So, the holidays are over! YAY! Uh, I mean, awww darn. What is it about the holiday season that gives me so much joy and anxiety at the same time? Anyway, it was wonderful and exhausting, and now it's over. Time for Spring.

The Hungry For Music Benefit was a real joy for me, and in spite of bronchitis I was able to pull off the short set. I had the chance to meet some other musicians, people I've heard of but never had the chance to meet. The talent that performed that night was exceptional. I finally got to hear Ira Gitlin on banjo, and I was so flattered that he liked my guitar playing! He's practically a legend around these parts. But my head didn't get to swell to much, because the talent in the room took up SO much space! I think the most exciting performers that were new to me were the bluegrass bands Dead Men's Hollow and Suzanne Ives with Bumkin Pie. I'm not a bluegrass artist by any means, but I guess my Irish and Appalachian roots run a lot deeper than I ever thought, because that music can really get my feet stompin' and my blood boiling!

For those of you who get my regular mailings, you know that I've cut back on solo performing to try to take my music in a new direction. So, I'm very excited to announce that I've started rehearsing with a new guitar player, Tony Phillips. We just recently met and found that we have so much in common in respect to the music we love and appreciate, and we've decided to try working together as a duo. I'm hoping that working with Tony will be a first step in that new direction.

For starters, we plan to focus on jazz standards, blues and show tunes that we both know and love. It will give us an opportunity to get to know each other musically and just have some much needed fun before we test ourselves on collaboration.

I am seriously looking forward to singing without worrying about playing the guitar! But for you fans of my 'quirky' finger-picking style, have no fear. I'm not putting down the guitar for good! I still love to play, and will play on several songs and my own material when the music calls for it.

So, wish us luck on this new venture, and please stay tuned! This is a new direction for me and I can't wait to share it with you. I'll try to add updates more frequently (I got that chastisement for an empty calendar and no updates!), keep you informed on our progress and let you know the minute we have a show scheduled. Thanks so much for your support, your encouragement and, well, just for being there!

Happy Holidays to everyone! I know it's been a long time since I've written here but I want to thank everyone who sent me such sweet get-well notes and wishes. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! Has it really been since last JUNE when I played locally?

Well, I MISS performing...I guess you could say I'm HUNGRY FOR MUSIC! So, lucky me...my song "Mary and Joe" is one of the selections on this years Hungry For Music Holiday CD, and I will be one of several artists performing at the CD release to be held December 17 at Potters House in DC. I really hope you'll come out for this wonderful benefit concert! Supporting Hungry for Music is an honor and a pleasure. Come share the festivities, and support this worthy cause. For full details, check the calendar page. (If you would like to receive regular emails, please sign the guestbook and leave your address.)

I know I've had to cut my performing schedule back dramatically, but I'll still be around at showcases and sharing shows with other great artists. I hope to see you at some of them! Showcases really are worth coming out for...you get the chance to hear other great local musicians that you might not have known about! Your support of the local music scene is vital to its success. The DC area is full of incredible talent. Think of showcases as one-stop shopping!

Speaking of shopping, don't forget CD's make wonderful Christmas presents. My CD Chocolate and Morphine is still available at CDBaby.com, Target.com and most other online retailers, and of course at any live shows. The Hungry for Music CD's also make great gifts, so plan to do some shopping when you come out to the show.

Your continuing friendship, concerns and good thoughts have really kept me motivated and positive and I'm looking forward to getting back out there for you. I love hearing from any and all of you, and hope you'll visit my website, sign the guestbook, drop me a line....let me know what's going on in your world, too!

See you at the show....

