Being Creatures

get off your screen and come to our thing.

We have a new tradition in our family. We call it ‘being creatures’. I credit our daughter Zuzu, who came on the scene four and a half months ago. Being creatures means getting off your phone or laptop or baby bouncer — whatever machine it is that’s driving a wedge between your body and your heart — and going outside and laying down in the grass in the front yard. After, say, a particularly memorable diaper change someone will shout “Okay let’s go be creatures!” and Zuzu and her mother and I will go outside and lay down in the grass on our backs and get quiet and feel the sun on our faces and the blades of grass tickling our ears and we’ll look up at the leaves sprouting from the sleepy branches and that’s all we’ll do. Zuzu absolutely loves being a creature. So do we. Hard to pin down the specific clinical benefits but at the very least you feel a thousand percent better on the other side and I bet it cures cancer too.

This is your opportunity to come be a creature, culturally.

Sunday May 18 (three weeks from today) Randa and I are hosting our first annual music and literary arts festival. By festival I mean, a 2 hour show of short sets and readings featuring the absolute best talent from Nashville's eclectic creative community. The event will benefit Vanderbilt Fetal Care Center (more about that below).

East of Eden

Music and Literary Arts Festival
Sunday May 18
4 - 6pm
East Nashville

A celebration of Nashville music and literature benefitting expectant mothers with pregnancy complications via Vanderbilt Fetal Care Center.

EoE will feature short sets of music from wunderkinds Mair and Anthony da Costa, some songs from me and my award-winning catalogue and readings from celebrated authors Adam Ross and Sheba Karim.

All benefits go to expectant mothers facing pregnancy complications, under the auspices of Vanderbilt Fetal Care Center. Randa used to work there and learned that many mothers with high-risk pregnancies lack the resources to receive care, even when care is provided. Paying for gas for long-distance travel, for instance, isn't covered by insurance and can be a nearly insurmountable obstacle for a mother already facing a difficult situation. This benefit is a small way we can help.

This is happening at Ranch Vovo, our private studio in East Nashville, near Five Points. Seating is limited so don’t wait! We’ll serve light refreshments and, as my dad would say, visit a little, and then we’ll experience some music and excellent writing, together.

This is going to be a really cool event. Find out more about East of Eden. Randa told me to add: If you are interested in partnering with us to sponsor EoE or a future benefit show, please contact her (randa@ranchvovo.com).

Come be a creature.