GATEKEEPERS OF FREEDOM:
GATEKEEPERS OF FREEDOM:
TWENTY–ONE REVIEWED CONCERTS, CDS AND BOOKS
VOICES THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE AND STOOD UP FOR A BETTER AMERICA IN 2017
By Ross Altman, PhD
At year end I celebrate the roots-based artists and musicians who have made a difference and stood up for a better America in 2017. They give concerts, they make CDs and they write books—all of which have been reviewed in these pages. We don’t hear their names very often—none of them have been on the front page of the LA Times, the New York Times, or the Washington Post. They travel around the country, guitar, banjo and fiddle in hand and they sing and make music—the people’s music—carrying on a tradition that goes back to the ancient minstrels and lyre-playing Orpheus—a part of what the late great Leonard Cohen called The Tower of Song.
Here they are—let us keep their precious names in mind to remind us of the better angels of our nature and what America has yet to become—the land of the free and home of the brave—except for the firefighters—who are—as Tom Paxton wrote—“The Bravest.” Support FolkWorks Folk/Roots Festival next March 24.
~ Happy New Year in 2018; Ross Altman, PhD.
CHRISTMAS SHOW AT THE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2017
PRESENTED BY CAP-UCLA
FEATURING PRESERVATION HALL LEGACY HORNS AND RUTHIE FOSTER!
OLD TIME RELIGION
MCCABE’S GUITAR SHOP – NOVEMBER 18, 2017
ANOTHER SIDE OF KINKY FRIEDMAN
MACARTHUR GENIUS GRANT RECIPIENT COMES TO DISNEY
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL – OCTOBER 25, 2017
4) BARBARA DANE – A PROFILE IN COURAGE
CAP-UCLA AT ROYCE HALL OCTOBER 21, 2017
CELEBRATING A LIFETIME OF JAZZ, BLUES AND SONGS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
5) JOHN HAMMOND
AT MCCABE’S – SEPTEMBER 29, 2017~THE LATE SHOW
THE MAN WITH THE BLUE GUITAR
6) LAMPEDUSA CONCERT FOR REFUGEES:
JOAN BAEZ, STEVE EARLE, DAVE MATHEWS, LUCINDA WILLIAMS
PATTY GRIFFIN, BRANDI CARLILE, AND THE MASTERSONS
AT THE WILTERN THEATRE – OCTOBER 10, 2017; 8:00PM
VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED
SHRINE AUDITORIUM LOS ANGELES – THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2017~9:30PM
THE VOICE OF AMERICA
MCCABE’S GUITAR SHOP – JUNE 11, 2017 8:00 PM
ROAD SCHOLAR
ZIMMERMAN’S TRAVELS
LIVE AT MCCABE’S – JULY 23, 2017~ 8:00PM
CENTER FOR INQUIRY ~STEVE ALLEN THEATRE – JULY 23, 2017~ 11:00AM
10) IN SEARCH OF THE FIRST BLUES SONG:
PARIS REVIEW AT BEYOND BAROQUE – FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2017
11) JONATHAN EDWARDS
IN CONCERT AT MCCABE’S – FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2017
THE HONKY-TONK STARDUST COWBOY RIDES INTO MCCABE’S
12) THE LAST THING ON TOM PAXTON’S MIND
MCCABE’S – SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017
13) YEMEN BLUES WITH CHLOE POURMORADY ENSEMBLE
PICO UNION PROJECT LOS ANGELES – MARCH 25, 2017 – 7:30PM
LOUD, PROUD, AND STILL DRAWS A CROWD
AT THE STEVE ALLEN THEATRE – SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017
THIS COULD BE THE START OF SOMETHING BIG
15) JERRON “BLIND BOY” PAXTON IN CONCERT
WITH FRANK FAIRFIELD AND MEREDITH AXELROD
AT CODY’S VIVA CANTINA IN BURBANK – JANUARY 14, 2017
16) TITLE: WHERE THE HEART IS
ARTIST: KATY MOFFATT
LABEL: CENTERFIRE MUSIC
RELEASE DATE: APRIL 18, 2017
UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED
17) CD TITLE: FOLK HOTEL
ARTIST: TOM RUSSELL
LABEL: FRONTERA RECORDS
RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
18) BOOK TITLE: FOLK HOTEL: REFLECTIONS, PAINTINGS, LYRICS
AUTHOR: TOM RUSSELL
PUBLISHER: FRONTERA PRESS (KANSAS CITY, MO)
PUBLICATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
RENAISSANCE COWBOY
19) TITLE: PHIL OCHS LIVE IN MONTREAL 10/22/66
ARTIST: PHIL OCHS
LABEL: ROCKBEAT RECORDS
RELEASE DATE: MAY 5, 2017
THE UNQUIET AMERICAN
20) TITLE: ACROSS THE AMERIKEE: SHOWPIECES FROM COAL CAMP TO CATTLE TRAIL
ARTIST: STEPHEN WADE
LABEL: SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 30, 2017
PURE PERFECTION
21) TITLE: PEGGY SEEGER: A LIFE OF MUSIC, LOVE AND POLITICS
AUTHOR: JEAN R. FREEDMAN
PUBLISHER: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS
PUBLICATION DATE: MARCH 2017
PRETTY PEGGY-O
Folk singer and FolkWorks staff writer Ross Altman joins singer-songwriter and KCSN Dylan Hour radio producer Lisa Finnie & Friends in concert at the Noble House Concert Series during the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend—Sunday evening January 14, 2018 at 7:30pm—$15 donation requested.
RSVP to: barb@noblehouseconcerts.com or call 818-780-5979 (Directions given upon RSVP). Contributions to the appetizer/dessert buffet appreciated.
Ross Altman has a PhD in Modern Literature from SUNY Binghamton; he belongs to Local 47 (AFM); Ross may be reached at greygoosemusic@aol.com
