVID19 spiritual resources initiative: Revealing God's Love in the midst of uncertainty.

Here is that reflection: Week 4 (April 12-18)

I have been singing and making up songs since before my memory begins. It is how I move through the world, how I process life, how I feel God’s love and how I give love. Music is medicinal to me, and the songs I write mend me together when I feel broken.

During this pandemic, I am resting in songs that I have written and am writing. I feel solace and comfort in these songs, but more than that, I feel connected to the Source of Life. Singing songs I have written and witnessing new songs come forth allows me to float in the energy of being whole, fully loved and accepted as I am.

When I walked into the Provincial Offices of the Society of the Sacred Heart to be interviewed for a job, I was met by Sister Shirley Miller. She had her arms wide open in welcome and said, “We’ve been singing and dancing along to your website.” In that moment, something deep inside of me relaxed. I already loved the mission of the Society and really wanted to be a part of this work, but Shirley’s openhearted greeting was an encounter of love that settled my spirit. I felt seen as a whole person, a beloved child of God.

I offer you four songs and some thoughts in the video below. I pray in thanksgiving for each meeting of hearts, each moment of the truth that we are all made and held in Love.

Reflection: Eliza Lynn, mission advancement manager for the United States – Canada Province

 

 

LATE MARCH 2020: And then we all stood still... What a strange time it is. I feel very blessed to have a home and a job that I can do from home and groceries in the fridge. And so many don't. I have taken to playing my most comforting songs to the audience of one that is me. Songs that help me regain sanity when I feel overwhelmed with the anxiety of the world. I have been contemplating doing a video of them to post here. Which led me to an old Youtube channel I created that I have no idea how to access. BUT it does have a very entertaining video that looks very retro and just made me GRIN. Here's a still from it and a link below. Hope it brings a little joy!

Link to video HERE.

Much love to Jill Fromewick, my fellow Grit Pixie!

Enjoy! With prayers for wellness, Eliza

(early) MARCH 2020: Since late January I have been on a new adventure: leading songwriting classes in a women's prison through Prison Performing Arts. It is a wildly rich and challenging experience and if you are reading this, I ask for your prayers for the women in my classes. They are remarkable human beings who are open and willing and extremely creative. I am really honored to work with each of them. Prison Performing Arts is such an amazing organization - I invite you to learn more about their phenomenal work.

I am also looking forward to returning to Walter's Walk for a performance on March 14th. More info here.

Peace to you and throughout our world, Eliza

WINTER SOLSTICE 2019: This fall I have been a part of some beautiful creative projects for my day job with the Society of the Sacred Heart where I work as the mission advancement manager. The mission of the Society is to discover and reveal God’s love in the heart of the world. Our theme for the mission advancement annual report is from the founder of the Society, Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat who calls us the “let love be your life for all eternity.” The opening poem is by Kim King, RSCJ:

      
https://rscj.org/news/publications/annual-report-2018-19

I have also gotten to work on an aspect of our new podcast: producing the intro music with wonderful musicians Jacob Alspach, Ryan Calloway and Mark Wallace and Chris Turnbaugh who also engineered the tracks at Sawhorse Studios. I really love these conversations which are beautiful and tender explorations into faith and life. Erin Everson, producer and editor, has done a really wonderful job with this first season and Kim King, RSCJ (human of many talents) is interviewer extraordinaire!

https://rscj.org/forthesakeof

Praying that we all can discover and reveal God’s love in our own way during these days of darkness turning to light!

