THANK YOU everyone who pitched in for Dreaming Aloud and helped us meet our goal! I am humbled by your support and encouraged by your willingness to back this project! 🥹

We still have two days left with a modest stretch goal - additional pledges will help me bring the band to you live, play benefit concerts and smaller shows.

I am really floored by your support. Thanks for helping me keep going ❤️

I can’t wait to share these new songs with you on this album and at shows!

Jess Klein's Travelin' Woman is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

I love y’all and guess what - we have just 3 days left to make Dreaming Aloud a reality on Kickstarter. We are at 85% - sooooo close!

Thank you to all who have pitched in so far, to folks who have upleveled their pledges (!) and thanks in advance to the folks who will put us over the finish line ❤️. Head over there now to

In it for the Love…

Why do we do it? Why do we make art?

The music business is full of egos, manipulation, self-doubt, hustlers, scams, big highs, painful lows.

The only compelling reason I have ever found to keep making music, playing shows, making albums - is the human connection we make through music. That feeling like you’re onstage, just channeling something, letting it pour through you and out into the hearts of those folks in the audience who just needed to hear that line today.

Anyone who sticks with a life in music for the long term will tell you - they’re in it for the love.

**

New England! Come see me and my pal, Jenny Reynolds in a couple weeks!

11/15 Club Passim, Boston, MA

11/16 Portsmouth Music Hall Lounge, Portsmouth, NH

Jess Klein's Travelin' Woman is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Huge thanks to all who have contributed to this album so far. We are already at 73% with just 9 days to go! It’s my deepest belief that when people come together aorund something we value - when we Dream Aloud together - we become unstoppable, and getting to create this album with your support feels like that! Later this week I’ll be sharing some pre-mixes of the new songs with you (!).

If you haven’t pitched in yet, please do!

I’ll be back later this week with an update from a revelatory tour of the midwest last weekend.

xo

Jess

Friends, just sharing a quick video today, in gratitude for everyone who has supported this Kickstarter so far, and the folks who come to my shows, read this newsletter, buy my albums. I am deeply grateful to be able to spend my time making music for you, and importantly, seeing you all bne part of this whole thing reminds me yet again of the power of community. I feel like we’re all doing this together, and that has to be the best feeling in the world.

Thank you!

If you haven’t pitched in yet, we still have 13 days to meet the fundraising goal for Dreaming Aloud and would love to have your support.

PS I’ll be on the road this weekend in Iowa, then in November I’ll be up in Boston, Portsmouth, DC and Roanoke. Looking forward to seeing you and saying hi. Tickets for all shows at JessKlein.com

Back in 2016, I was writing the song New Thanksgiving Feast. Mid-way through I called my producer to play him what I had so far. It was at that point mostly a catalog of images from America past and present, followed by a lot of editorializing. His advice was, “This is a song of images. Don’t editorialize”.

For a song that starts with the whitewashed Thanksgiving story most of us Americans were taught in school, then ranges into topics like immigration, the women’s march, counterprotestors, Colin Kaepernick taking a knee and the Dakota Access Pipeline, this was great advice. Editorializing would have been a mess, and likely, no one would have listened.

When I wrote the song we were not yet living under the first Trump administration. I was reaching for some higher collective truth. At the risk of sounding crazy, I still reach for that truth.

For so many reasons, it feels more important than ever to support and learn from the Indigenous communities who have access to a more rooted and sustainable relationship with this planet.

New Thanksgiving Feast is available on my Bandcamp with all proceeds going to support The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, the folks who inhabited the land I live on, before European contact. The mission of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi is to support the preservation, protection and promotion of their history, culture and traditions; while providing social, economic and educational resources, opportunities and services that contribute to the well being of the tribal community.

Many thanks to my friends at Macum Creek House Concerts in Maryland, for filming New Thanksgiving Feast the first time I performed it.

Here is the full lyric:

We traced our hands and made paper cutoutsWe pasted feathers onAnd we would shout out“I made a turkey”“I made a headdress”“I made a pilgrim’s hat”Then it was recessAnd the bell would ringWe’d run into the streetsCalled Iroquois, Council Rock, CayugaThose street signs hid the truth thoughDad put the football onIt felt like familyWe’d eat the most we couldPass out in front of the TVGrandma and grandpaThey were from RussiaThey wouldn’t talk aboutWhat it was like thoughI think they would have diedIf they had never triedTo come hereAnother family knowin’ that fearNow I think about the English-Irish ServantsAfricans they drug across in chainsChinese and Italian families riding on the wavesWhile along the pitch pine highwayNear Plymouth BeachA Wampanoag fights to keep his right to fish the seaA Wampanoag fights to keep his right to fish the seaWhen we all meet our CreatorWhich will it be?Paper cutouts and hollow shellsOr a new Thanksgiving feastOr a new Thanksgiving feastOut on an icy plainWrapped in blankets and beadsElders with weathered facesFaces that read like historySay a prayer for all of those who’ve come to standAnd a prayer for those firing water canonsIt is a prayer forThe CreatorWhile on a football fieldA man refuses to riseTo salute a country that would let his people dieAnd though the rage and fearSwirl around him like a twisterHe’s committed to his brothers and his sistersHe’s made a choice he knowsSo peacefully he sits thereWhile along the chilly streets of Boston,Charlotte, Seattle and DCPeople pouring out in numbers never seen beforeWhen we come to face our shadowsShadows too angry to ignoreAre we gonna tell ourselves it’s down to either/orOr will we finally realize we’re meant for something more?When we all meet our CreatorWhich will it be?Towing the lines, pretending we’re blindOr a new Thanksgiving feastOr a new Thanksgiving feast

Be Part of My Next Podcast - Ask Me Anything - Submit your question by 12/2!

