Raison D'Etre: Home
Up next for this folk trio...
We are so excited to be featured each Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday in February on Women of Substance's Valentine Show. Listen from 3-7 pm beginning Wednesday February 3rd! There's nothing to lose in love at all...
***One More Girl on a Stage benefit at York Street was an excellent event. Thanks to all the wonderful folks who supported this cause. And big thanks to Kelly Thomas for her organizational skill, good humor and all-around good-personhood.***
***SERFA(South East Region Folk Alliance) in Mountain View Arkansas was a great time with some wonderful people at one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. Thanks to Kari Estrin and the board for pulling off this excellent conference. Can't wait until next year! There are a few shots of our "Old Kentucky Home" showcase artists on our photo page. We had a relaxing time presenting our fellow singer songwriters from Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky(us.) All folks had to do to be included was perform one KY-themed song. It was a delightful experience. Love that Ozark Folk Center!***
***Old West Festival was a blast this year, pardners! Hope to see you in your best cowboy/cowgirl outfit next year. Happy Trails!
***Thanks to Jo-Beth and to every one of you who came out August 14 to the Rookwood store to make our event so much fun!***
***Lovely things happen at Edensong. Take the above sketch from audience member, Naomi Bradford, for instance.***
***See beautiful Lakeside, OH in our most recent set of photos from Vickie's phone and camera. We loved spending a day there after our concert. (Photos page.)***
***Fountain Square was hot fun in the summer time! Enjoyed singing with Pru Hunt and sharing some of our tales from the tall side with the lunch bunch. We're on vacation until July 12 when we play at Lakeside on Lake Erie. North Coast, here we come!***
***"This Kind of Rain" just received an "Honorable Mention" from Mike Pinder's(Moody Blues) Songwars.
Critique comments, "creative, catchy, and lyrically interesting." From the dude who played mellotron on "Nights in White Satin," I'll take it.***
We had a great time supporting Hope Emergency June 6 at the Old West Festival. Happy Trails!
***"The Hard Truth" was just selected for airplay on "Women of Substance Radio."***
Thanks to everyone who came out to our house concert for Carla Gover on April 10th. She gave a splendid show featuring her daughters, Zoey and Maizie, on harmonies. Bev and Sue of Womensway took a few candid shots which are now displayed on our photo page.
It's here! Our 2009 release, TALES FROM THE TALL SIDE, is now available at CD Baby and iTunes. Thanks to everyone who came out to our Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati events. And an extra special thanks to the Music Cafe in Hamilton!
SWING CANARIES available at concerts, through the mail, or at CD Baby...
It's HERE! After many requests to put our recorded swing tunes on one disc, we have just released SWING CANARIES--a 10 song compilation of songs from the 30s and 40s. You can reserve your copy now by e-mailing us here at the website and then by sending $12.00 to our contact address(checks payable to Raison D'Etre, includes postage.)
Or order online from the friendly folks at CDBaby:
New on our PHOTO page, b&w shots from Acoustic Lunch 2008, courtesy of roneinhaus.com and several shots by Donna Campbell and the Minnow Media folks from SOLATIDO, a Southern Singer/Songwriter's Retreat and Workshop in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Carrie Newcomer was this year's instructor!
Next up...
See our CALENDAR page for more detailed schedule and links to our shows.
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Raison D'Etre is included in the Kentucky Arts Council's Performing Arts Directory and is eligible for fee support through the Arts on Tour Program.
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What a fabulous concert Anita Camarella and Davide Facchini gave in Wilder! We wish them the best for their upcoming wedding. They are amazing musicians and people! Ciao!
We posted a few photos from our sister, Rosanne, on the PHOTO page.
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Howdy, partners! We had a great three weekends at Ohio's newest festival: The Old West Fest in Brown County. Just take a drive out route 32 East and look for the signs. Gunfights, saloon shows, train rides, crafters, a magician, Buffalo Bill, pony rides, and lots of country, bluegrass, and cowboy music on two stages.
See our calendar page for a direct link because the fun will continue next year. Whoopie ty-yi-aye!
