Songwriters in the Round with Beth Wood, Megan Alder, and Alicia Viani

Join three of Central Oregon's celebrated songwriters for an evening of community and song. Beth, Alicia, and Megan are teaming to share original writing, stories, harmonies, and to support the Open Arts Center.

This is a listening room experience, and the performers and other audience members appreciate your respectful attention during the show. Doors are at 6:30 and the show is at 7pm. Pre-purchased tickets are highly recommended and are avaialble for a sliding scale, as it is just as important to make art accessible as it is for artists to make a living in Central Oregon. "Tight Budget Tickets" are $20 and are for folks who are facing economic challenges (please do not hesitate to reach out if this is more than your resources allow. We don't want to turn anyone away and can create an individual ticket for your via eventbrite). "General Admission" tickets are $30, and "Supporter" tickets are $50 for those who have resources they'd like to share. A portion of each ticket sale is donated to the OAC.

Tea will be provided. The Open Arts Center does not serve alcohol or food.

Performer information:

Beth Wood has been writing, performing, and teaching full-time for thirty years — delighting and inspiring audiences with her exceptional musicianship, intelligent writing, powerhouse voice, and warm and commanding stage presence. Texan-raised and Oregon-based, Wood has morphed from a young classically trained, folk-tinged singer-songwriter to a wailing southern rock band leader to a college-circuit acoustic coffeehouse sweetheart to a well-respected nationally-touring poet and troubadour. Through all of these incarnations, Wood has remained true to herself and to her artistry; she has done it her way.

Hailing from the Columbia River Gorge, Megan Alder is a vocal powerhouse performing upbeat swing and Americana music. She delivers her original songs with raw grit and soul.
Influenced by artists like Billie Holiday and Bonnie Raitt, Alder leads her band with fearless flat picking. She performs as a solo artist with live loops and kazoo flare. Her latest EP, Dark Side, features four original songs recorded live in Parkdale, OR, available on all platforms.

“I have a memory of people having guitars and singing no matter where we were or which language was spoken,” Oregon-based songwriter Alicia Viani says of her childhood, much of which was spent overseas, “and how easy it is to share music with people, which speaks to the entire point of why we play songs—to connect and not feel alone.” Each of her songs is commanded by a voice that feels entirely human, turning moments of deep complexity and heartbreak into warm jazzy, country folk that finds easy paths into the heart, much like the musical moments she cherishes from her childhood. Viani tackles complex current events such as the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and racism, but all in the gentle form of a personal story to invitingly navigate typically-avoided topics. The songs are wholly absorbing as they carry the listener from one private world to the next, each imploring to be discovered. Viani’s desire for utmost connection is embodied by the sensitive ballads that make up her thoughtfully penned self-titled debut album, which released in the Spring of 2020.

The Open Arts Center is a nonprofit creative arts center that provides free and accessible after school programming, self-directed learning, and community-sourced mentorship for Central Oregon’s teens, between the ages of 12-18. Half of the center is also dedicated to adult working artists and creative community members to rent studio space, become a member, offer workshops or just drop in for a day of making.

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Host or Publisher Alicia Viani