McINTOSH MOVES CLOSER TO HER SOUL AS CAREER MATURES–Alise Rudio, Jackson Hole Guide Beth McIntosh came to Jackson Hole from the East to live and grow as a musician in a beautiful place in the mountains. But much of the wildness she writes about in her songs takes place in her heart and soul.
The sun-dappled deck of her home faces away from the massive Tetons into an overgrown garden. It is shaded by leaves that bob in a light September breeze. “You can have a wilderness experience inside your own heart,” she says, “and we absolutely need wild places in order for that to happen.”
Sitting on a comfortable couch in a worn black blazer, her silver blonde hair falling over her shoulders, McIntosh points at a tree an osprey uses to eat his fish. She watches horses and geese in a nearby field.
“This is where I do my best work,” McIntosh says.
In a three story house made of logs, the singer-songwriter has plenty of interesting spaces to slip into a creative frame of mind.
“It’s called being in the ‘zone,’ a place where an artist can write and perform,” she says.
After a summer at home in Jackson writing songs, McIntosh is finding herself at an interesting point in her creative process.
“When I get out of the way and just let the stuff write itself, it’s really astounding,”
The bluesy folks singer and accomplished acoustic guitarist finds herself becoming less regimented and more intuitive with songwriting. “I’m moving close and closer into my soul as I mature. I’m letting go. My brain is getting less involved.”
McIntosh’s content-oriented material is recognized as literary, which elevates her into the company of a slew of Western writers including Rick Bass and William Kittridge.
To McIntosh, being paired with Terry Tempest Williams is a huge compliment. First because she believes the female voice is important to the American West. Second because she was born in the East. “It’s like a love affair to be here,” McIntosh said, “and for me to be recognized as a Western voice means that I have come to a place and learned to respectfully listen.”
While McIntosh continues her process of becoming native as an artist, she wants to continue to serve the land she has come to love. An inseparable part of that is sharing her words and music at home.
She looks forward to her performances in Jackson Hole, where she always packs the house.
Just as wildness is something she carries in her heart, she says she takes the Jackson audience with her when she performs around the country.
“This is where I grew up as a professional musician, an artist and in life, “McIntosh says. “The enormous love and support I get have meant everything to me.”
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