SUSAN CARSON

June 10 - Rikk and I have been hard at work at the Kung Fu School (we practice at the Neijia Academy Internal Martial Arts School in Avon Lake!) We are writing new material, and reworking some of my old original songs. We are having a blast! I have created a 6 song "EP" album of what we're working on so you can hear it on Soundcloud, if you're interested.  No mix, nothing fancy - just a phone recording of us at practice, but I'm pretty excited to share it with you anyway. We hope to start working on a studio recording within the next few months. We are also looking forward to our June SHOWS!  June 11-Paddle Bar, June 20-Bait House Brewery, and June 27-Thirsty Pony - all in Sandusky, Ohio - a fun place to be in the summer!  Between all that, there will be kayaking, bike riding, practicing kung fu, and learning to play guitar better using the Pickup Music system. Enjoy this Strawberry Full Moon!!

 

May 6 - Wow! It has been a whole year living here in Ohio. So far, so good! I've been booking about as many gigs as I can handle, playing them all with Rikk. We are busy writing and developing original songs and learning other tunes too. I got a new bicycle and have been putting on the miles! I competed in April in the 2025 Great Lakes Kung Fu Championships and took first place in my section, performing Chen's tai chi, xin jia, yilu form. I haven't done any painting, but I still get out my sketchbook and do little drawings and write - haiku, poetry, lyrics, lists of things to do, books to read, places to go and food I want to try. Looking forward to this spring/summer season of hitting the trails and rivers, and playing a ton of gigs! See the Events page for dates.

 

February 15 - Hi! I played my first show of 2025 on January 31 at Front Street Social. As always, the bartender, Lynn, and the locals were friendly and warm and I had a few friends come out from my kung fu school. I played for the first time with my new friend (also my martial arts teacher) Rikk Mayr. What a blast!!  Rikk is a Berklee trained, seasoned professional bass player, having recorded and toured with national recording artist Blackfoot in the 1990s. Besides all that, he's just a lot of fun! I am hoping Rikk will be joining me on many future gigs and recording. In other news, I've added a couple to venues to my EVENTS roster, booking dates at Quaker Steak & Lube in Vermilion and Bait House in Sandusky. Both really great gigs and I'm super pumped! Stay safe out there in this snowy winter we've been having - as for me, I plan to get out my cross-country skis and hit the Lorain County Metro Parks! Oh, and a side note - I'm planning to compete in the Great Lakes Kung Fu Championships on April 12th in Cleveland. My next show is Feb 21 back at Front Street Social.

 

December 19 - Hi there! Got some good gig dates booked now for 2025, about one each month. I still have a few openings and places I want to get into, but I am happy with what I have so far! I've got Paddle Bar, Patina Porch, Front Street Social and Elyria Country Club on tap in the new year. I hope to see you out at some of these! Last night, I attended Wednesday Night Jam in Cleveland at the Backstage Bar. Wow! What an amazing arsenal of talent! I opted to just enjoy the show and not sign up for a slot myself this time, but I will be back. Really cool bar, awesome musicians, FUN and friendly crowd! This weekend, I'm heading out to check out some new friends at their gigs. Going to see Dave James at Harbor House Huron this Saturday Dec 21, and going to see Patti and the Blue Plate Special at Grindstone Tap House Berea this Sunday Dec 22. Both of these shows are sure to be Great!! My next show is not until January 31- Front St Social Berea. In the meantime, I will be hitting the gym, working on art, practicing my kung fu, spending time with friends and reading. I hope you have a magical holiday season!

 

November 21 - Hey there! I've started booking gigs for 2025.  Only a few so far, but working on it.  Looking back on the past 6 months since I've moved to Ohio, I've done pretty well with getting shows.  I've played: Paddle Bar, Sandy Ridge Vineyards, CLE Market Coe Lake, Front Street Social, Firelands Historical Society, Third Thursday Vermilion, a private party in Port Clinton. Now I've got a couple of dates booked at the Elyria Country Club and Front Street Social in the new year. Also, starting to work on my pen drawings and getting ready for the holiday season!

