Carrie Newcomer in the park

The Roaches are going to see Carrie Newcomer perform a free concert tonight in Bloomington's 3rd Street Park. This might be Parker's first concert! Cathy and I recently rediscovered Carrie's music after seeing her in the park last year and our church's band performing some of her songs.

Here we are all in one place, the wants and wounds of the human race
Despair and hope sit face to face when you come in from the cold
Let her fill your cup with something kind, eggs and toast like bread and wine
She'’s heard it all but she don'’t mind.
- from "Betty's Diner"

I remember first hearing her perform in "The Spoke" at DePauw my Freshman year, Fall of 1993. The Spoke was a short lived coffee shop/hang-out/performance venue in the basement of the Union Building. It was connected to "The Hub" dining hall. Clever naming to connect to the Little 5 bike race. The Hub is no more, removed as part of the extensive UB remodeling in 1997. The space is now filled with mail boxes for students.

Carrie Newcomer inspires me. Her music tells stories of real life that teach spiritual truths. - Jim Wallis, Sojourners

She's a little country, a little folk and a lot of heart and energy. Her record label says that she is " one of the definitive voices of the Heartland, the Indiana native sings of the small joys and pains in life, emphasizing the little moments that are often taken for granted." For her current tour, Carrie is donating a portion of her album sales to Second Harvest, the nation's largest food bank network.