For the next episode of Jess Klein’s Big Table: I’ll be answering questions from you! Ask me anything about my albums, songwriting process, tour life, anything you’ve heard me say on the podcast, my own spiritual/social justice journey, or even ask my advice on a challenge you’re facing in your life!

To submit a question, hit REPLY to this email, shoot me a message at [email protected] or leave a comment below and I’ll consider your question for a special Ask Me Anything Episode to air in early December!

It’s been an inspiring education for me, this first season of Jess Klein’s Big Table, conversations with Artists, Activists and visionaries! I hope it has for you as well! I’ll release two more episodes this year before taking a break for the holidays.

My new single, The Big Table is out now! Download it through the image below.

All proceeds go to World Central Kitchen, who have returned to provide meals in Gaza even after 7 of their aid workers were killed.

The beautiful artwork was created by Irish artist and muralist, Patrick Harnett. He included the 7 chairs to represent the 7 aid workers killed. Huge thanks to Patrick for donating his time and his vision to this vital cause.

The Big Table is ONLY available on my Bandcamp, for a donation of $5 or more, because I want to use it to raise money for World Central Kitchen. Let’s harness our collective power and support WCK in their extremely courageous work to save lives by feeding folks in Gaza.

Handwritten lyric sheets, signed by me are also available for a donation of $25 or more.

The chorus of The Big Table talks about being willing to trust. I love performing this song live because I get the audience to yell “trust” back at me during the choruses. It’s moving to hear a room full of people invest in that idea, even for 3 minutes and 46 seconds. It’s not easy for most of us to trust each other, let alone the universe, a higher power, the divine. But for what it’s worth, I’ve noticed that my own life is much easier when I’m willing to trust that way. Kind of clears the slate so I can keep putting one foot in front of the other, you know?

I believe it’s the responsibility of those of us living in relative safety to dream big and use our resources, including our time and creativity to help bring about a world where everyone can enjoy the abundance that is all of our birthright as human beings. Dreams + action is the only way the world has ever moved forward.

Join me in Sparta, NC this Friday 5/24 at Muddy Creek Music Hall! I’ll have my full band with me. We’ll celebrate the release of The Big Table and tear some sh*t up (sensitively…sort of). The Wild Hares will open the show. GET TICKETS.

Join me this Sunday 5/26 on zoom for our monthly Salon! Available to all my paid subscribers [Zoom link is at the bottom of this post!]. We’ll discuss our top 3 songs about good times and co-create a playlist which I’ll share to Spotify and YouTube!

If you’ve never joined us, these are lively chats where we get into it about our favorite songs/artists/albums, experiences with music. Best of all, I get to see your faces and talk to you in a way I’d never have time for at a live show.

Jess Klein's Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Thanks to my dear friend, Gaelynn Lea for interviewing me on her podcast, Creativity for Every Body! Check it out to hear our conversation and an unreleased song from me, plus read about all the incredible music, writing and disability rights work Gaelynn is engaged in!!

Upcoming Shows:

5/24 Muddy Creek Music Hall, Sparta, NC - FULL BAND SHOW!

6/6 The Martha Bassett Show, Reeves Theater, Elkin, NC

6/20-23 Moccasin Creek Music Fest, Effingham, IL

8/2 3rd Street Coffeehouse, Roanoke, VA

7/21 SEANCE Concert Series, Durham, NC - tickets coming soon

8/8 Gas Hill Drinking Room, Winston-Salem, NC - w/Grant Peoples

8/16-8/18 Philadelphia Folk Festival, Old Pool Farm, Upper Salford Township, PA

9/5-9/8 Antlers & Acorns Songwriters Festival, Boone, NC

A week from tomorrow my new single, The Big Table drops. You can pre-order it now on my Bandcamp.

Here’s some behind-the-scenes footage from the recording with my producer Mark Addison and guitar player Billy Masters at The Aerie in Austin. I love those dudes so much.

Part of the reason I went back to Austin to record my last album When We Rise (and this single, The Big Table) was the feeling of creative abundance I felt when I lived there. The concentration of talent was and remains bar none. When I first moved to Austin it was on a wing and a prayer. I had $300 to my name and no clue how it would work out. I just trusted that this community of musicians would somehow show me the way, and they did.

All proceeds from the single will go to World Central Kitchen, who have returned to provide meals in Gaza despite 7 of their aid workers being killed.

