GATEKEEPERS OF FREEDOM 2018
GATEKEEPERS OF FREEDOM 2018:
TWENTY-FIVE REVIEWED CONCERTS, CDS, THEATRE PERFORMANCES AND A VERY SPECIAL GRAMMY MUSEUM EXHIBIT
VOICES THAT STOOD UP FOR A BETTER AMERICA IN 2018
Exclusive to FolkWorks
1/01/2019
Here are the Gatekeepers of Freedom for 2018—those performing and performance artists who travel, sing and record the music that keeps us sane in a mad world—who carry the torch of Woody Guthrie and Joe Hill, Pete Seeger and Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson, Billie Holiday and Phil Ochs, Utah Phillips and Rosalie Sorrels, Malvina Reynolds, Victor Jara and John Lennon. We turn to them in times of need, for inspiration, for their long memory, for satire and protest, above all, for truth.
To a president who believes in building walls, a tribute to Fred Neil, who lived to tear them down.
This is why I continue to attend concerts, to listen to CDs, to search for acts of conscience, for artists who make a difference, who transcend the pursuit of wealth, whose sense of an artistic calling has about it a spiritual dimension—who are not afraid of philosophy and wonder, whose purpose in practicing their art is nothing less than to change the world. “This machine kills fascists,” Woody Guthrie said of his guitar, “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender,” Pete Seeger said of his banjo—they continue to set the standard to which we may aspire.
With Woody and Pete ingrained in my heart and soul, how can I keep from singing? Happy New Year, dear Reader, in 2019! ~ Ross Altman, PhD
1) WHO: TOMMY EMMANUEL
With Special Guest Jerry Douglas
WHAT: Concert
WHERE: The Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills
WHEN: Friday December 14, 2018 8:00pm
THE WONDER FROM DOWN UNDER
2) WHO: BÉLA FLECK AND ABIGAIL WASHBURN
WHAT: Concert
WHERE: Royce Hall UCLA
PRODUCED BY: CAP-UCLA
WHEN: Thursday, December 6, 2018 – 8:00pm
STRUMMING ON THE OLD BANJO
3) WHO: SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK
WHAT: Kickoff to 45th Anniversary Tour CONCERT
WHERE: Royce Hall UCLA
PRODUCED BY: CAP-UCLA
WHEN: Friday, November 30, 2018, 8:00pm
THE LONG ROAD BACK TO SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK
4) WHO: JOHN MCCUTCHEON
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: Caltech Beckman Institute Auditorium
PRODUCED BY: Pasadena Folk Music Society
WHEN: Saturday, November 10, 2018 8:00pm
VIRGINIA’S RUSTIC RENAISSANCE MAN
5) WHO: LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM GOES HIS OWN WAY
With Opener J.S. Ondara from Nairobi, Kenya
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: The Orpheum Theatre
WHEN: Friday October 12, 2018 8:00pm
GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL
6) WHO: JIMMY WEBB
With special guest Ashley Campbell
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: Lisa Smith Wengler Center For The Arts – Smothers Theatre Pepperdine University
WHEN: Saturday, September 22, 2018 8:00pm
AUTUMN LEAVES FOR GLEN CAMPBELL (APRIL 22, 1936 – AUGUST 8, 2017)
7) WHO: DAVID ROVICS’ THE MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: Corazón Performing Arts in Topanga
WHEN: Friday September 28, 2018, 9:00—11:00 PM
WHAT’S PAST IS PROLOGUE
8) WHO: BILL STAINES IN CONCERT AT CALTECH
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: Beckman Institute Auditorium
PRODUCED BY: Pasadena Folk Music Society
WHEN: October 20, 2018, 8:00pm
9) WHO: EMMYLOU HARRIS AND THE RED DIRT BOYS
WHAT: American Roots Series Premiere CONCERT
WHERE: Royce Hall UCLA
PRODUCED BY: CAP-UCLA
WHEN: Thursday, October 4, 2018, 8:00pm
SWEETHEART OF THE RADIO
10) WHO: VARIOUS, INCLUDING ERIC ANDERSEN, RODNEY CROWELL, VINCE MARTIN, ETC.
