Jackson Browne

Woody Guthrie gave life to protest songs he wrote, sang

October 11, 2012

As a teenager growing up outside Denver, Judy Collins and a few friends used to hike up Lookout Mountain to listen to musicians play folk music. It was there that she saw a man wearing overalls and an engineers hat named Martin Hoffman singing a song called Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos). It was the first Woody Guthrie song she ever heard, and for a kid whose home echoed with the works of George Gershwin and the American songbook, hearing the music of Guthrie from folkies up on the mountain was a revelation.

It was like going up and getting an injection of this culture that I knew zero about, Miss Collins said in a recent phone call.

She picked up the guitar and began writing songs. Hoffman moved to Arizona, taught school in the desert, and committed suicide. Miss Collins was so moved by his death that she wrote Song For Martin. Released in 1973 on True Stories and Other Dreams, she claims it as a classic Judy Collins song.

Recently in Brooklyn, Miss Collins and several colleagues who have celebrated and poached from the Guthrie songbook for decades performed in one of many celebrations commemorating what would have been Guthries 100th birthday this year. There, she was handed a published copy of Deportee sheet music that said Lyrics by Woody Guthrie, music by Martin Hoffman.

Read more: Woody Guthrie gave life to protest songs he wrote, sang – Washington Times

Jackson Browne to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and at Kennedy Center

September 18, 2012

In support of woody 100- The centennial celebration of the life of Woody Guthrie Solo Acoustic Tour with special guest Sara Watkins begins october 15th. Tickets are on sale now.

Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne will perform “You Know The Night,” a song he co-wrote with Rob Wasserman and Woody Guthrie on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on October 11th. The song was released earlier this year to kick off the Centennial Celebration for Woody Guthrie on GRAMMY award winning bassist and collaborator Rob Wasserman’s Woody Guthrie tribute album Note of Hope. Note of Hope released as a celebration of the words and music of Woody Guthrie, is just one of the many tributes and celebrations planned in conjunction with “Woody 100” – a celebration of Woody Guthrie’s centennial.

The centerpiece of the celebrations will take place on October 14th at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Produced by the Kennedy Center and the GRAMMY Museum, This Land Is Your Land- The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration Concert will feature Browne, Wasserman and an array of renowned artists including Ry Cooder, Roseanne Cash, Tom Morello, Joel Rafael, John Mellencamp, Arlo Guthrie, Old Crow Medicine Show and more. The performance is part of the Songs Of Conscience concert series.

In addition to these two special appearances honoring the life and work of Woody Guthrie, Jackson Browne will launch the fall portion of his 2012 U.S. Acoustic Tour. The tour, which begins in West Virginia on October 15th and runs throughout the Midwest, ending on November 15 in Colorado Springs, CO. Playing guitar and piano, Jackson will perform songs from his entire body of work, with varying set lists each night, accompanied by Val McCallum (guitars) and Mauricio Lewak (drums). Singer-songwriter and fiddle player Sara Watkins will open the Acoustic Tour as a special guest; she will be joined by her brother Sean Watkins (guitar) and Tyler Chester (bass, organ). Tickets are on-sale now for the fall tour. Premium benefit seats are available for purchase through The Guacamole Fund: www.guacfund.org.

Jackson Browne has written and performed some of the most literate and moving songs in popular music and has defined a genre of songwriting charged with honesty, emotion and personal politics. He was honored with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2007. Beyond his music, he is known for his advocacy on behalf of the environment, human rights, and arts education. He’s a co-founder of the groups Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE), Nukefree.org, and, Success Through the Arts Foundation, which provides education opportunities for students in South Los Angeles.

Jackson Browne 2012 Acoustic Tour Dates with special guest Sara Watkins:

Jackson Browne gratefully takes requests during sold-out tour closer at Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater

August 20, 2012

Anything can happen on the last night of a tour.

Lucky for us, when venerable singer-songwriter Jackson Browne wrapped up a 20-date summer trek with a sold-out concert Wednesday evening at Cain Parks Evans Amphitheater in Cleveland Heights, anything went.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer had a set list. But it soon went out the window, as Browne did his best to honor impromptu requests from the audience.
It means an awful lot that you come here and call out for my songs, he said.

In the middle of the show, he sat down behind a baby grand piano and tickled the ivories tentatively. He soon thought better of it, grabbed one of the dozen-plus acoustic guitars onstage and serenaded us with In the Shape of a Heart, his 1986 hit concerning a dysfunctional relationship. A fan had called out for it earlier.

Throughout the two-hour performance, Browne switched between guitar and piano, where he got down to business with Black and White and Standing in the Breach, an understated yet powerful new tune inspired by the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

At 63, Browne still flaunts a crystalline tenor equally suited to big-picture calls to action or poetic introspection, although he experienced a senior moment during The Naked Ride Home, from his 2002 album of the same name. When he forgot the lyrics, those crickets that incessantly chirped in the background suddenly got louder.

Each time I sing it, I remember less of it, Browne said, laughing off the flub.

He had no trouble remembering the words to a well-rounded offering of much older favorites, including signature tunes such as The Pretender and Running on Empty and deeper cuts such as Your Bright Baby Blues, Shaky Town and Sleeps Dark and Silent Gate.

He reached back to his self-titled debut, released 40 years ago, for no fewer than four selections: Rock Me on the Water, Something Fine, Child in These Hills and a spirited shuffle through the Top 10 breakthrough Doctor My Eyes.

His lean and mean backing unit was anchored by drummer Mauricio Lewak and graced by the stellar musicianship of guitarist Val McCallum, who got to shine on a romantic charmer of his own, Tokyo Girl.

