Hello everyone - 

A lot can happen in a month.  Here it is April 2020, and we are all now living our daily reality with the pandemic known as COVID-19.  Online meetings with colleagues and family alike have become the new norm, as well as walks in the neighborhood and foraging in our freezer for our next surprise sinner.  As we all hunker down and physical distance from each other, please do continue to socially reach out and check on those in your circles and beyond. Social isolation is real... please call each other, reach out to each other, especially to those who are alone.  Let's continue to virtually hold each other closely, and we will get through this together.   Despite SXSW being cancelled and COVID-19 confining everyone to their homes, we were still able to host our annual Roster Party and SXSF fundraising event online.  This was our 16th year to raise money for the food services programs at Caritas, the Community Kitchen & Food Pantry.  Seven of the musicians scheduled to play our March 18th event each streamed from their own homes. To our surprise, this worked!  We had so many people watching live and they were donating as well. HUGE thanks to everyone who donated to our 2020 ComboPlate Booking Roster Party & South By Soup Fest Benefit for Caritas of Austin!!  We raised $6750, and much to our amazement, this has been our highest grossing fundraiser yet.  New from the roster:  
-  Touring for the roster and shows have been cancelled through April.  We expect more cancellations, time will tell.  Please be sure to check each artist's various pages to see when they are streaming.  Many of our artist friends are streaming concerts as well... please, please go to your favorite independent artists web sites and FB pages, watch the concerts you can and chip in to the virtual tip jar if you are able.  It will make all the difference to these musicians we love so much.  Mostly - just watch!  Musicians need to know you are out there and want to stay connected. 
-  We are happy to report that two of our artists who were in Europe in March made it back to the States before the end of the month.  Grace Pettis of Nobody's Girl was on a solo tour, and David Berkeley was living in Spain with his family.  Both quarantined when they returned to the States and are happy to have made it back when they did.   
- Nels Andrews' UK tour cancelled, but he does have this Folk Radio UK video premiere of "Table By The Kitchen".  We hope you enjoy!  Every now and then, a fan of one of the roster artists will email me a note to forward.  Last week I received an email from one of Matt The Electrician's fans in Europe.  With Matt's permission, I wanted to share part of the message Matt received.  

" Your songs where a part of my trips with my children abroad during the summer. In the end we could sing along with every track. They always cheered us up when ever we needed it. Many years passed and your albums landed on a shelf until a few weeks back when my daughter came home, hiding from corona, and found your albums again. Since then she plays them on a daily basis and your sounds fill our house and remind us of the time that we could freely travel through whole Europe with only the sun as our compass. Times have changed very quickly, but your music not…. we want to thank you for your music during this time of isolation. It gives us a feeling of connection and lightness."
May we all feel connection and lightness by listening to the music we love.  
Reach out to each other as much as possible.  Things will get better.  

xo Laura & The Roster