Songs are a form of storytelling. They capture a time in a composer’s experience that can be shared and remembered because they are anchored to sound, not the page.
I embarked on a quest to add a songwriting track to the 2024 Okoboji Writers’ Retreat (OWR). Since this isn’t my area of expertise, I asked former participants for their recommendations.
The name ‘Chad Elliott’ was suggested repeatedly, and I soon understood why. He’s a versatile artist who brought to the forefront the visual side of his creativity when the threat of Clovid wreaked havoc on the live musical entertainment scene. He started painting, to the surprise of his fan base.
The more we can lift the stories of others, the more musicians of different genres and audiences can jam, and the better a community we will have.
Chad Elliott is a shining example of a gem found in the fly-over state of Iowa. I have a growing list of others.
Listen:
The name ‘Chad Elliott’ was suggested repeatedly, and I soon understood why. He’s a versatile artist who brought to the forefront the visual side of his creativity when the threat of Clovid wreaked havoc on the live musical entertainment scene. He started painting, to the surprise of his fan base.
The more we can lift the stories of others, the more musicians of different genres and audiences can jam, and the better a community we will have.
Chad Elliott is a shining example of a gem found in the fly-over state of Iowa. I have a growing list of others.
House Concerts
Richard and I will host House Concerts for paid subscribers who are funding OWR scholarships. We booked Chad and his Weary Rambling collaborator, Kathryn Sever Fox, to join us on April 11. Both are remarkable and outstanding musicians. Stay tuned for details.
Holding a house concert is an easy way to support a local musician. You invite folks to come to listen to the artist, not simply background music, in a bar or restaurant, then make a per-head donation. Win-win = live music in your living room.
Check out the songwriting roster for the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat. You’ll find amazing talent who would welcome your support this way.
More about Chad Elliott:
Also, Kathryn and Chad will be at the Greenwood Lounge in Des Moines on December 29, starting at 9 p.m.
The Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ event beckons. Pass it on:
CLICK: OWR SPEAKERS (MORE COMING, INCLUDING DARTANYAN BROWN)
Carol Montag
Speaking of songwriters, here is one I commissioned Carol Montag to write as a Christmas present for Richard years ago. During a retreat, he had written the lyrics as a poem, and Carol composed the cherished song years later.
You might want to grab a tissue:
Carol will be with us again during OWR IV and is also available to perform at a house concert.
I cannot wait for Chad, Kathryn Sever Fox, Carol Montag, and all the other songwriters who will be with us during OWR IV to come together on the stage of the Lakes Art Center for a jam session after a fulfilling day teaching songwriting workshops.
Here’s another private song composed by Carol for us after we invited her to perform at a house concert in our home in Annapolis in 2010.
Hanging it up for tonight. There is too much liquid in my eyes from listening to these again.
Carol Montag, Cedar Rapids, performs during our annual Iowa Day party on the Chesapeake Bay in 2010.
See her in September, too.
IOWA WRITERS’ COLLABORATIVE COLUMNISTS ROUNDUP AND ROSTER:
ROUNDUP:
ROSTER:
Nicole Baart: This Stays Here, Sioux Center
Ray Young Bear: From Red Earth Drive, Meskwaki Settlement
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Tory Brecht: Brecht’s Beat, Quad Cities
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Roundup
Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny
Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilia
Chris Jones, Chris’s Substack, Des Moines
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Letters from Iowans, Iowa
Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Calhoun County
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities
Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Vicki Minor, Relatively Minor, Winterset
Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines
Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids
Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines
Macey Shofroth: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk
Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Kali White VanBaale, 988: Mental Healthcare in Iowa, Bondurant
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
Want to be invited to house concerts? Consider supporting OWR scholarships by being a paid subscriber:
Chad Elliott on songwriting