Hello Reader,

Greetings from Saratoga Springs, where clear autumn light is pouring through my window and I'm about to kick off four packed days of community visits, shows and workshops. I'm high off a week of performing, teaching, and bonding with the fabulous musicians in Founders, including a glorious two-show romp at Joe's Pub in NYC. I hadn't realized how much I've missed playing with other people, and how much I love being in an ensemble-of-equals like this. Then, as they say, "after the ecstasy, the laundry": I've also been furiously consuming herbal tea and zinc lozenges, after a few days back at home tending to a sick preschooler. All gratitude to Jacob for solo parenting (and eventually giving up on getting work done) while I was gone, and Arcadia for bearing my absence in her time of need, poor kid. "Mama, let's pretend you are a sheep. I'm a cow. Moooo! The farmer is not here, he's on an adventure and has to play a show."

All to say: there's lots going on right about now, and I'm writing with exciting updates to share.

"THE RIVERSITTER" (AFTER DAVE EGGERS)

Earlier this year I mentioned that I'd written a new song that I'm pleased to share with the world, and here it is: "The Riversitter," a response song to a brief, beautiful book called The Museum of Rain by Dave Eggers. This was written for the SongWriter podcast series, in which creator and host Ben Arthur pairs storytellers with musicians, and each episode features both a story and the response song it inspired. To my utter relief and elation, Dave felt I really understood his book and did it justice in song - no small thing, given how much music means to him.

You can listen to the SongWriter episode to hear more about it all. I also heartily recommend reading The Museum of Rain (available in print, e-book, and audiobook read by Jeff Daniels); it's short and so very worth your time.
​
And of course you can download the song, which (for now) is only available on Bandcamp. All proceeds will be donated to 826 Valencia, the youth writing center/pirate supply store that Dave co-founded in San Francisco that has been emulated across the world.

The Riversitter​
Music & lyrics by Vienna Teng, based on words by Dave Eggers
​
Vienna Teng - vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion
Ben Arthur - vocals
Alex Wong - mixing
Greg Calbi & Steve Fallone - mastering
Jacob Corvidae - artwork

For Patreon subscribers, not only did you get early access, but we're going to have a little extra making-of bonus for you soon...

2024 TOUR DATES IN GERMANY

I'm thrilled to be returning to Europe next March to tour in Germany! Unlike previous jaunts, these will be solo shows, like my recent U.S. performances, and I'll be building the setlist as we go from audience requests.

Thu 29 Feb @ 19:00 CET - Hannover, DE - Schloss Landestrost
Fri 1 Mar @ TBA CET - Worpswede, DE - Music Hall
Sun 3 Mar @ TBA CET - Oldenburg, DE - Kulturetage
Mon 4 Mar @ 20:00 CET - Leverkusen, DE - Scala
Wed 6 Mar @ TBA CET - Mainz, DE - Frankfurter Hof
Thu 7 Mar @ 20:00 CET - Freiburg, DE - Jazzhaus
Sun 10 Mar @ TBA CET - Karlsruhe, DE - Tollhaus
Mon 11 Mar @ 20:00 CET - Heidelberg, DE - Karlstorbahnhof
Tue 12 Mar @ 20:30 CET - München, DE - Unterfahrt
Wed 13 Mar @ 20:00 CET - Kaiserslautern, DE - Kammgarn
Fri 15 Mar @ TBA CET - Dresden, DE - Lukaskirche
Sat 16 Mar @ TBA CET - Leipzig, DE - Kupfersaal
Sun 17 Mar @ TBA CET - Bernau, DE - TBA

OTHER U.S. TOUR UPDATES

If you're in Ohio, I'm coming back to The Kent Stage on 14 December for a free climate action workshop and a concert. And if you're near Chicago, the Evanston SPACE show on 16 December has gone on sale, also with a workshop and a meet and greet add-on option at checkout. I'm still at The Ark in Ann Arbor the day after that, including a workshop as well. The full event calendar, as always, is at viennateng.com/tour.

As always, more to come.
As always, thank you for reading, and listening.
And as always, I'd love to hear how things are with you.

Love,
VT