WHAT: CD REVIEW
TITLE: EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’: A TRIBUTE TO FRED NEIL
LABEL: Y&T MUSIC
RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 14, 2018
Fred Neil without the Wrecking Crew
11) WHO: DAVE ALVIN AND JIMMIE DALE GILMORE
WHAT: Downey To Lubbock Tour CONCERT
WHERE: The Grammy Museum
WHEN: JULY 31, 2018 8:00pm
AMERICAN NAMES
12) WHO: TOM PAXTON
WHAT: THE VIEW FROM 80 CONCERT
WHERE: McCabe’s Guitar Shop
WHEN: June 28, 2018 9:00pm
13) WHO: LA RECOLTE CAJUN BAND
WHERE: Coffee Gallery Backstage
WHEN: May 26, 2018 7:00pm
VIVE LA FRANCE!
14) WHO: JOHN PRINE
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: The Grammy Museum
WHEN Wednesday, May 16, 2018 – 8:00pm
AN UNASSUMING AMERICAN MASTER
15) WHO: ERIC ANDERSEN
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: The Grammy Museum
WHEN: May 3rd, 2018 8:00pm
POETRY IN EMOTION
16) WHO: THE WORK OF PETE SEEGER: HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING?
WHAT: EXHIBIT
WHERE: The Grammy Museum
ON PETE SEEGER’S 99TH BIRTHDAY – MAY 3, 2018
17) WHO: ARLO GUTHRIE
With Sarah Lee And Abe Guthrie
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: The Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills
WHEN: April 5, 2018, 8:00pm
THE ROLLING LAUGHTER REVIEW
18) WHO: GARRISON KEILLOR
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: Carpenter Center For The Performing Arts, Cal State University Long Beach
WHEN: March 17, 2018 8:00pm
“JUST PASSING THROUGH”
19) WHO: POWER OF SONG: CHELSEA MANNING
WHAT: LECTURE
WHERE: The UCLA Luskin School For Public Affairs
WHEN: March 5, 2018 6:30pm
HUGS FOR CHELSEA BENEFIT ALBUM STRIKES A CHORD
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: Theatre at Ace Hotel
PRODUCED BY: CAP-UCLA
WHEN: Thursday, March 15, 2018 6:00pm—12:00am
A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC
REBIRTH OF A NATION CHAPTER I—1776-1836
21) WHO: TOM RUSSELL
With Special Guest Katy Moffatt
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: McCabe’s Guitar Shop
WHEN: February 17, 2018 8:00pm
A GALLERY OF FOLK HEROES~ LENNY BRUCE TO JOHNNY CASH
22) WHO: CARRIE NEWCOMER
With Pianist Gary Walters
WHAT:CONCERT
WHERE: Lisa Smith Wengler Center For The Arts – Smothers Theatre Pepperdine University
WHEN: Sunday January 21, 2018 7:00pm
THE REAL VEEP FROM INDIANA
23) WHO: OAK RIDGE BOYS
An Evening With
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: The Grammy Museum Clive Davis Theater
WHEN: February 15, 2018 8:00pm
GOT ANY OAK RIDGE BOYS?
24) WHO: GABRIEL KAHANE’S 8980: BOOK OF TRAVELERS
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: Theatre at Ace Hotel
PRODUCED BY: CAP-UCLA
WHEN: Saturday, January 20, 2018; 8:00pm
BOUND FOR GLORY
25) WHO: DON MCLEAN
WHAT: CONCERT
WHERE: The Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills
WHEN: Saturday, March 3, 8:00pm
COFFEE, TEA AND THE JAILHOUSE KEY
Los Angeles folk singer Ross Altman has a BA in English from UCLA; an MA in Speech Communication from UCSB; and a PhD in Modern Literature from SUNY-Binghamton; he belongs to Local 47 AFM; Ross may be reached at greygoosemusic@aol.com
