McINTOSH’S MUSIC FUSES HUMAN DIGNITY AND ART–Martin Renzhofer, Salt Lake Tribune It’s a disservice to Beth McIntosh to pigeonhole her as a folk singer.
The trappings of her folk background are there: songs about weighty issues performed solo with an acoustic guitar.
However, the personal quality of this Jackson, WY based singer songwriter’s voice and guitar stylings moves her away from the coffee houses and into larger halls, such as the Utah Museum of Fine Arts Auditorium. McIntosh, a recipient of a Performing Arts Fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council, studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has performed with Emmylou Harris, David Bromberg, Leo Kottke and Rory Block.
McIntosh will premiere tales from her third and latest CD, Songline, inspired by a book about the Aboriginal way of life in Australia.
“I started the idea for the album from a truth for Aboriginal people,” McIntosh said. “They believe when their great ancestors created the world, they would take walks along the huge geographical lines in the outback. They believe their ancestors would sing a song to create the landscape.”
Now, McIntosh said, to ensure safe passage across the desert, Aborigines sing traditional songs.
“My work is in no way about Australia, but it is a leaping-off point,” she said. “Songline is the melodies that track my way through this lifetime.”
McIntosh also remains convinced that modern society has mistakenly severed art from its lifestyle.
“Human dignity and art are inseparable,” she said.
While McIntosh’s previous works usually concentrated on environmental and political issues, she turned to her own heart for Songline.
"I remember thinking this is going to take some courage,” she said. “I wanted to go deeper into myself.” McIntosh experimented in the recording studio, for the first time writing parts for percussion instruments. Songline also is McIntosh’s most accessible and upbeat work.
“On purpose I don’t want to overproduce,” she said. “But I have to reach my audience. You must speak to people in a language that is similar to what they are used to hearing sometimes. I love the people who come to my shows.”
|