With peace, Eliza

Early DECEMBER 2019: I am so honored to be performing as a special guest at A Gospel Christmas Concert of the phenomenal Community Gospel Choir of St. Louis whose mission is (found on their website communitygospelchoir.org):

"Through our spirited interpretation of the rich tradition of African-American Gospel music we are working to:

FALL 2019: Psalms fest, Home and Heart fundraiser and songwriting workshop continues! My favorite time of year is here! Hope you are enjoying this season. With peace, Eliza

 

SUMMER 2019: Goodness, so much brokenness in the world - so much to grieve, so much to feel and walk through. I have just been asked to sing a couple of songs at a Concert of Remembrance on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the slaying of Michael Brown. It is an evening with the Community Gospel Choir of St. Louis at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Ferguson. This is a sweet parish in which I have gotten to provide music for Sunday church services a few times in the past and will do so again at the end of August and I am humbled to be asked to sing on August 8th at the Concert of Remembrance. Please join us if you are nearby.

I am also super excited to be leading a songwriting workshop at Walter's Walk this fall starting on Sunday, September 8th from 5:00-6:30pm and continuing each week throughout the end of October. See below for the info from the flyer and let me know if you'd like to take part! With prayers for peace for each of us, Eliza

A songwriting workshop with Eliza Lynn

Have you ever wanted to write a song? Have you started a song but not finished it? Would you like to explore your voice through melody? This fall singer-songwriter, Eliza Lynn, will offer a workshop in songwriting during September and October at Walter's Walk. Our goals will be to embrace our voices, explore our writing styles and finish one song which we will perform for one another in our final session. Eliza has written songs for most of her life, releasing her first album in 2005. Her songs have been heard around the world through radio play and inclusion on compilation albums such as Americana by Putumayo World Music and through live performance including playing at Abbey Road Studios for worldwide broadcast. Eliza’s songwriting style is very personal, speaking truth into pain, singing joy into doubt. She will work with you one-on-one to provide support and encouragement for you to sing into your own experience and allow the songs within you to bloom.

Workshop begins: Sunday, September 8 at 5:00-6:30pm and continues weekly until October 27^th at Walter’s Walk, 737 Dunn Road, Hazelwood, MO 63042. To sign up or for questions: eliza@elizalynn.com Class size limited to 10. Donations welcome. 

SPRING 2019: Please join me on April 6th at A Songwriter's Showcase to benefit Walter's Walk! More info below.

FALL 2018: "Help me be kind, during this wild time, when it feels like us humans have all lost our minds!" These lyrics from a new song that I have written with Ymer Lindquist of the Swedish duo Yoyo xno are my constant prayer these days. My middle name is Civility and it is a trajectory for me if not a moment by moment reality. How to live each day with grace amidst so much... so much... I ask God for help. That's the only way for me! And I shared this new song at one of my favorite events of the year the Festival of Psalms at Eden Seminary. What a joy to sing songs of outrage and hope together in community!

I also recently performed at Vandalia Women's Detention Center in Vandalia, MO and will be leading a songwriting workshop with some of the women incarcerated there through an amazing organization: Prison Performing Arts. I know I will learn so much from the participants, some of whom I have had the privilege of seeing perform in plays - absolutely incredible artists who inspire deeply. If you can ever attend a play with this organization, please do! Such talent and such depth of engagement and catharsis - truly remarkable!

I am very much looking forward to an upcoming gig in Elsah at Farley's Music Hall with the French jazz duo Bluesette on Saturday, October 20th at 7pm. We'll have a lovely evening together - join us! See below for more details! Prayers for us all. With peace, Eliza

MAY 2018: Graduation from Aquinas Institute of Theology School! A long journey came to an end on May 11th when I finally graduated with my master's in Theology. I am so grateful - to have been on this adventure - so grateful it is finally over! See photo below for evidence of great relief :) And as the spring which feels like summer continues to heat up, I am looking forward to a few gigs in the bluffs on the Great River Road on the Mississippi River. Please see my schedule for more info! Hope you are enjoying the bounty of spring! Prayers for my friends in WNC dealing with flooding. With peace, Eliza

APRIL 2018: I look forward to returning to Webster Groves Garden Cafe on Saturday, April 14th at 7pm. Two days ago I came out of the master's degree studying cave to take my comprehensive exams - so this gig is a bit of a celebration of getting through that! I hope you can join me!

