Monday, August 25, 2008

PETE SEEGER in concert: 25th Annual Roots of American Music Festival

Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger and his grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger
Tao Rodriguez-Seeger
One of the youngest member of the audience

Last Sunday morning, I attended the 25th Annual Root of American Music Festival at Lincoln Center Out of Doors featuring PETE SEEGER, his grandson TAO RODRIGUEZ-SEEGER, and GUY DAVIS together in a special family concert. Pete Seeger is considered a national treasure. He is America's best-loved folk singer, a political activist, and a key figure in the mid-20th century American music revival. During the early 50s, he was a member of THE WEAVERS. As a composer, he is best known for the songs WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE, IF I HAD A HAMMER, and TURN, TURN, TURN. In December 1994, he received the nation's highest artistic honors at the Kennedy Center. In 1996, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. NYC has been home to Pete Seeger singing for children since his ground-breaking Town Hall concerts in the early '60s. He's been called the "Pied Piper of American Folk Music," and when you hear him lead the audience of children from 8 - 80 in the chorus, you understand how apt the title is. The iconic American music master leads a sing-along of folk favorites for the whole family, joined by his grandson, the "Alt-Timey" Tao Rodriguez-Seeger (co-founder of The Mammals) and family friend and protégé, acoustic bluesman Guy Davis.

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