Carolann Solebello

On Independence Day, I thought about interdependence instead. Because that's just the kind of weirdo I am. 

I thought about a document so breathtakingly radical it sparked not only a revolution and a new nation, but a whole new way of thinking. In declaring independence from a distant and tyrannical monarch, our nation's founders also declared independence from old and outdated ways of thinking about government and society. 

I thought about how radical the phrase "all men are created equal" must have seemed…

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending the SERFA (Southeast Regional Folk Alliance) conference in beautiful Black Mountain NC, in the company of a few hundred kindred spirits.

Regional folk music conferences like SERFA are essentially a gathering of the tribe, where songwriters, musicians, radio hosts, concert presenters, festival organizers, record promoters, producers, engineers, publicists, and others who share a passion for folk and acoustic music come together to share songs, stories…

Here in Brooklyn, crocuses and daffodils are waking up under sidewalk trees and in window boxes, tiny dogs are ditching their metallic down coats (I kid you not) and scampering about in the buff, so I, too, am peeking out from beneath my slouchy hipster beanie and turtleneck with fresh energy and a few new ideas...

More on that later, but for now, I'm excited to report that I've got three live-and-in person SHOWS this month in three different towns not too far north of Manhattan: 

Saturday, April 9th, I'll…

Helloooooooo in there... It's been a minute, hasn't it?

A chilly, dark, frightening minute that might actually have been a year, a decade, a century. It's really hard to say. I don't know about you, but time moves just a little differently for me these days. So much so that I almost didn't notice the days are getting longer and the tourists are coming back to NYC and my kid is about to turn sixteen and I finally -- FINALLY -- have some good news to share with you...

NO FUSS AND FEATHERS, the fearsome…

...well, not quite, but I'm excited. I'm one of those people who deeply enjoys the crisping of the air and the falling of the leaves and the making of the soup and the sharpening of the pencils that comes with the arrival of Autumn. You can keep your pumpkin spice, but I'll meet you for a steaming black coffee and a pumpernickel bagel on a park bench any day of the week come September. And yes, Autumn in New York IS all it's cracked up to be. Most of the time... 

Anyhow, Summer was lovely in that I got to…

...and suddenly, it's Summer!

Things are heating up in more than one way, it seems. I had the privilege of kicking off the new season with my first indoor concert in what seems like forever in front of a LIVE (and vaccinated) audience, and it was positively exhilarating! How wonderful to STAND and SING for other humans without fear of infection or slow internet...

Grateful that there will be more of that in the coming months, in manageable doses. Here's what's up in June:

• VIRTUAL -- June 11-13: "The…

Hello, fellow travelers. It's been a minute, hasn't it? 

Hope this finds you well in all ways as Spring gently unfolds her blossoms and we, it seems, do the same; carefully emerging from the longest, deepest, darkest hibernation of body, mind, and spirit in living memory.

As we emerge, I find myself marveling at what a remarkably adaptable and resilient species we are. Really. Each one of us developed new habits, new routines, and new patterns of thought and behavior as we adjusted to ever-shifting…

"Begin with hopelessness."  

What?!? 

This sentence knocked me flat when I first read Pema Chodron's "When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times" a few months ago. Here I was, agitated and uneasy, seeking comfort in a well-known text by a popular Buddhist teacher, suddenly blindsided by the opposite of what I expected to find in its pages. In a sea of positive affirmations and exhortations to "keep hope alive" as tidal waves of hardship and suffering and grief pound us day in and day out…

Hello, friends! 

It's been a minute... I'm hoping you and yours are safe and well, and that you're continuing to enjoy live music -- onscreen or outdoors at a safe distance -- whenever and wherever you can!

As for me, well, I've been pretty quiet these past few months, holding my little family and our local community close. So when our community rose up against racial injustice in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, I proudly marched in the streets of Brooklyn alongside my…

Hello, friends!

It is my sincerest hope that this note finds you and your loved ones safe and well. 

The world is turning at a dizzying pace, it seems. Terrible things are happening. But good things are happening, too. Here in Brooklyn, it is quieter than ever. Life is slower. I spend more time with the people I love best. We get up early. We eat together. We play together. We talk. We sing. We get silly. We don't rush anything. Some days, I struggle, but overall, I am grateful. Deeply grateful.

Everything…