With the debut of her first full-length CD, Follow Me, (1997) Beth Lodge-Rigal emerged on the contemporary folk scene, an engaging new voice and an exceptional songwriter.
Hailing from Bloomington, Indiana, home of such notables as Carrie Newcomer, Grey Larsen, Malcolm Dalglish and a host of other folk, alternative, and world music illuminaries, in a few short years, Beth has become a part of this community of artists and enjoys the benefits of collaboration with some of the best.
Her songwriting has earned her honors as a Kerrville NewFolk Finalist (1997) and a winner at the Napa Valley Music Festival Emerging Songwriter Competition (1997). Beth writes lean, poetic tunes which are consistently insightful, honest and thought-provoking. Her songs tug at the deeper corners of the heart with grace and simplicity. Her voice is an arresting, textural alto. Her guitar work is rock- solid. She is the sort of songwriter who gets under your skin and sticks with you.
Beth's song "Family History" has been described by Bloomington Voice writer Eric Sedden as "a lens through which we may view many of her other songs." It is a tune which recalls her experiences on an old family farm in Ohio "where Grandma's cornflowers and Queen-Anne's lace/line a gravel one-track path/through the fields of yellow grain". It is the story of the generations of farmers who built and lived upon the land, and of the continuity of experience a place can provide. Whether she is writing about the drunken neighborhood housewife in "When I Was A Girl", or the on-going bitter-sweet conflict between men and women in "High Wire", Beth captures the essence of a moment, a scene, an emotion, to produce music which reaches straight to the heart. Her songs "bump up against one another... expanding on issues of time, aging, relationship, and boundaries."
Growing up in Columbus, Ohio in the 60's and 70's, Beth comes from a musical family where Gregorian Chant, top 40 radio, Broadway Musicals, Folk, and Classical music provided the background for most of her early life. Raised also on earlier generations of singer-songwriters: Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Carol King, and many others, Beth gained an early appreciation of the art of putting words and music together, and began writing poetry and songs as a girl.
Beth began performing in the late eighties in Western Massachusetts where she also worked in innovative human service programs. She performed on the radio and in concert with other east-coast "emerging artists" of the time: Brooks Williams, Dana Robinson, and has since had the honor of opening up for Jorma Kaukonan, Richie Havens, Gillian Welch, Carrie Newcomer, and Bill Morrissey and Greg Brown. She took time off to focus on raising two daughters. Fortunately, Beth continued writing and she's come back to play for a growing number of fans who treasure her work, and her down-to-earth style as a performer.
Her newest release, "Dreamtable" represents a leap both in songwriting content and scope and in Beth's role as co-producer of the project. She teamed up with David Weber, of Airtime Studios in Bloomington to create a stunning recording of human and heartfelt songs. Some tunes are stripped down to simple vocal, guitar and bass, and other tunes, pull in lush instrumentation and layered vocals. "Dreamtable" is awash in the pop, rock, jazz, country, and even classical influences of Lodge-Rigal's life. These are grown-up songs about growing up, cleaning up, facing the darker parts of ourselves, our relationships, and our world . They are delivered with honesty and a big heart and invite the listener to take a walk in the world where dreaming and waking intersect, and where everyone is searching for what's most important.
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