Pre-Order it now for $5 or more. You can also get a lyric sheet, handwritten and signed by me for a donation of $25 or more.

I recently read Pete Hamill’s book Snow in August. A young Irish-American boy in Brooklyn in the late 1940’s befriends a rabbi from Prague who has lost faith in God because of everything he witnessed during The Holocaust. When anti-semitism rears it’s head in their Brooklyn neighborhood, the rabbi, despite his faithful ability to relay fantastical stories about how the Golem saved previous generations of Jews, can’t summon the Golem himself. It can only be done by the boy, Michael, a child with a pure heart.

The chorus of The Big Table talks about trusting - the universe, a higher power, God, whatever you call it. How someone in the middle of a genocide would have faith or trust in anything, I have no idea. I do believe it’s the responsibility of those of us who live in relative safety to dream a better world and to do everything we can to bring I about. I try to have that childlike spirit when I hope, and that’s where this song comes from.

Because this is a fundraiser, The Big Table will only be available on my Bandcamp, not streaming services like Spotify, Apple, etc.

HEADS UP TO MY PAID SUBSCRIBERS: OUR MONTHLY SALON WILL BE a 4TH SUNDAY SALON THIS MONTH, SUNDAY MAY 19TH. I will send registration info next week.

Jess Klein's Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Excited to share I’ll join a host of great artists for the 61st Philadelphia Folk Festival this August! Been a long minute since I was in Philly! I’ll do some side stage stuff and a special full band set TBA on the Main Stage. GET TICKETS!

UPCOMING SHOWS:

5/24 Muddy Creek Music Hall, Sparta, NC - FULL BAND SHOW!

6/6 The Martha Bassett Show, Reeves Theater, Elkin, NC

6/20-23 Moccasin Creek Music Fest, Effingham, IL

7/21 HAUNT Concert Series, Radical Healing, Durham, NC - tickets coming soon

8/2 3rd Street Coffeehouse, Roanoke, VA

8/8 Gas Hill Drinking Room, Winston-Salem, NC - w/Grant Peoples

8/16-8/18 Philadelphia Folk Festival, Old Pool Farm, Upper Salford Township, PA

9/5-9/8 Antlers & Acorns Songwriters Festival, Boone, NC

Love y’all!

Jess

Friends, my new single The Big Table drops 5/24.  It will only be available on my Bandcamp store and all proceeds will benefit World Central Kitchen, who have returned to G*z* to provide food even after 7 of their aid workers were killed. 

For a larger donation, I will send you a lyric sheet for The Big Table, handwritten and signed by me.

I made a little sneak preview visualizer, with help from artist and arts-supporting friends at Southeast Regional Folk Alliance in Black Mountain this past weekend:

Sharing meals is always about more than just the food itself - it’s about the feeling of connection and nourishing ourselves in community. No offense to the kitchen staff at the Blue Ridge YMCA, but I can tell you for sure that what these folks are enjoying is primarily the company.

The Big Table is about believing there is enough for everyone - enough food, enough love, enough joy, enough power.  Enough peace.  Enough time and space to dream and take risks in the name of love.  A world where we can trust we will all be protected and provided for, by forces seen and unseen.  It's about sharing our true abundance (our ability to care for each other), knowing that when more people do this than not, there will truly be enough for everyone.  We will collectively be free when we collectively know this core truth.

We originally recorded this track in the sessions for When We Rise. It didn’t fit with the album per se, and I’ve been sitting with it for a while, trying to decide how and when to release it. When I learned that World Central Kitchen had lost 7 aid workers, I felt called to use The Big Table in this way.

Here’s a bit about WCK’s current work in Gaza, from their website:

World Central Kitchen has resumed operations in Gaza, serving 2 million meals over the past week. The humanitarian crisis remains dire. We will continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible—by land, air, or sea. We have 276 trucks, with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals, ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing. Dozens of these trucks have already entered Gaza this week. To date we have distributed more than 46 million meals and we are eager and ready to deliver millions more. 

PRE-ORDER THE SINGLE AND/OR A LYRIC SHEET HANDWRITTEN AND SIGNED BY ME TO SUPPORT WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN.

Join me and my full band Friday 5/24 at Muddy Creek in Sparta, NC! So excited to play at this gorgeous listening room for the first time and bring you all the rock-folk-whatever I am you can handle. Special guests The Wild Hares open. 8 pm show. Sponsored by the Alleghany Arts Council.

Upcoming Shows:

5/24 Muddy Creek Music Hall, Sparta, NC - FULL BAND SHOW!

6/6 The Martha Bassett Show, Reeves Theater, Elkin, NC

6/20-23 Moccasin Creek Music Fest, Effingham, IL

8/2 3rd Street Coffeehouse, Roanoke, VA

7/21 HAUNT Concert Series, Radical Healing, Durham, NC - tickets coming soon

8/8 Gas Hill Drinking Room, Winston-Salem, NC - w/Grant Peoples

9/5-9/8 Antlers & Acorns Songwriters Festival, Boone, NC