TI pulled a woodbird from a tree
She spoke right to the soul of me
She saw me burning burning
- Jenny Burtis, “The Burning”

When Jenny Burtis releases her debut album, ”Woodbird,” this weekend, it will be the culmination of many years of songwriting.

Burtis, a resident of Conway, will release her new recording on Saturday, June 3, and will celebrate with a show at the Montague Common Hall at 8 p.m. Her backing band will include Klon Koehler on bass, Geoff Rice on electric guitar, Rick Page on saxophone, Doug Plavin on drums, and Jim McRae on keyboards. ”Woodbird” is a collection of twelve folk-tinged songs, and while most of the material was written in the past five years, a couple of the songs on the album date back to the 1990s when she was starting out as a songwriter.

Raised in Brattleboro, Vermont, Burtis was trained as a classical pianist and became interested in songwriting when she was in her mid-20s and living in Boston, where she attended college.

“I started listening to WUMB in Boston, a college station that played acoustic and folkie music all day every day, and realizing, wow, I love this kind of music!” said Burtis in a recent email exchange. “It was a songwriter named Linda Waterfall who first captured me. I wanted to be in the middle of this music, so I quit my job, started working at a music store, producing concerts, and made a cold call to Catie Curtis to see if she wanted an agent.”

And so began Burtis’s involvement in the music world; she went on to work as an agent for Curtis and artists like Vance Gilbert, Brooks Williams and others.

“It didn’t occur to me to actually do it myself. How codependent is that?!” she remarked. But she did end up learning to play guitar and learning Shawn Colvin’s songs. She joined a songwriting group and started performing at open mics.

Burtis eventually stepped away from the music business and became a psychotherapist. In 1998 she moved to the west coast, where she worked at an HIV and AIDS support project. Burtis continued to make music and even recorded a few demos, but a full-length record never happened.

“Basically, I didn’t think I was good enough!” she said. “So I helped everybody else put their music out into the world. Then I helped everybody else with their emotional journeys (as a therapist). It wasn’t until 2021 that I even considered making an album.”

In 2004, she left California and moved back to Brattleboro where she started a gardening business. In 2020, she had plans to move to France and stay at a Zen Buddhist monastery, but then COVID hit. So instead of heading to France, she moved to Warwick and, like so many during the lockdown, spent time writing new songs that she said were informed by “the emotional terrain of a psychology career, Taoist spiritual practice, and the vicissitudes of love and loss.”

Finally, it was time to make an album. Burtis spent the past year recording at Next Level Studios in Turners Falls. She co-produced the album with Klon Koehler and Dom Lewis, both significant contributors to this project. Lewis also mixed and mastered the material.

”Woodbird” is a collection of twelve quiet, often highly personal songs that ruminate on love, loss, healing and survival. These songs are built around Burtis’ acoustic guitar and piano. In addition to her band, which features Koehler on bass, Geoff Rice on electric guitar, and Doug Plavin on drums, she has enlisted the help of such talented local musicians as singer-songwriter Lui Collins, saxophonist Rick Page, dobro player Charlie Conant, and multi-instrumentalist Dom Lewis.

The disc opens with “I Won’t Chase You Down,” a song about freeing oneself from a painful relationship. “I won’t chase you down/ I won’t chase you down/ I’m quitting you for good this time,” Burtis sings in a soft and breathy voice, yet full of determination. The theme of confronting and moving on from the pains of the past crops up again in songs like “I Can’t Hear it Anymore” and “September Song.” The latter features a lovely guitar solo by Dom Lewis.

But it’s the powerful “The Burning,” which is the centerpiece here and inspired the album’s title. “Where there’s so much darkness/ So much light/ I found the wood bird in a tangled root/ She said you ready for the truth/ It was never never you.” Burtis’ vocals bring to mind Suzanne Vega at times, and the band’s accompaniment is sparse yet provides the support these words need. This song showcases the beauty of Burtis’ songwriting in its simplicity and ability to deliver deep emotions.

“The Burning is a very personal song about my healing journey, about getting away from an abusive system/environment. The wood bird is a character in that song. It has presented itself in my unconscious as a talisman and a guide. A symbol of emergence,” Burtis explained about the song and her decision to call the album ”Woodbird.”

There are lighter moments on the album, too. Burtis wrote the pop-influenced “Red Cadillac” back in the late ‘90s for some friends who were getting married. Rick Page’s saxophone work provides some nice texture on this one, as it does on “Kansas City 64,” a song from that same era. “Future Homemakers of America” reflects on a friend’s life and a life that could have been. Dog lovers everywhere will relate to the whimsical “I Know That Dog.”

Overall, ”Woodbird” is a strong debut in which Burtis emerges as a songwriter who crafts honest songs of great beauty.

You can hear the material off ”Woodbird” and purchase the CD when Burtis plays in Montague on Saturday. ”Woodbird” will also be available on all streaming platforms. On Saturday, June 10, Burtis will perform at Honest Weight Brewery in Orange from 6 to 8 p.m. There is a suggested $20 donation, or pay what you can.

Start Making Sense: Talking Heads Tribute returns to the Shea Theater Arts Center

Friday, June 9 at 8 p.m. marks the return of Start Making Sense, the renowned Talking Heads tribute band, to the Shea Theater Arts Center in Turners Falls. The band, who is based in Pennsylvania, played a successful show at the venue last April. If you missed that show or enjoyed it so much that you want to return for more, this is your chance. (The band was slated to play at StrangeCreek last weekend but had to cancel due to a family emergency.) The musicians in this 7 to 10 piece tribute recreate Talking Heads music from all stages of the band’s career. Much of their success is based on font man Jon Braun who truly captures the sound and movements of Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. Be sure and bring your dancing shoes for this one, as the band promises to burn down the house.

Tickets are $20 in advance and available at the sheatheater.org, or $27 day of show.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at Soundslocal@yahoo.com.

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