Bernice Lewis

BERNICE LEWIS, a Berkshire County resident, has been a nationally recognized touring artist for almost four decades. She has performed at innumerable festivals, concert halls, coffeehouses, colleges, and house concerts. She is about to release her eighth recording of original music and is currently signed to Houston’s Berkalin Records.
Lewis is The Artist Associate in Songwriting at Williams College (Williamstown, MA) and founding faculty at Schreiner University’s Songkeeper Program. She has also been an Artist in Residence and workshop presenter at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, Kripalu Center for Yoga in Lenox, MA, and Esalen Institute in Big Sur as well as at many schools and retreat centers. In 2008, she was awarded an Artist in Residence position by the National Park Service, where she was posted in Grand Canyon’s North Rim, and in 2015 she was Artist in Residence at Marble House Project in Dorset, VT. She is looking forward to being Artist in Residence in March 2024 at Mostly Dance in Atenas, Costa Rica.

Lewis has toured extensively in the US, Canada, Mexico, and was honored to play in Israel in 2022. She has led eight fan based white water raft trips on The Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and several fan-based trips to Ireland.

According to Rosanne Cash “Bernice one of the keepers of the flame of Real Songwriting.” Lewis — who studied vocal improvisation with Bobby McFerrin, guitar technique with Alex DeGrassi and Guy van Duser, and songwriting with Rosanne Cash and Cris Williamson — has been a featured performer on NPR’s Mountain Stage program, as well as at the Kennedy CenterIn 1987, she was a finalist in the prestigious New Folk Songwriting Contest at the Kerrville (Texas) Folk Festival, where she continues to be a main stage favorite. Her ballad, “Bridges That Hold,” was included in Peter, Paul and Mary’s Lifelines video (PBS). She was featured in Yoga Journal for her work with sound and yoga, and has shared the stage with many renowned artists, including Dar Williams, Dixie Chicks, Patty Griffin, Pete Seeger, Ellis Paul, Rory Block, Livingston Taylor, Odetta, Christine Lavin, Marty Sexton, Patty Larkin, Catie Curtis, Mary Gauthier… it’s a long list. She has a fifty year old daily yoga practice, loves good coffee, and her religion is the Grand Canyon.