August 26, 2026
The August Songbird concert showcased the talent and storytelling of Violet Vonder Haar, Irene Allen, Tom Wood, and Alencia Norris.
The Fall 2026 Songbird Concert season began on August 26 with a sold-out show and the kind of evening we've come to treasure: a room full of attentive listeners, four distinct songwriters gathered in the circle, and six rounds of music that reminded us how powerful a song can be when it is shared in the right room.
This month's round featured Violet Vonder Haar (Columbia, Missouri), Irene Allen, Tom Wood, and Alencia Norris, each bringing a unique voice, perspective, and musical sensibility to the stage. Across the evening, their songs moved through moments of reflection, humor, vulnerability, longing, and connection, creating a night that felt both deeply personal and wonderfully communal.
Irene Allen added warmth and honesty to the evening, sharing songs with an ease that made each story feel like a conversation among friends. Her performances balanced sincerity with personality, giving the audience space to connect not only with the songs themselves, but with the experiences behind them.
Tom Wood brought his own unmistakable perspective to the round, grounding his songs in strong storytelling and a natural sense of character. His performances reminded us how much can live inside a well-told song: humor, memory, observation, and the small details that reveal something larger about the people and places around us.
Alencia Norris brought performances full of heart and presence. Her songs carried emotional clarity and a sense of purpose, creating moments that felt immediate and deeply human while adding another distinct voice to the conversation unfolding in the round.
Violet Vonder Haar completed the circle with a thoughtful, expressive presence to the circle, pairing vivid songwriting with a voice that invited the room to lean in. Her songs carried both intimacy and confidence, drawing from the details and emotions that make personal stories feel universal.
As always, what made the evening special was not simply four individual performances, but the way the artists listened and responded to one another as the night progressed. Songbird is built around that exchange. One song can spark a memory, a laugh, a shared idea, or an unexpected connection that carries into the next, allowing the evening to become something none of the artists could have created alone.
Those connections are part of what continues to make the Songbird format so meaningful. There is no elaborate production separating the artist from the audience, just songs, stories, conversation, and a room willing to listen. By the final round, the evening had become its own small collection of shared experiences, shaped equally by the people performing and the people gathered around them.
August also marked the beginning of a new Songbird season, and we couldn't have asked for a better way to return to the circle. After a spring filled with sold-out shows and memorable performances, opening the fall season with another sold-out room was a wonderful reminder of how strongly this community continues to support original music and the artists who create it.
To everyone who joined us, supported the artists, volunteered, shared the concert with a friend, or helped spread the word, thank you. Songbird exists because songwriters are willing to share their work so generously and because audiences continue to show up ready to listen.
With two more concerts ahead this fall, we're excited for the songs, stories, and unexpected moments still waiting for us.
We'll see you in the circle.
📸: Auset Sarno
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS
Violet Vonder Haar
Tom Wood
Irene Allen
Alencia Norris
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Violet Vonder Haar is a Mid-Missouri songwriter whose music moves fluidly between intimacy and intensity. As the voice behind Violet and the Undercurrents, she crafts songs that feel both personal and expansive. Violet's music is rooted in indie rock and folk traditions, but guided by a deeper sense of purpose. A performer, educator, and community builder, Violet has spent years using music as a tool for connection, healing, and expression, both on stage and within the communities she serves. Her work invites listeners to slow down, listen closely, and step into something that feels equal parts grounding and transformative.
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Tom Wood honed his performing chops, working the music scene as a solo acoustic troubadour. His professional reputation and live performance skills have garnered accolades from many acclaimed St. Louis publications and music critics as well as talent buyers and local St. Louis music legends.
His songwriting reflects his multicultural background through his proficiency in writing songs across several musical genres.
Tom Wood has twice performed at the prestigious SXSW music conference in Austin, as well as numerous Music Festivals in the Midwest. Currently, his indie record label distributes a catalog containing 7 independent albums of original work.
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Irene is not much of a marketer, but she can sing, and is a serviceable songwriter. She's been blessed to have gone into 14 local studios, singing backup to the likes of The RoundUps, Union Electric, Ellen Hilton Cook, Alley Ghost, The Defeated County, Old Souls Revival, The Bottoms Up Blues Gang, The Maness Brothers, and even sometimes leading. But the greatest thrill remains being Kim Massie's backup singer and soprano section leader of Kim's gospel choir almost 25 years ago. She plays mostly ragtime, vintage rhythm & blues, and cowboy lullabies.
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Alencia Norris is an emerging singer-songwriter from Chicago with a passion for music across all genres.
Alencia's music is an amalgamation of colors and timbres from r&b, jazz, classical and neo-soul. Her love for writing poetry drives the lyrical intensity of her songs. Alencia's music tackles complex topics from societal division to unrequited love. Her song "Black Butterfly," about the challenges faced by black people in America was sung and toured by Chicago Children's Choir. She is influenced by artists such as India.Arie, and Corrine Bailey Rae. You can find Alencia’s single “Sleeping all year” on all music streaming platforms.