For those of us of a certain age (graying, balding, thickening) and political persuasion (left leaning) annual Pete Seeger concerts were a rite of childhood, a chance to see absent friends and to bask in the dynamic force of Pete's personality and musical energy. As we've aged many of us have kept up and renewed the Pete Seeger watch at the Clearwater Great Hudson River Revival Festival each June.

Now, Pete is 90 years old and a Madison Square Garden Concert is planned for May 3, 2009. The concert starts at 5 PM both to accommodate us Alter Kockers who can't stay out late and to allow an unending list of musicians to perform in Pete's honor. In my, somewhat eccentric, circle rumors of ticket sales were flying long ago and schemes were concocted to get seats or the best seats, or seats together. Performers and (as it turns out, of course) American Express card holders got first dibs on Monday March 23. Clearwater activists and members were allowed to order with a secret code (swordfish?) beginning on Wednesday. It's been a frenzied affair. People trading tickets, buying extra etc.

More than 40 artists are performing including Pete, Bruce Springsteen, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Dar Williams -- the list goes on and on. Check it out for yourself.  read more »

Odetta, the fabled, fabulous folk-singer who was a fixture of the NYC folk scene beginning in the late 1950's and 1960's died at 77 of heart failure after long illness. Long associated with the Civil Rights Movement by those of us of a certain age(She sang, among other places at the 1963 march on Washington), as well as with Art D'Lugoff's Village Gate where she often performed. Links to obits, bio and four excellent youtubes, post jump.

Obituaries from the Washington Post and the New York Times remembered her as a voice of the civil rights movement. (The Times obit has a link to a interesting video clip.) See also the LA Times and Huffpost .  read more »

I am sorry to report, as my first post post-vacating, the death of Folk, Jazz legend Artie Traum from metastatic liver cancer at age 65. He and his older brother Happy had been scheduled to sing a set at Clearwater in June – but Artie’s advancing illness barred the appearance. See the family announcement here He and his brother Happy were constant figures on the NYC music scene since the late 1950's and 1960's long before their breakout success in the late 1960's.

For more, read the somewhat derivative NY Times Obit , the Wikipedia entry , Artie Traum’s largely abandoned My Space page (with some great audio files) and the The Guardian . If you’re committed to much, much more try here

In my opinion, however, the best way to remember Artie Traum is through his music. Try, for example, this wonderful You Tube performance with links to others.  read more »

If you're, as I am, a fan of folk music, a devotee of progressive movements past and present, and/or a Pete Seeger worshiper, you may have already seen this movie during its theatrical release. In NYC it was at IFC; for an ok review click here. The PBS page on the movie is here.

If you haven't seen the movie or if you need another Seeger fix, this is your chance: it will be broadcast on Channel 13 on Wednesday February 27, at 9:00PM. (It's not on 21).

In my view, it's a wonderful movie for a variety of reasons: lots of music, a fair history of Seeger's musical and political roles, a chance for Seeger and his family to speak about their remarkable experience. There are those who loathe folk music and are bored with stories of old times. If that's you, you should probably watch something else. I'm watching Channel 13.

One reason I like folk festivals like the Clearwater Hudson River Revival (June 21-22, 2008), is the chance to hear new groups. My 2007 Clearwater favorite was three women singing as Red Molly. By chance, biking through central New York, I heard them again. They’re very good singers and instrumentalists with great songs and – in the time-honored-folk-tradition – a corny patter. They seemed to never play NYC until now. . Your one chance to hear them is Feb. 1 at 9PM at The Living Room at 154 Ludlow Street on NYC's Lower East Side: No Cover, One Drink Minimum. One 50 minute set. They’re playing for tips and may get to hawk their CDs. I don’t know if they need a geezer-rock following, but I plan to go. If you want to check them out without leaving your keyboard, listen to a clip or two here .