Press Release
Source: Hello Wendy PR
John McCutcheon
Wisconsin-bred, Georgia-based John McCutcheon has emerged as one of our most respected and loved folksingers. He truly is folk music’s Renaissance man — master instrumentalist, powerful singer-songwriter, storyteller, activist, and author.
As an instrumentalist, he is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most notably the rare and beautiful hammer dulcimer. His songwriting has been hailed by critics and singers around the globe.
Johnny Cash referred to him as “The most impressive instrumentalist I’ve ever heard.”
Other accolades come from the Washington Post which asserted that “He has an uncanny ability to breathe new life into the familiar. His storytelling has the richness of fine literature.”
The Dallas Morning News stated that “Calling John McCutcheon a ‘folksinger’ is like saying Deion Sanders is just a football player.”
His thirty recordings have garnered every imaginable honor including seven Grammy nominations. He has produced over twenty albums of other artists, from traditional fiddlers to contemporary singer-songwriters to educational and documentary works.
His books and instructional materials have introduced budding players to the joys of their own musicality. McCutcheon’s commitment to grassroots political organizations has put him on the front lines of many of the issues important to communities and workers.
McCutcheon will play in the DC/MD area for two shows this Fall for shows put on by the Institute of Musical Traditions (http://imtfolk.org/html/) . On September 21 he will perform in Rockville, MD at the St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church as a regular John McCutcheon show. He will return on November 23 to the same venue to perform a one man show/play called Joe Hill’s Last Will which was written for him by his dear friend, author and musician Si Kahn.
Hill was a famed Swedish American labor organizer and this year marks the centenary of his death. On May 1 of this year (the day recognized as International Labor Day), McCutcheon released his 37th album, Joe Hill’s Last Will. The collection serves to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Hill’s death.
More information and a track can be heard and seen at http://diffuser.fm/john-mccutcheon-the-rebel-girl-song-premiere/
Pop Matters said this about the collection: This, despite its centennial origins, is a necessary album for our times. Were Joe Hill to rise from his scattered ashes and walk the streets of 2015 America, there’s little that he’d find here different from his own times once he got past the shock of our high-tech toys. In McCutcheon’s own words: “And here we are, a century later, in the throes of yet another anti-immigrant surge. Workers’ rights have eroded. Wages have stagnated. The gap between the wealthy and the rest yawns even more widely.” This is an album that needs to be heard, filled with songs that need to be sung.”
Tour dates are as follows:
9/20/15 Ashland Coffee and Tea Ashland, VA
9/21/15 Institute of Musical Traditions at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Rockville, MD
10/2/2015 Schwartz Center for the Arts Dover, DE
10/3/2015 Towne Crier Café Beacon, NY
10/7/2015 Alberta Rose Theatre Portland, OR
10/8/2015 Traditions Olympia, WA
10/9/2015 Corvallis Folklore Society Corvallis, OR
10/10/2015 First Christian Church (family show) Eugene, OR
10/22/2015 Mt. Toby Quaker Meeting Leverett, MA
10/23/2015 Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival Cos Cob, CT
10/24/2015 Sounding Board Cromwell, CT
10/24/2015 Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival Cos Cob, CT
10/25/2015 Rockwood Music Hall New York, NY
11/6/2015 Project We Care Hendersonville, NC
11/7/2015 The ArtsCenter Inc. Carrboro, NC
11/8/2015 Citizens for the Arts at Richlands Middle School Richlands, VA
11/13/2015 Javarita Coffeehouse at Good Shepherd United Church of Christ Sahuarita, AZ
11/14/2015 Fiddler’s Dream Coffeehouse Phoenix, AZ
11/19/2015 Utah Humanities Council Salt Lake City, UT
Joe Hill’s Last Will Centenary Event
11/20/2015 Bread & Roses Workers’ Cultural Center Denver, CO
Joe Hill’s Last Will – play performance
11/22/2015 Wisconsin Union Theater Madison, WI
Joe Hill’s Last Will – play performance
11/23/15 Institute of Musical Traditions at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Rockville, MD Joe Hill’s Last Will – play performance
