Happy holidays! I hope that you are enjoying this season and relishing in the fun of gifting, eating, and having an excuse to be extra perky to strangers. I love it.

This will be my last update of the year, so let me say, very explicitly, that I am overwhelmingly grateful for all of the kindnesses I have received in 2011, many of them from people who are on this very email list. Words cannot express how thankful I am for the opportunities I have received, and I know that each and every one of them stemmed from a moment of human kindness. So thank you for listening, emailing, chatting, co-habitating, breaking bread, driving and generally sharing the journey with me. I hope 2012 brings us all many more opportunities to share the love and beauty of this world with one another.

Ok, enough mushy stuff! Let’s de-fog the windshield of my mind and peer inside, shall we?

I. FREE SONG!
II. FINALLY — MORE MERCH ON THE WEBSITE!
III. NEW BONA FIDE BOOTLEG!
IV. TOUR DATES
V. UPCOMING ALBUM!
VI. LINK-AGE!

I. FREE SONG!
I had a great time playing at The Saxon Pub last week with my Austin band and, since you couldn’t all be there, I thought I’d give away a recording of a holiday-themed tune we performed. The song is called “River,” by the one and only Joni Mitchell, and you can download my rendition of it totally free from the music player at www.facebook.com/rebeccaloebe

II. FINALLY — MORE MERCH ON THE WEBSITE!
After many moons of promising  to try and make this happen, I have finally figured out how to offer my “soft merch” (that’s T-shirts and panties) on the store at the front page of www.rebeccaloebe.com, in addition to the usual array of CDs that I offer.
Check it out! I’d love to put together a special little holiday bundle for you. If you don’t see exactly what you’re looking for at the store, shoot me an email and I’ll see what we can come up with!

III. NEW BONA FIDE BOOTLEG!
Every month I release a brand-new full-length bootleg-style live album at www.rebeccaloebe.net. This month’s download was recorded over the summer at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles, and features the first-ever public performance of my new single ‘Swallowed by the Sea.’ I leave every album up for two months, which means it’s not too late to also get November’s release, recorded live with my full band at Eddie’s Attic on my birthday in August!  This is a great way for supporters of my music to help me keep gas in the tank while getting early access to my newest songs performed in a variety of venues. The best part is that it’s pay-what-you-want, starting at $5! Check it out for yourself at www.rebeccaloebe.net

IV. TOUR DATES (as in….where are they?)
You may have noticed that my tour schedule is not quite as robust as usual. The reason for this is simple: I am going back into the studio, so I must take a quick break from the road to create time and space in my calendar and brain for the creation of a new album! I do have a few gigs on the horizon, though, and I hope to see you at one of them. Here’s what I’ve got booked so far:

December 22 (Austin, TX)

@ The Saxon Pub

w/Jack Wilson & The Bluegrass Outfit

February 22 (Nashville, TN)
@ Music City Roots

February 29 (Charlotte, NC)
@ The Evening Muse
Leap Day!

March 2nd (Shephardstown, WV)
@ First Friday Coffeehouse

March 3rd (Falls Church, VA)
@ Stone Room Concerts

March 6th (Savannah, GA)
@ Goslin Presents

March 10th (Birmingham, AL)
@ The Red Cat Coffeehouse

April 6th (Easton, MD)
@ The Night Cat
w/Jenn Grinels

April 14th (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
@ The Labyrinth Concert Series
w/Raina Rose

April 15th (St. Petersburg, FL)
@ Studio@620

If you have a venue, private event or house concert that you’d like for me to come perform at, shoot an email to appleginpromotions@gmail.com with details and we’ll try to make it happen!

V. NEW ALBUM!
As I mentioned above, I’m about to record a new album! This is a very exciting process, and also a pretty big endeavor. I am seeking to pay for studio time by pre-selling the record to my existing supporters. I’m also offering fun prizes (such as handwritten lyrics, credit in the liner notes and even a hat, hand-knit by yours truly!) to people who are interested in contributing more to the recording fund.

I’ve set up a website with information about the recording process and my fundraising goals — please check it out and consider contributing at www.rebeccaloebe.com/preorder.html!

VI. LINK-AGE!
There are lots of places you can find me on the internet these days, so I thought I’d give you a comprehensive little list so you can find me at the site/s of your preference :-)

www.rebeccaloebe.com | music, tour dates, blogs, T-SHIRTS & more :-)
www.rebeccaloebe.net | full-length monthly live album releases!
www.facebook.com/rebeccaloebe | digital friendship
www.twitter.com/rebeccaloebe | very short sentences
www.youtube.com/rebeccaloebe | moving pictures!
www.rebeccaloebe.com/preorder.html | pre-order my next record!
CLICK HERE to find me on iTunes

Phew! That’s a lot of internet. Thanks so much for reading all the way to the bottom, hopefully you’re at work and have been getting PAID sweet cash to do so. Preferably while eating a cookie. That’s how I like to think of you, anyhow. Wherever you are, and whatever you’re eating, I hope you are having a wonderful day. I also hope that I get a chance to see/sing for you in person sometime in the very near future! In the meantime, please keep in touch — shoot me a message, let me know how you’re doing.

With love & appreciation,
~becca

PS: After New Years I’m going to try and add a few more “merch” items to the online store. Maybe tote bags? Maybe hoodies? Anything you’d like to see in there? I’m looking for ideas….