While White Horse Black Mountain is under construction, we will present several shows at other locations in our community. This event will take place at Kittredge Theatre on the campus of Warren Wilson College. We are thrilled to bring two great American songwriters to our audience.
John McCutcheon has emerged as one of our most respected and loved folksingers. As an instrumentalist, he is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most notably the rare and beautiful hammer dulcimer. His songwriting has been hailed by critics and singers around the globe. His thirty recordings have garnered every imaginable honor including seven Grammy nominations. He has produced over twenty albums of other artists, from traditional fiddlers to contemporary singer-songwriters to educational and documentary works. His books and instructional materials have introduced budding players to the joys of their own musicality. And his commitment to grassroots political organizations has put him on the front lines of many of the issues important to communities and workers.
In describing Tom Paxton’s influence on his fellow musicians, Pete Seeger has said: “Tom’s songs have a way of sneaking up on you. You find yourself humming them, whistling them, and singing a verse to a friend. Like the songs of Woody Guthrie, they’re becoming part of America.” Pete goes on: “In a small village near Calcutta, in 1998, a villager who could not speak English sang me What Did You Learn In School Today? in Bengali! Tom Paxton’s songs are reaching around the world more than he is, or any of us could have realized. Keep on, Tom!”
Listeners might be confounded by Mike Green’s philosophy of life as they listen to his songs. They’ll hear a palpable tension between tenderness and irony, profundity and slapstick, aching beauty and emotional intensity. Mike is also a veteran booking agent, having represented John McCutcheon for nearly 20 years, and represented Tom Paxton for many years before that.