MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR w/ JOHN BEACHER

A prolific songwriter, natural performer and “hope enthusiast,” John Beacher has built his decade-long career not only with talent but a genuine spirit and kind heart. John’s music is a homecoming for the soul, timeless and sincere, and taps
into a source that runs far deeper than the songwriter himself. Rooted in rhythm and blues yet unbound by genre, each song is a musical tapestry woven with soulful threads. Whether he’s singing songs of social justice, belting out blues or funk, or serenading the audience with a love ballad, there is no doubt that John is completely one with the music. He is a seasoned musician whose ability to improvise both on guitar and with his voice makes each performance an entirely unique reflection of the audience and his surroundings.

Since receiving his first guitar at age 11, writing, singing and playing became John’s all-consuming passion, and by age 17 he was performing his own compositions professionally. Throughout his 20s, John’s love for people and music led him to travel the US and abroad, collecting stories, writing songs and building friendships until he finally settled in Boulder, Colorado. There he spent several years honing his craft, playing in various music projects and performing in venues all over the Boulder/Denver area.

In 2011 John made the decision to move back to his hometown of New Hope, Pennsylvania, and give his music career 100% of his attention. Since then he has become a full-time singer-songwriter, a community keystone in Bucks County and a regular name on WXPN 88.5 FM Philadelphia. His weekly “Community Stage at Karla’s” in New Hope has become a staple in the local music community, drawing talent from all over Bucks County and beyond for more than five years. During that time, John released a live self-titled solo acoustic album, collaborated on multiple music video projects with his friend Louis Sparre of Tweed Video and developed a sustainable career as what he calls a “blue collar musician.”

John has organized concerts; played countless venues, weddings, private events and fundraisers; and has shared the stage with accomplished national acts such as Leon Russell, Rusted Root, Cheryl Wheeler, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Dean Ween Group and Elephant Revival, to name a few. In 2015 he had the honor of performing at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Live at the World Café in Philadelphia and The Musicfest Café at Steelstacks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In addition to being a live performer, John has a sideline composing music for Tweed Video, working on projects for clients such as The American Lung Association, NBC, Comcast, and Mural Arts Philadelphia.

John recently released Rise Up, a self-produced album engineered by John Fachett and recorded at Sweet Creek Studios in Ottsville, Pennsylvania. It includes 10 new songs unlike anything he has previously released and features 13 other accomplished musicians.

These days John calls Point Pleasant PA home, where he has been
developing the John Beacher and The Common Ground, consisting of Mike Ruhl (bass), and George Flayer (violin). With a new album, new band, and new opportunities on the horizon, John has set his sights on Philadelphia and beyond, looking toward traveling and playing his way across the country, building family and continually promoting a
message of unity and hope.

MATT WOODS

I am a Knoxville, Tennessee based songwriter who spends a hell of a lot of time driving all over bringing my songs to anyone who cares to listen. Some folks call what I do Outlaw Country or Americana, but I have a hard time putting a label on things like that. A lot of my songs are very much based in classic Country music while others are grounded in straight forward and greasy rock’n’roll. I write what is ready to come out and try to be as honest as I can about it. Give ’em a listen and call ’em what you want then get your ass out to a show!

NXNH VII 2022 OCT. 7-9th

NORTH X NEW HOPE
Organized by our friend Guy Heller, featuring the best of all our local bands. These events are the seeds for what will hopefully become a town-wide music festival.
Guy has been a part of our family for more than 25 years and shares our vision that New Hope is not just a place to see bands, but a place where bands want to play.
Stop in and see what you’ve been missing!

NORTH BY NEW HOPE VI. JOHN AND PETER’S PLACE, MARCH 10TH THROUGH THE 13TH.
FRIDAY OCT. 7TH 9PM
*Saloko
*Brent Bowman
*Room For Mojo
*Kevin Rovner Band
SAT OCT. 8TH 9PM
*Trio of Madness
*The PLIBmen
*Keith Kenny
SUN OCT. 9TH 8PM
 *Bill Hangley
*Graham Ford’s Acoustic Superfriends
*Shelf Life String Band
*Bill & Fred’s Excellent Adventure

THE PORCHISTAS

The Porchistas started as a bunch of friends writing and singing songs late into summer nights, on their rickety porch on Forest Street in Montclair, New Jersey. That evolved to DIY house concerts and block parties that continue today. Their songs navigate through the rock genre; Folk, swing, surf, reggae, blues, psychedelic, punk – always rock and roll. The Porchistas have developed friendships with musicians throughout The U.S. that shape the identity of who they are as a band. They see music and art as community building endeavors.

The Porchistas have performed at the WNTI Stage Festival, The Jersey Shore Music Festival, The Wellmont Theater and The Hoboken Arts & Music Festival, just to name a few. They’ve shared stages with Nicole Atkins, Willie Nile, Brick & Mortar, PineGrove, Thomas Wesley Stern, The Grand Slambovians, Billy Hector and countless others. They also performed at and were the primary organizers of Tierneys Tavern Music Festival, an event that drew 4,000 + people.

