The Next Half Year
Dear Friends,
With 2026 nearly half over, I wanted to share with you what’s coming up (so far) for the rest of the year. This email concludes with a special request. But first…
The past six months have been busy and fulfilling. Among other things, I’ve played The Bitter End in the ViIlage and The Listening Booth in Lewes, Delaware. I’ve done concerts for Reform congregations in Schenectady, NY and Chicago (as part of my scholar-and-artist-in-residence weekends). I recorded a tribute to Tom Paxton on Community Television for the Southern Berkshires, and have been interviewed by Jon Stein on his Hootenanny Cafe radio show and by Tina Ross on her Inside The Song podcast.
The next six months promise more of the same. For example:
July 4: I’ll be back at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA as part of its “We Hold These Truths” celebration in collaboration with the W.E.B. Du Bois Freedom Center. I’m doing three shorts sets, beginning at 10:00am, of songs with themes emanating from Rockwell’s iconic Four Freedoms and civil rights illustrations.
July 18: I’m returning to the Guthrie Center, this time sharing the bill with the extraordinary Sam Robbins in another benefit concert for the Guthrie Center.
July 24: I am thrilled to report that I’ve been selected to perform in the Emerging Artists showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Goshen, CT. The showcase is from 12:00pm-3:00pm.
I love doing house concerts as benefits for local social justice organizations. I have several in the works with these two confirmed:
November 5: A house concert hosted by my dear friend Ramie Arian for the benefit of our beloved Eisner and Crane Lake Camps. Details to follow.
November 8: I’m performing at Concerts at the Funkhouse in Westbury, Long Island, in a benefit for Long Island Cares.
To host a house concert, you need a room suitable for 30-40 people and a mailing list that will generate a crowd. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to discuss it with you.
I’m going international.
On September 27, I’m giving a concert at the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, Poland as a benefit for the JCC. So if you happen to be in Krakow…
And then—I’m doing an Israel tour. A few months ago an Israeli folk music radio DJ, Menachem Vinegrad, played a song of mine on his English language show. I wrote to thank him and said something like: I’d love to play in Israel, do you have any suggestions? Menachem responded with gusto. He’s the founder and director of the Jacob’s Ladder Festival, this year is its 50th year, and he’s booked me to play. The festival is December 31-January 1 and 2 in Kfar Blum (I don’t yet know my date/time). But he went further. There are several English language folk clubs in Israel. Menachem connected me to them, and I’m now booked in Tel Aviv (January 6), Karmiel (January 7) and Jerusalem (January 13). This fall, I’ll let people know the particulars, so that you can encourage anyone you know in Israel to attend.
And last--I’m on Instagram. I’ve been persuaded that unless I want to keep my music a secret, I need to do social media. So I now post on Instagram. Which means I’m required to ask: Please follow me on Instagram. @dougmishkin. If you’re not already following me, you’ve missed my posts on such subjects as “Pride Month: Remember Anita Bryant?” (24,700 views), “President Trump: This Song’s For You (If They’d Been Black)” (19,300 views); and “June 15, The Magna Carta and The Monkees” (22,800 views).
I’m delighted with the initial response to my album “Tip of the Spear” and my efforts to get me and my music out in the world. If you’re in a position to host a house concert or make an introduction to a club featuring my kind of music, let’s talk. In the meantime, go listen to some music…
Doug