With prayers for peace, Eliza 

MARCH 2018: Calling all Episcopalians! Want to support the young adult delegation of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship to General Convention this summer? Come to Concert for a Cause: An Evening of Peace Music (tinyurl.com/EPFconcert) on April 7th at 6:30pm at Church of Our Savior, 530 West Fullerton Parkway, Chicago, IL 60614! I'll be performing with wonderful peace-loving musicians: Patricia Mosley, Charles Murphy, Catherine Thomson and Leslie Michele (see below). For more info, click here for the FB event page. 

Won't be in Chicago on April 7th but want to give to this cause - go to: tinyurl.com/EPFconcert  

Hope you are singing your own songs for peace. Peace within, peace in our communities, peace in our world. 

With love and light, Eliza

FEBRUARY 2018: So looking forward to playing in my tiny hometown of Elsah, IL this Saturday, February, 24th at the Civic Center (57 Mill Street, Elsah, IL 62028). We'll have a potluck before hand at 6pm and my concert will start at 7pm. This historic village is a little sweetheart, set behind bluffs on the Mississippi river. It's cuddled between two wooded hillsides and just picturesque. Join us if you feel like you need a little warmth and fellowship this February! With love, Eliza

JANUARY 2018: Last semester of grad school (Lord willing) so I am getting ready to gig more often soon (Lord willing)! Here's a little gig for warming up on these cold nights: Friday, January 26th 7-9pm at Webster Groves Garden Cafe. Will post soon about a gig in Elsah, IL in late February and in Chicago this April. Hope you are staying warm!

With peace and prayers for our world, Eliza

FALL 2017 OCT: It is with great joy that I have turned in my Master's Thesis! Woo hoo!! It is called In Belief of Tears: American Blues as an Entrance into the Psalms of Lament. It has been quite a journey and it is finally time to let it go :) I present it in early November and then get to move on to the other elements necessary to graduate (studying for comprehensive exams). And most exciting for me: I am also (FINALLY) starting to record my new album(s) in November as well. I'm delighted to be working with Paul Niehaus, IV and Blue Lotus Recording Studio in St. Louis. Last year in November I stayed home over Thanksgiving weekend to finish my translation of the psalm for my thesis. I booked time to record demos with Paul as my prize for finishing that. This year, once my thesis is presented, I get to start recording. Ah, so happy! Can't wait!

Also, this month I got to have a very joy filled photo shoot with my dear friend and photographer, Kathleen Shea. Please see the Photos page for a few of those :)

One thing I am not going to be able to do is get to NC this fall. I was hoping to play at Trinity Presbyterian Church - one of my favorite venues, but I have had to cancel my performance. I sincerely hope to return soon, to both NC and Trinity. But for now, my plate is just too full. 

Hope you are having a wonderful fall. With love and prayers for our world, Eliza

SEPT: Goodness Fall is here! And one thing that means is that it is nearly time for the Festival of Psalms at Eden seminary, one of my dearly favorite experiences since moving to the St. Louis area. It is a musical way to tap into the extraordinary gifts of the psalms. To feel the love of God in the midst of heartfelt community - what a gift! I'm thrilled to take part again. Please join us!

Sunday, October 1, 7pm at Eden Seminary in Wehrli Chapel and this year it is also the CROP hunger walk concert. Walk begins at 5:30. Donations to CROP can be made here: www.crophungerwalk.org/saintlouismo

Hope you'll join us!

SUMMER 2017 This Spring I had a wonderful time playing gigs in WV, VA, WI and IL, singing these new songs I've been writing and being with wonderful people in a heartfelt space. It was such a liberating time for me and I am grateful for all the different experiences I had. I am continuing to write more songs (my new album may be 2 discs!) and look forward to beginning to record these songs of the spirit soon. 