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Roberta's song "Maggie's Reel" is included on the newly released children's CD entitled ISN'T IT A WONDER. Produced by the Cincinnati Ceilidh group, this 24-track collection features songs contributed by Tri-state singer songwriters and will benefit Cincinnati Children's Choir, Ronald McDonald House, Literary Network of Greater Cincinnati, and the Ceilidh Group(for future projects.)
Congrats to Pru Hunt, Jim Hunt and Tim Kelly for the CityBeat review that calls this CD "immaculately produced." To pick up your copy, watch for Cincinnati release parties, or check with the developing website for more details.
www.ceilidhgroup.org
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Big news! Vickie Ellis and Violet Rae Downey just received "Honorable Mention" for their songs "Another Train" and "Legacy" from the 2008 West Coast Songwriters Competition, Americana Category. The website lists the credits as Raison D'Etre and Roberta Schultz, so I wanted to make it clear on our site who the honors truly belong to: VICKIE AND VIOLET RAE! Yee-haw!
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Just posted a few of Vickie's photos from our retreat at Cindy Steffen's PRAIRIE,POND,WOODS retreat center! We spent a weekend arranging a few tunes for our next studio session. See our PHOTO page for a glimpse at this beautiful place in Adams County, OH.
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Read a new review of HEARTS CONTENT by Jamie Anderson on Indie-Music.com. The link and a quote are on our PRESS page.
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Raison D'Etre is happy to announce our 2007 MOVA results:
"Legacy" by Violet Rae Downey made the final round of competition on September 16. So did "This Kind of Rain" by Roberta Schultz. After the final round, Violet Rae came away as a 2007 MOVA Winner in the Children's/Humor/Holiday category while Roberta took Third Place in Folk/Bluegrass. We are honored to be part of the MOVA Songwriting Festival family of songwriters. The MOVA folks know how to put on a classy competition in a beautiful location. And, yes, they can pull off an excellent celebration with the likes of Cook & Glenn(Jeff Cook, formerly of the band ALABAMA!) Thanks to the Mountain Valley Arts Council, Jan Smith, Kim Booth, the hardworking, good humored and encouraging judges(see the Mountain Valley Arts Council site for their impressive bios and credits,) Janice Slaughter, Jimmy, James, Dave, all the songwriters and their families, the sponsors and attendees for making this year's MOVA a memorable event for Raison D'Etre. We truly appreciate your kindnesses and support. Best of luck to Matt Morrow for his Bluebird Cafe appearance. And big congrats to Donny and Susan Grace for their Best of Show award.
The Seventh Street Gifts 7th Annual Artist Day and Garden party was a blast! Close to 600 folks showed up to browse the artisans' work, eat the food, enjoy beverages and watch the Hip Sisters and the Doom Daddies. And a good number of you came out to hear us! Thanks so much for sharing your day!
On March 15 2007, Roberta won an "Honor Award" for her song, "Be True," from the Great American Song Contest. Every little bit of encouragement helps. Will work for gold stars and stickers!
You can check out all the winners at their website. Jude Jones of Cincinnati also received an Honor Award with Dave Carter.
http://www.GreatAmericanSong.com
***RAISON D'ETRE is the registered service mark of this performing arts vocal trio, singing together since 1990.***
***HEARTS CONTENT, Raison D'Etre's 5th CD, is now available at CD Baby! Listen to clips and read the descriptions of Raison D'Etre recordings on our "music" and "buy" pages. Read reviews on our "press" page.
HEARTS CONTENT is also available at the following retail locations in the Greater Cincinnati area:
Kentucky Haus Artisan Center, Newport, KY•Borders Eastgate, Cincinnati•Barnes and Noble(on the Levee), Newport, KY•Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Norwood, OH
In Louisville, pick up your copy of HEARTS CONTENT at Borders on Shelbyville Rd.
And, if you're driving through Kentucky on I-75, stop by the beautiful Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea to pick up any of Raison D'Etre's recordings, enjoy some lunch, and talk with the friendly staff about any of Kentucky's marvelous artisans.
***Photos on this page by Pru Hunt***
We welcome additions to our e-mail list. Just sign in with name and e-mail at the link on this page. While we also welcome you to sign our guestbook, we will delete all anonymous entries from both e-mail and guestbook.
Raise on, and don't defer those dreams!