Theater

For the 3rd time, I've been cast in the chorus of the Midwinter Revels. We will be presenting 14 performances from December 12-28 at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge. This year's program is a Scandinavian theme, based upon Gregory Maguire’s Matchless. It will have a lot of great Swedish Christmas music, so this is right up my alley. We have just started rehearsals, so I don't know all the things that I will be doing in the performance, but if you're in the audience, I should be quite visible! The costumes this year are over the top!

Teaching

After I taught at the Coastal Ukulele Festival in Cohasset, Massachusetts, I was asked to be on the staff at the Bridgewater State University 'Ukulele Mini Festival, on Saturday, January 24. I'll be sharing the teaching duties with Armand Aromin, and it will be a great mid-winter break. It's also right around my birthday, so your attendance will be a great present!

In the Media

I'm honored to be asked to be on Open Mic America, a virtual performance venue and also an organization to support and help grow the local Open Mic Community nationwide, on Sunday January 18, 2026 from 5-7 pm EST. I will be one of numerous performers, and I'll be on somewhere within the two hour show. It will be live on YouTube, and available to watch after the show.

Songwriting

I'll be attending the Cape Code Songwriters Retreat in Provincetown, Massachusetts the first week of January with David Roth, Sloan Wainwright, Vito Petroccitto, and Anne Heaton. I went last year and it was a blast. I'll also be taking part in February Album Writing Month for the 6th year, and it's a great way to stretch your creative muscles in a month that usually people don't want to go outside.

Distractions and Things I've Noticed

The world has not been easy for the past while, so here are some things that I've noticed that get me thinking:

​The Plant Slant: Liam Layton is a nutrition students and tries to bring humor and sensibility to eating healthy.

​Josh Raines Music: Josh is a musician, but also a doctor, and he's been combining those two vocations, while also bringing to light the need for ethical structures for music distribution and paying musicians fairly. He's really been having a lot of conversations about how Spotify doesn't treat artists fairly and alternatives to listening there.

​Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman - I've been involved with personal productivity for a while, and this book is a great read about stepping back from all the "get more done" hype and thinking about focusing on what's important, and doing less.

Thanks for all your support of my creative endeavours, and continue to do yours and spread a little love to others.

Ken Mattsson
BeaconBeats Music

​music@kenmattsson.com​
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