Saturday, July 22nd I am excited to be supporting Eric Moeller's Kick-Off Party for his All-In Tour. The All-In Tour is an initiative of a non-profit founded by Eric called the All-In Music Project that uses music to inspire active solidarity with marginalized people, build community, and educate/mobilize for social transformation. For more info visit www.allinmusicproject.org The event starts at 6:30 and there will be food and refreshments available, activities for children, special guests doing the work of justice in St Louis, and performances from me and Eric Moeller. There is no cover charge. Meals will be available for $10/ plate and consist of a Jamaican meal created by Chef Rob Connoley. 

If you are in town, I hope you'll join us! Have a wonderful summer! With peace and prayers and love, Eliza

JANUARY 26, 2017 A few years ago I recorded lots of cover songs for two Community Produced Albums. One of them, called Together, I released in the UK, but never fully released in the states. The other album, Bloom Again, has not been released. I'd like to share some of these songs, so here's my version of Angel by Sarah McLachlan with many friends playing and singing with me. A little light in a dark week.

CLICK HERE to hear Angel.

Music is my comfort and haven and solace. This week even more so. Prayers for our world, prayers for peace, for truth, for kindness. And love.

NOVEMBER 9, 2016: A new song: Addiction to the News (copyright Eliza Lynn 2016)

 

 

On this day after the US election, I can't stop singing one of my new songs. It's called "Addiction to the News" and you can hear it in the video above. One new outlet I'm engaging in today is Showing Up for Racial Justice. I know today that I need to spend less time listening to the news and more time in real conversation with my neighbors. Though there is so much to do, there is also a need for returning to the roots of our humanity. Less "likes" and more breaths. So, my prayer is that we can meet each day, take good and gentle care of ourselves, and do the next right thing for those in our community most vulnerable to the incoming administration. God suffers with us. That I know.

Peace in our world and in our hearts. With love, Eliza

NOVEMBER 1, 2016: Writing, writing, writing...

It has been such a rich few months of songwriting and thesis writing procrastination :) Somehow needing to work on the thesis has loosened the songwriting valve (so lovely) and I'm writing two albums at once. Last night another song finished - what a joy! Once I record some demos slightly better than the ones I'm recording on my iphone, I'll begin posting these new songs. Half of which are spiritual - no holds barred (the Fair side) and the other half are, well, the Frisky side. I've been contemplating one long album called Frisky AND Fair! Probably not...

Been singing in more liturgical like settings of late, such as Psalms Fest at Eden Seminary. The video below is of Psalm 148 (in Hebrew) with Will Soll. It is Nava Tehila's version - I just love singing this! Hope you enjoy! AND the most wonderful festival on the planet is about to begin: Perthshire Amber Festival! SO much love to all my friends on the PA Team! Dougie Maclean and his music and community spirit are remarkable gifts to the world! If you aren't familiar, change that!

With peace, Eliza

 

OCTOBER 2015: Wayfaring Strangers in Nashville and the adventure into the Psalms continues...

I am so honored to be supporting Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr's presentation of their incredible book, Wayfaring Strangers, The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia at the Southern Festival of Books this coming weekend Nashville, TN. I provided music for their Scottish book launch in Perth, Scotland last fall and it was so much fun! This time around there will be beautiful fiddling by Brian Christianson as well. The presentation is at the downtown library in Nashville in the auditorium at 11:00 this Saturday, October 10.  Here's the festival schedule. If you haven't gotten their book yet, do :) Here's a clink to purchase your copy from UNC Press: http://www.uncpress.unc.edu/books/12005.html

In other news, I am deep into my never ending thesis project - really absorbing the Psalms on new levels and I just got to sing at a wonderful annual event - the Festival of Psalms at Eden Seminary. Truly an incredible evening of music and psalms with Eden's resident artist and traveling psalmist Richard Bruxvoort Colligan. Such a wonderful time!  These days I am enjoying singing songs (and writing new songs) of PRAISE! What a relief after years of studying lament. It is a joy! Hallelujah!