My summer trip to New Orleans, San Antonio and Fort Worth was just incredible. In Fort Worth, I played at MacHenry's which is THE place to go if you are an acoustic singer/songwriter visiting Texas. Two nights later I played for conventioneers at the Amerisuites Hotel right smack-dab in the middle of the Fort Worth Stockyards. It was so much fun, and I sold CD's and made new fans and friends. What more could one ask? I can't wait to go back!
While in New Orleans, we stayed at the historic Pontchartrain Hotel, made friends with the staff there, especially Kevin the bartender! (NOT that I spent that much time in the bar....really!) The bar had a wonderfully talented piano player who could accompany anyone on just about anything. His name is Philip Melancon, and by coincidence, he turned out to be the owner of the coffeehouse I planned to play at! So, it was extra fun when I performed at the quirky, bohemian and totally wonderful Neutral Grounds Coffeehouse in New Orleans. It breaks my heart to think it might now be underwater. I haven't been able to find out any information about Philip, or Kevin, or any of the other staff or performers I met that night. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers!
I've found it so frustrating knowing that because of my own personal challenges, I am unable to do much of anything to assist the victims of this terrible tragedy. Some people I know are pitching in at the Red Cross, taking in evacuees, sending generous contributions, organizing and performing benefit concerts, and here I sit homebound, an impatient patient, resenting that, for the time being, I have little to offer. So, the least I can do is to use something that I already have to help those so much more in need than I.....
For now, every dime of profit from the sales of my CD "Chocolate and Morphine" will be directed to Katrina Relief Efforts. The most direct way to order the CD is through CDBaby.com, especially if you want to use a credit card, but you can also order directly by emailing nikki@nikkirouse.com. CDBaby.com will direct profits to the Red Cross. Proceeds from sales directly through me will be distributed through NetworkForGood.com.
Check out the other artists on CDBaby who are donating as well...you can get all your holiday shopping done early! I'll be back into the performing circuit just as soon as I'm able, so stay tuned to nikkirouse.com for updates!

Some friends asked why I didn't post on my webpage about being censored. I initially chose to discuss it with only a select few, people who's opinions and experience I value and trust (not that I don't love the rest of you!) to see how they have dealt with the issue of censorship, or how they feel about it. Everyone I asked is either a regular gigging musician or knowledgeable about the business.
But by the time I got to the JPF Songwriters showcase, word had spread, and the debates had begun! So, it seems that my trying to keep a somewhat low profile about the issue was pretty silly in retrospect. So, for those who missed it, the song I wrote for my son when he joined the Army, "My Son Is A Soldier", rubbed a venue owner the wrong way. She also has a son in the service, currently in Iraq, and thought I was dissing the soldiers. As If! Anyone who knows me knows I would never EVER diss the soldiers. Now, the administration....THAT'S another matter....
Anyway, she interrupted the song, let me finish it begrudgingly, then ripped into me afterwards. Strangely enough, she then she invited me back .....as long as I didn't sing anything she didn't like, or that she might consider controversial. Seems she missed the part on my web page that says I write songs about 'social injustice and even the occasional political commentary'. It's right there on my front page.
But it's her sandbox. In the many discussions on censorship that have come about since that evening, the rule of 'self-censorship' came up many times. This is a given, and every working artist should know that. But I think it's important to point out that the venue owner knew, or should have known, exactly who I was and what I was about when she hired me. I had my doubts when we first spoke, so I asked several times about the type of atmosphere, kind of songs she was looking for. She emphasized that she was a great fan of FOLK music and a great supporter of singer/songwriters. So, where was the red flag in that? As one wise songwriter friend pointed out, Folk music is ABOUT SOCIAL CHANGE. So, no....I won't be playing there again.
Well, 'nuff said. The fuss about the issue has died down, and I've got a brand spanking new song out of it all. Thanks to ....oh, I can't say his name....hehe...but one of the many wonderful performing songwriters I spoke to about that night inspired the new song when he said he never worries about censorship because he never thinks about politics or religion.
Well, he's a great songwriter and a wonderful entertainer. But me? I think about things, maybe to much....I can't help but think of the quote in the front of Janis Ian's book "Who Really Cares", by Rainier Maria Rilke: "I don't want to be a poet, I want to change your life".

I am so excited to announce that I've been selected as one of 20 semi-finalists in the New Song Regional contest. I'll be competing live at the Strathmore on May 18, less than two weeks away! Wish me luck. Better yet, come out and cheer me on!
I still don't know which of my songs got their interest. I submitted both She Can't Be Serious and Beautiful Me in the contest.
I have all of five minutes to convince them I'm worthy of a spot at the June 19 Strathmore show....arghhh! I don't have to do either of the songs I initially entered, so as if I didn't have enough to get nervous about, now I have to decide...do I do a new song, like Maryland? Or should I stick to the tried and true....so many decisions, so little time! But I am really excited. It will be so fun, any way you look at it.

Welcome to my new news page! It's still under construction because I'm in the process of re-arranging this website, so please check back in a while to see the changes!

I have a new calendar that is much easier to maintain, so the "Live" page will eventually morph into something else....I haven't decided what just yet. Any ideas? Be nice! ;)

Thanks for visiting, and please come back again!

test entry for Nikki Rouse News Page.