With the recent release of their 5th CD, “Shoot it at the Sun” The Porchistas build upon their ever-growing reputation throughout the metropolitan area as a band known for deft songwriting and musicianship. Although all previous Porchistas releases have received notable reviews, Shoot it at the Sun continues to receive shining feedback from NJarts.net, The Aquarian Weekly, The Asbury Park Press, NJ Stage Magazine, The Montclair Times, Northjersey.com, JerseyBeat Magazine and many more – “Combining an honest simplicity with a wicked talent for arrangement and construction, The Porchistas’ great new CD, Shoot It At The Sun, is the surefire money shot straight into that elusive, face turning solar plexus of musical success.” John Pfeifer The Aquarian Weekly

DUNK TANK! BENEFIT FOR THE TIBET HOUSE IN MEMORY OF JIM WOOLSEY

The Dunk Tank is back!! Benefitting the Tibet House in memory of Jim Woolsey, this event is a great chance to come and dunk your bartenders, servers and friends!
$5 for 5 tosses, drink specials TBA, and keep the night rolling with DJ AggrEschen!!
Exactly the type of activity that would generate harrumphs…

The following excerpt is from the Bucks County Courier Times, Aug. 30th 2014
Time and again, Jim Woolsey was drawn to Tibet.

And over time, Woolsey would help bring Tibet’s culture to the world, electronically.

The preface of the Dalai Lama’s 2004 book “Cultivating Daily Meditation” includes a note of thanks to the hippie intellectual, sound technician and frequent bartender from New Hope.

Jim Woolsey, 70, died Thursday after a life split between New Hope’s art scene and the southernmost outer ridges of Himalayas. He had lung cancer.

At 6-foot-3-inches and skinny as a post, Woolsey never owned a car, frequently hitchhiked, and in his 20s went to Woodstock, friends and family said.

Among his dying wishes, Woolsey left instructions that all his Tibetan treasures be returned someday to that spiritual capital some 7,000 miles away.

“I think he lived in a cave over there,” remembered friend Cynthia Wuthrich. “We would get these letters from him describing an event, some wedding or festival, and you began to feel like you were there with him.”

Longtime friend John Larsen remembers the day when Woolsey, then just a stranger, encouraged him to obtain a liquor license for his restaurant John and Peter’s, now a famous nightclub in New Hope.

“This guy was just sitting there,” said Larsen. “I didn’t really know him. He tells me he knows something about bars, and he offers to help me set it up,” Larsen continued. “Then, he just disappears to go to Tibet.”

“One time, (Jim) brought home a Tibetan monk,” Larsen said. “Frankly, I don’t know how he managed to get along.”

Woolsey first journeyed to Tibet more than 40 years ago. Over time, he became a sort of technical guru for exiled monks, working to codify thousands of historical and spiritual texts. He also helped design a computer keyboard for the Tibetan language.

Exiled from their homeland by the Chinese government in 1959, refugees had carried hundreds of manuscripts over the rugged mountains into northern India.

Located in India, the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives first launched an online database of manuscripts back in 2003. At the time, the Central Tibetan Administration had released a public statement, crediting Woolsey for his volunteer hours of computer training for government staff.

Ten years earlier, Allentown’s Morning Call newspaper interviewed Woolsey about his efforts overseas and a meeting with Tibet’s spiritual leader.

“A couple years ago, I was given the opportunity to brief the Dalai Lama about what’s going on,” said Woolsey. “We had some interesting conversation, but I feel that he’s got better things to do.”

TEREZ, LITTLE FLOWERS

Terez is a self-taught, multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter and producer from New Hope, PA, who uses music for good. Growing up playing violin and singing in church and school choirs, Terez developed a keen understanding of quality vocal performance and harmonies. Her desire to combine her love of writing with her love of music and performing led her to learn the guitar, which opened a world of expression and performance possibilities.

While studying sociology at Lehigh University, Terez joined the Music Box, a local collective of student musicians working together to bring a music scene back to campus. She performed her first live set at an acoustic unplugged show in 2011 and went on to win Battle of the Bands in 2012, performing her original song as front woman of the local band 3 If By Air. She also had the opportunity to link up with some artists and perform live acoustic sets in the local underground music scene in Germany. These initial experiences performing original material and traveling inspired many new ideas and sparked her desire to make music a bigger part of her life.

Terez relocated to New Hope, PA, where she began booking solo performances, briefly joining a local rock act, The Zeke Sky Band. In 2017, she parted ways with the band to focus more energy on finding her own sound. She linked up with local producer Spencer Blevins and experimented in more electronic compositions, culminating in an ongoing concept project known as The Odds.

Last summer, Terez hit the road and headed cross country to write and perform, spending time in Central Washington with her friends at Ducktown Records, recording folk covers and bare acoustic original tunes. She has been a featured artist at Godfrey Daniel’s listening room, John & Peter’s, and has performed at various secret house and barn shows throughout the country. More recently she has continued performing the local New Hope music circuit solo, while working with her new lady duo project, the Rod Hounds. She has collaborated with many artists in various styles including rock, traditional folk, jazz, and trip hop.

Terez’s songs explore the impermanent yet real emotions, spaces, and interactions that make up the human experience. She often sings of real and hard truths in a sweet and patient way, creating a space for her listeners to reflect and process the universal story into something personal. She is currently working on her debut solo EP.