 

October 25 - I've fallen behind on my updates, as well as booking more gigs! September and October were FILLED with visits from friends and family and a big bicycle trip through Italy. I was great having family from Illinois and Florida, as well as some friends from Connecticut come to see my new home. The bike trip was 15 days of touring through history, Italian countrysides, Adriatic Sea coastline, olive groves. The best part was doing it with four of my best friends! Then back to Ohio to play a debut show at Front Street Social in Berea - great place, very nice welcoming audience. Anyway, I've been so busy that I've fallen behind on booking shows, but it's okay. Time to enjoy the change of season and the holidays.  I know things will come up, like the private party I'm playing for Halloween in Port Clinton. Stay tuned.

 

 September 4 - This summer has gone so fast, right? I played a lot of shows this summer in my new home state. Exploring the area has been great fun - the parks, kayaking, hiking, walking/running, bycycling, motorcycling - all top notch here.  Some highlights have been the PNP - Paddle N Pints group paddle (SUP and Kayak) out on Lake Erie, visiting the Miller Preserve and Butterfly House in Sheffield Lake, catching TWO outdoor, free Shakespeare performances - one from French Creek Theater and one from Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, cycling the Emerald Necklace trail, exploring the Cleveland Art Museum. Other notable fun experiences have been the Third Thursday Vermilion nights that I've played music for, and the Market on Main and Fridays in the Firelands in Norwalk, Ohio. Been meeting a lot of new great friendly people out here in Ohio, but making close friends is a slow slow slow slow process. I can, at least, say that the music audiences have been super warm and welcoming and I do feel I'm building a bit of a following. Oh, I found an outstanding kung fu school near home that I am loving!  After many years absence, I am back to studying and practicing Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan. Yay!

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July 25 - Hi! After playing several shows since my last update - more at Paddle Bar, Sandy Ridge Vineyard, and Coe Lake CLE Market, I have a few weeks off now from gigging.  I've been very active exploring my new hometown, hiking at French Creek, kayaking on Lake Erie at Lorain Harbor, bicycling the Emerald Necklace trail from Rocky River to Berea and bicycling the North Coast Inland trail from Elyria to Oberlin. Heading out today for kayaking through Cleveland at Merwin's Wharf with a paddle board (SUP) group. Should be fun. I've also been hitting the gym and sketching some, and working on learning several new songs that I plan to bust out at my next shows in August! I've got some new (to me) songs on my list from Jelly Roll, Bruce Springsteen, Tami Neilson, Lainey Wilson, Nelly, Zach Bryan, Tears for Fears, and Pretenders.  May work on an original tune also. 

 

July 8 - This past weekend was a really spectacular show at the Paddle Bar on Water Street in Sandusky, July 6th. I played for 3 hours for a super responsive and engaged crowd, even had people out on the lawn gathering to watch and sing along. Ryan, the owner of Paddle Bar is such a cool guy and really makes it easy to just focus and get into the music. Such a beautiful and relaxed vibe.  I will be playing there soon again - July 13!  In the meantime, I'm supposed to play for the Berea, Ohio CLE Market on Wednesday July 10 (5pm), but I'm watching the forecast on this one! 

 

June 29 - Just played at Sandy Ridge Vineyard in Norwalk, Ohio. What an amazing venue! It is absolutely just gorgeous scenery, wine and food, with a wonderful setting for live music. Can't wait to return July 19th!

 

June 26 - Finally settling in and able to make a little art. Check out my ART page and see a couple of new pen and ink drawings I did this week.

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June 24 - Finding Northern Ohio to be such a great place to see, hear and PLAY Live music!  Had a great time playing at Vermilion's Third Thursday event on June 20, with such a nice response from the audience and people attending the festival.  I've been very busy booking gigs: Sandy Ridge Vineyard, Paddle Bar, Front Street Social, Firelands Historical Society and CLE Market Berea - all on the calendar.  In between gigging, I'm finding so much fun and adventure in the area. French Creek Theater, area restaurants, Coe Lake, cycling at Emerald Necklace trail at Rocky River, kayaking on the Black River from the  French Creek kayak launch.  Maybe I should blog about the many things I'm finding to do here?