During these days of leaves changing, if you are like me, this weather is making you yearn for the Scottish hills, gorgeous music and beautiful people of Perthshire Amber Festival. So, if you don't happen to be in the UK, it's also time to sign up to watch from our armchairs :) Butterstone TV -the closest thing to being there!

May you have a beautiful fall. With peace, Eliza

JUNE 2015: New hometown (yes another...), New do :)

 

Got plans on the 4th?  If not and you are near St. Louis, come on over to Illinois along the Mississippi river and enjoy my new tiny little hometown - the Historic Village of Elsah, IL. The concert will be in a beautiful little venue called Farley's Music Hall - very easy to find on Mill Street, near the post office.  We're about 30 miles from St. Louis, but you will feel like you have gone back in time - it's a truly delightful community I'm so happy to have found! Many summertime blessings to you!  With peace, Eliza

APRIL 22nd, 2015 - I'm really excited to be playing my first concert in Asheville, NC in too long awhile this Spring at BK House Concerts on Saturday, May 9th.  If you are in the area - would love to see you!  Please click link for tickets: http://www.bkhouseconcerts.com/ And Happy Spring!  With peace, Eliza

APRIL 9th, 2015 - This weekend, I am thrilled to have a my song "Sing a New Song" included in a play being done in Harlan County, KY with the Higher Ground Community Theater.  This remarkable group is truly using art to heal community. Here's a clip from a previous production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpjcWoh2PXM

From stage manager, Alexia Ault: "Our new play entitled 'Find a Way' will premier next week [April 9-12] in Cumberland, Kentucky. The play follows a community in Eastern Kentucky as they struggle with layoffs, grief and telling the truth. We are so excited that your song "Sing a New Song" will be included in the play. Your song has been placed in the third act as the characters start telling the truth and finding a new way to deal with their own struggles. This song brings a little bit of lightness to a very heavy portion of the play but also acts​ as the turning point in the action." I feel very honored indeed!

March 2015 - Next Friday, April 3rd, I am honored to be a part of Christ Church Cathedral's partnership with Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in "Blues at the Crossroads of Good Friday" at the Cathedral in Downtown St. Louis.  Join us!  

MISSED IT? Listen HERE

2015!  Happy New Year!  So my friend Dana let me know that my Chair Exercise Video that was recorded in 2005 (and aired on NC's Buncombe county TV for years) is now on YouTube!  So here's Get Fit (appropriate for the new year):

 

Please note that I did not get to choose my music... Enjoy!  And "remember to listen to your body" :) This video seriously cracks me up - and it is also a serious video...

Peaceful and healthy New Year to you, Eliza

NOV 2014 - Quick Note - Since I sold out of all the Goodbye Nashville CDs I brought with me to Scotland, I am offering to cover the shipping and charge the same amount for any Perthshire Amber Festival goers who missed out on an album!

Just email me: eliza@elizalynn.com and I'll send payment instructions - and will be happy to sign it if you're wanting that :)

So many warm thoughts from last week!  With love, Eliza

OCT 2014 - The Perthshire Amber Festival is again just tremendous!  So much of the evening concerts are now available on demand if you get a subscription to Butterstone TV, you can follow along!

From last night's concert in the Pitlochry Town Hall (photo by Rob McDougall - photographer extraordinaire!):

So how's that for intensity?!? :)

Tomorrow (Oct 31st) I'm thrilled to be playing at the Scottish launch of Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr's incredible book, Wayfaring Stranger at the Norrie Miller Studio in Perth Concert Hall at 2pm! So many blessings of this trip to Scotland!  

Sending warmth encased in fall colors, Eliza

OCT 2014 - IN SCOTLAND!  Perthshire Amber - The Dougie MacLean Festival begins today! Such joy! I got to do an interview with Dougie for Scottish TV this morning and just gushed about how this festival one of my versions of heaven - the incredible mus