If you could ever wrap the matronly goodness of a mother's kiss, her love a tune of strength, her stories a place for the imagination to leap through the portal of everyday living and into the soundscape of music, riding the waves of Appalachian acoustics and vibrating on the end of a crescendo, then it would be in the soulful arrangements of Joanne Rand. The Northern Californian is touring her way up to Olympia, bringing a lifetime of accomplishment, including 14 CDs, to share the secrets of her soul. In a press release, Rand states, "The stories are about true life - story-songs about Greyhound bus characters I've seen, a tribute to my Grandfather born in 1890, a song about Einstein....songs about love, marriage and teenage mutiny, legends of vanished Indian tribes and evolution, rallying anthems to get you through the day and keep the home fires burning within."  Rand has appeared with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Bob Weir, John Hartford, and recently earned a BFA in Music Composition.

JOANNE RAND, w/Gabriel Wolfchild, 8 p.m., The Urban Onion Lounge, 116 Legion Way SE, Olympia, $5-10 sliding scale, 360.943.9242