Opening act Sara Watkins, a fiddle-playing singer formerly of the bluegrass group Nickel Creek, also proved to be an inspired addition to the bill.
She got a warm introduction from Browne, who sat in during her set on You and Me, Take Up Your Spade and a shimmering cover of Willie Nelsons Im a Memory.

Watkins and her bandmates — her brother Sean on guitar and Tyler Chester on keyboards and bass — returned the favor during Brownes performance. Their lively accompaniment put a fresh spin on the likes of Live Nude Cabaret and Ill Do Anything.

A surging encore of Take It Easy brought fans to their feet and culminated in hoedown mode, with the Watkins siblings trading hot licks. Browne wasnt the only one looking on with a smile.

SET LIST:
Black and White
Standing in the Breach
Call It a Loan
The Naked Ride Home
Your Bright Baby Blues
Rock Me on the Water
Doctor My Eyes
Something Fine
Shaky Town
Child in These Hills
Tokyo Girl
Looking East
In the Shape of a Heart
Sleeps Dark and Silent Gate
The Pretender
Live Nude Cabaret
The Late Show
Ill Do Anything
Running on Empty
ENCORE:
Take It Easy

Jackson Browne featured on the Artist Line up for This Land is Your Land ~ The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration Concert

July 31, 2012

The Kennedy Center and The GRAMMY Museum announce Artist Lineup for This Land is Your Land ~ The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration Concert.

Concert celebrating 100 years of famed folk singer will feature

Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Judy Collins, Ry Cooder, Del McCoury Band with Tim O’Brien, Ani DiFranco, Donovan, Dropkick Murphys, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Arlo Guthrie, Jimmy LaFave, John Mellencamp, Tom Morello, Old Crow Medicine Show, Joel Rafael, and Rob Wasserman

October 14, 2012, Concert Hall
Part of the Songs of Conscience Concert Series

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – A lineup of renowned artists including Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Judy Collins, Ry Cooder, Del McCoury Band with Tim O’Brien, Ani DiFranco, Donovan, Dropkick Murphys, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Arlo Guthrie, Jimmy LaFave, John Mellencamp, Tom Morello, Old Crow Medicine Show, Joel Rafael, and Rob Wasserman will salute folk music legend Woody Guthrie at the Kennedy Center, in collaboration with the GRAMMY Museum, presents This Land is Your Land ~ The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration Concert on Sunday October 14, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall. The evening will celebrate the life and work of folk singer Woody Guthrie, whose songs have inspired change throughout the nation and the world. The performance is part of the Songs of Conscience concert series. Artists are subject to change.

Originally from Okemah, Oklahoma, singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie was responsible for songs that have become the folk standards of the nation, known and performed in many languages throughout the world. Songs such as “Pretty Boy Floyd,” “Pastures of Plenty,” “Hard Travelin’,” “Deportee,” “Roll on Columbia,” “Vigilante Man,” and “This Land Is Your Land,” are among the hundreds of Guthrie pieces that have become prevalent in the canon of American music. Through his unique music, words, and style, Guthrie was able to bring attention and understanding to the critical issues of his day.

The Kennedy Center, in collaboration with the GRAMMY Museum, presents Songs of Conscience, a concert series celebrating the legacy of two artists whose music captured the spirit of their times and continues to echo today. On Sunday, October 14, 2012, the Center presents This Land is Your Land ~ The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration Concert; and on June 23, 2013, the Center presents The Legacy of Bob Marley, an event that will honor the international artistic and social influence of singer Bob Marley and his music. Both performances will take place in the Concert Hall.

ABOUT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM
Paying tribute to music’s rich cultural history, this one-of-a-kind, 21st-century museum explores and celebrates the enduring legacies of all forms of music, the creative process, the art and technology of the recording process, and the history of the premier recognition of excellence in recorded music – the GRAMMY Award. The GRAMMY Museum features 30,000 square feet of interactive and multimedia exhibits located within L.A. LIVE, the downtown Los Angeles sports, entertainment, and residential district. Through thought-provoking and dynamic public and educational programs and exhibits, guests can experience music from a never-before-seen insider perspective that only The GRAMMY Museum can deliver. For more information, please call 213.765.6800 or visit www.grammymuseum.org. For exclusive content, join the organization’s social networks as a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/TheGRAMMYMuseum and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thegrammymuseum.

ABOUT THE KENNEDY CENTER
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, David M. Rubenstein, chairman, Michael M. Kaiser, president, is America’s living memorial to President Kennedy. It is the nation’s busiest performing arts facility and annually hosts approximately 2,000 performances for audiences totaling nearly two million; Center related touring productions, television, and radio broadcasts welcome 40 million more. Now in its 40th season, the Center presents performances of music, dance, and theater; supports artists in the creation of new work; and serves the nation as a leader in arts education. With its artistic affiliate, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Center’s achievements as a commissioner, producer, and nurturer of developing artists have resulted in more than 200 theatrical productions, dozens of new ballets, operas, and musical works. The Center’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Kennedy Center Honors is broadcast annually on the CBS Network; The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize is seen on PBS. Each year more than 11 million people nationwide take part in innovative and effective education programs initiated by the Center. As part of the Center’s Performing Arts for Everyone outreach program, the Center and the National Symphony Orchestra stage more than 400 free performances of music, dance, and theater by artists from throughout the world each year on the Center’s main stages, and every evening at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage.

For more information about the Kennedy Center, please visit www.kennedy-center.org.

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You can help Leonard Peltier – Call the White House Today!

July 20, 2012

Please call the White House today, Friday, in favor of freedom for Leonard Peltier,
Native American activist in prison for a crime that he did not commit.

The number for the White House comment line is: 202 456-1111

If the line is busy, try the White House switchboard: 202 456-1414
and ask for the comment line. You may be placed on hold until
the next available staff member can take your call.

Please, make that call.