The Kitchen Musician ~ August 2026

Hello Friends,

I have some great shows coming up in the next couple months, and a new song inspired by the life and poetry of Andrea Gibson. Lots to share in this issue of The Kitchen Musician!

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Index

  NEWS:
  THIS MONTH’S MUSIC: “For Andrea”
  UPCOMING SHOWS
  FEATURED NON-PROFIT: Force Multiplier

Fight Back with a Song #1, with Mark Erelli, Owen Erelli, Alastair Moock – June 2026
Photo: Dan Tappan

News:

Margo and I are enjoying a break from Boston, spending time with our children and their children at our cabin in Jaffrey, New Hampshire – lake time, blueberry pancakes for breakfast, endless reading sessions from our extensive library of “Berenstain Bears” and “Mother West Wind” books, newt searching, and more than a few rounds of singing (lots of new verses for “Aiken Drum”.) Summer days to treasure.

We had a great Fight Back with a Song concert in June. Mark Erelli, Cosy Sheridan, Alastair Moock, Les Sampou, Kemp Harris, The Lied To’s, Ruthann Baler and I sang for 200 folks. We raised $12,000 for worthy Democratic candidates who have promise to flip the House and Senate! You can view a slide show of concert photos at this link. It was so well received that we are doing it again with all new artists. For details of this and several other great shows coming up soon, see below.

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UPCOMING SHOWS

August 21, Friday, Jaffrey, NH, 7:00 pm. Cosy Sheridan and I will share a presentation at The Amos Fortune Forum, at the historic Jaffrey Meeting House. We will sing our original songs and have a conversation about how this ancient story-telling art form serves both the songwriter’s and the listeners’ healthy relationship to the challenges of living in the modern world.

Sept. 27, Sunday, Harvard, MA, 4:30 pm. Following a successful Fight Back with a Song concert in June, I have teamed up with Nashoba Indivisible and Force Multiplier for another one with all new artists. Join Reggie Harris, Sol y Canto, Chris & Meredith Thompson, Danielle Miraglia, Eric Kilburn and me as we sing to raise awareness and funds for worthy Democratic candidates to flip the House and Senate. Full details, seat reservations and donate at fightbackwithasong.org.

Oct. 17, Saturday, Needham, MA, 7:30 pm. Cosy Sheridan and I return to the venerable Homegrown Coffeehouse, assisted by Charlie Koch and Seth Connelly. We had a full house last time two years ago, and this should be another great one. Join us!

Nov. 8, Sunday, Northampton, MA, 4:00 pm. Songwriter showcase with Dave Dersham at Ana Bandeira Chocolates.

All show details can be found at upcoming shows.

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This Month’s Music: “For Andrea”

I enjoy reading poetry. One favorite poet is Robert Frost. I know that a lot of “serious poets” these days consider him an “entry level” poet. I acknowledge that most of his poems are very accessible, but I prefer to describe his poetry as having both a low threshold and a high ceiling. It is this aspect of his poetry that I try very hard to bring to my songwriting.

I find it difficult to appreciate many contemporary poets, but every now and then I am introduced to one who communicates powerfully in ways completely different than the Robert Frost that I am comfortable with. One such poet is Andrea Gibson, who sadly died of cancer last July at the tragically young age of 49. Andrea was genderqueer and used pronouns they/them/theirs. Gender factors into many of their poems, as does politics, social justice and subjects dealing with life and mortality.

As much as I love reading Andrea Gibson’s poems, they are best when spoken out loud by Andrea Gibson. I can’t recall the very first poem of their’s I heard, but I do recall how I felt when I heard it. WOW! Here is Andrea performing “MAGA Hat in the Chemo Room” for the NPR Tiny Desk.

If you are looking to dive deeper into Andrea’s poetry, I suggest “Acceptance Speech After Setting the Record in Goosebumps.” Lots more at andreagibson.org.

After Andrea’s death, a documentary “Come See Me in the Good Light” shared Andrea’s life story, their love affair with wife Megan Falley and ultimately their final year living with cancer. I wrote “For Andrea” after watching the film and being very moved by it. Several themes from the film made their way into the song. as did a couple phrases from their poems. I will leave it as an “exercise for the listener” to connect those dots. I was moved to record the song a couple weeks ago at our New Hampshire cabin, in spite of having only an iPad to do it with. After uploading it to Youtube, I learned that I recorded it exactly one year to the day after Andrea’s death.

As always, thank you for following my music journey. Please take a moment to say “hi!” if we are ever in the same place at the same time.

Steady on!

Tom

(If so inclined, I invite you to leave a comment by scrolling to the end of this page.)

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Featured Non-profit: Force Multiplier

“Force Multiplier, an independent, all-volunteer organization, can help you maximize the impact of your political investments of time and money. We guarantee that 100% of your donations goes directly to the candidates and groups you choose to support.”

“We work on three intersecting fronts:

• We support candidates in competitive races to win the House and build power in the Senate.
• We fight autocracy by supporting litigation groups that uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and organizations that prevent election interference both nationally and locally.
• We educate and engage voters online and on the ground.”

Please consider donating to our “Fight Back with a Song” funds, carefully researched by Force Multiplier. Note: While Force Multiplier does have non-profit status projects, these specific donations go to candidates and are therefore not tax deductible.

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